ABOUT ME

I live in a camper van with a West Highland Terrier for company.
My passion is creating images but it is a work in progress.
I am always willing to share what knowledge I have and can be contacted through the comments on this post or e-mail ADRIAN
ALL IMAGES WILL ENLARGE WITH A LEFT CLICK

Sunday 6 September 2015

SLOW WEEK. (06/09/15)

It’s been a desperate few days for pictures.I have shot half a roll of medium format and spent ages toad hunting. The toads were really quick and not a bit cooperative. Usually if I pick them up and pop them in a bit of shade they will pose but not these they kept scampering away back down their burrows._MG_1972

This is the best shot I got. There were three of them and this was the medium sized one.

_MG_1974

The only other thing I have found is this Brown-lipped Snail.

I did come across a camera I have been looking out for for a while.

_MG_1966

_MG_1967

_MG_1968

A Minolta SRT 102. This says SRT Super on it but is the same camera and dates from 1974 give or take a year. It appears to be in perfect working order and came with three lenses. A 50mm 1.4, a 28mm 2.8 and a zoom 85-210mm. The later sounds as if it has been dropped but I have mended the aperture control and it now just needs a clean. I can’t find my lens wrench so I have either lost it of lent it to someone. They aren’t expensive and I’ll get another one if it doesn’t turn up. The camera is full manual but the TTL meter needs a new battery. I’ll try and get it sorted this week and bang a roll of film through it. This is the last camera I will get unless an Olympus OM 1 turns up with a good macro lens.

That’s me up to date.

20 comments:

  1. Nice find--- the snail and the camera. I took a zillion pictures with full manual and a TTL meter. All you need really. Except for a certain reliance on auto focus, that's how I use my Canon DSLR today.

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    1. Bill I rarely use auto focus, I like manual aperture control and really miss having curtain or leaf shutters that only go to 1/1000s at best. No doubt when to use a tripod. This Minolta is regarded as a little gem. The build quality is superb and for Thirty pounds it was a bargain an OM 1 or 10 will cost a lot more.
      If you want to use a modern Canon for time lapse then dial in the aperture, press the lens release button and just twist the lens a tiny bit whilst holding in the DOF preview button and 000 will appear in the aperture screen it is then set.

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  2. You should wear gloves when handling toads or your hands will gradually become covered with warts! Not a good look!

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    1. YP, so that's where they came from.
      As long as you don't squeeze them they are fine; if you do you get a vile stink on your hands and have to squash a tomato or two to get rid of the stink.

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    2. Try Boots Verruca & Wart Remover Freeze Spray. So sorry to hear that your hands are already covered with warts. But Scotch lasses aren't too choosy.

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  3. 'film'

    my the word draws the mind to wander to past days

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    Replies
    1. R>Mac, the cameras are beautiful and very cheap.

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  4. We'd all be wiser about photography if we had to work in manual and use film. I get really lazy with pint and shoot.

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    Replies
    1. Red, this camera is auto on aperture priority but the shutter and mirror are mechanical.

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  5. As far as I can recall all my SLRs right from the sixties until the Digital Age were Pentax although I had many 'supplementary' cameras. That's possibly why I found adapting to the Canon EOS 7D hard and eventually went back to Pentax and got a K3. I find it completely natural and intuitive to use.

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    Replies
    1. Graham, It does take a while to get used to different cameras. I still don't really like Canon but they do take reasonable pictures.

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  6. Hi Adrain That camera looksalittle gem for you but i cannot believe you are not going to buy another camera esept for the one you mentioned!!! Like the snail shot.

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  7. Happy camera restoration. I have an old Pentax SPII somewhere in this house, but who knows where.

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  8. Can't get near toads with my greyhounds on toe I've had to fence off a section of the garden as I have gained four this summer so far.
    The camera looks great, being a '74 are parts easy to come by?

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    Replies
    1. Douglas, my pair ignore frogs and toads. They give frogs a poke with their noses as they seem to like watching them hop.
      Parts will be available but a good clean and lube is usually all that is required.

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