Almost a year since my last post!

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Yikes, almost a year since I updated the blog, going to make a concerted effort to put one post up a week. We’ll see how long that lasts. :-P

On the retro computing front I’ve been purging a lot of my collection as I don’t seem to have the free time to pursue hobbies lately. Most of my time seems to be consumed with work and being a dad. A lot of it was junk really and life is too short to horde old computer hardware. I will admit that after working on computers all day my desire to work on old machines is diminished.

I do still have an assortment of older machines, maybe 10 or so. A recent acquisition is an Osbourne One luggable for $2, has CP/M and bunch of software and seems to work well.

On the photography side I’ve made some good acquisitions. I picked up a Mamiya 645 Super with two lenses, power winder and accessories along with the original boxes. I also received a Mamiya RZ67 as a gift with a lens and waist level viewfinder. I also got myself a new Induro 214AT tripod and Manfrotto 498RC2 ball head. 2013 is the year of 120 roll film for me although I’m still shooting some digital and 35mm film.

Why?

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On Monday I had to get a passport photo done for an upcoming trip to Frankfurt for work. My wife suggested a small photo studio she had used when she got hers done last year. The studio was in a small strip mall and had glass cases on the outside wall with various old cameras on display. While waiting for the passport photos to print the photographer and I started talking about photography and he was showing me his digital canon gear. I mentioned that recently I had been shooting primarily film and doing my own developing and scanning. He was shocked and simply asked “Why?”.

I explained that the process involved in shooting film made me slow down and compose my shots better. It also made photography more about the process than the results for me, which I was enjoying a lot more. His brow furrowed and he continued to pack his camera away. I offered “well, I’m not in it for the money, just the fun.” to which he replied “Obviously”. :-)

I still think there is value in the art of shooting and developing your own film, there’s a certain craft involved. Digital takes something away from the process. Also there’s the point that there is currently no better archival format than film. My negatives of my daughter will outlast me and likely outlast her. Who knows when the next hard drive crash or cloud provider failure will send all my digital photos to the bit bucket.

But maybe I’m just crazy. :-)