Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week. The last month or so Its been super hot and dry here in eastern North Carolina and now we are in a wet pattern. So getting out and about has been uncomfortable at best. But hopefully soon I can get out and about and by the time this blog comes out the weather will be cooperative. I have been writing blogs for quite awhile now and I have talked about photowalks and travel and street photography many times but I don't think I have ever explained the "what is?" of the terms. Thats what this blog is all about. There is nothing I like more than this type of photography. It has become one of my favorite things to do. It gets me out and about and exploring new and interesting things that I normally wouldn't see.  I've recently had to create a presentation on this subject for my photography club and this is fresh on my mind. So first of all what is a Photowalk.

Now I have just "Googled" the term Photowalk and it's basically what I think it is. To me it is a leisurely walk with the intent of taking photographs. When I think of photowalks I think of walking through a town not a hike through the woods. This can be done in your home town or a town you have never been to. Now I like to plan a photowalk but it could be unplanned as well. It doesn't have to be a large city like New York or Chicago . Bartender waiting for Customer Boston It can be the town that is next to yours. While planning a photo walk I like to find out some of the history of the town. Maybe google the town and look at some images of the town. Find out the interesting part of the town and go there and walk the streets. Photo walks can be done solo but are great with a photo buddy or two. Both street and travel photography can be done while doing a photowalk. You can concentrate on one or the other or just take what catches your eye and decide later if its street or travel. While out on your photowalk hop into local stores and shops and see what you can see. You will be surprised on the cool little shops and stores you will go to. And make sure to stop into the local coffee shops and local restaurants . Stay away from chain stores and restaurants you can go to those when you're at home.  Walk the main streets but don't forget the side streets and check Charleston Bridge out behind stores or peek down alleyways sometimes the best photo's come where you don't expect them to be. I love a good photowalk with a buddy and eating at a cool little restaurant or diner for lunch. 

Street Photography is the capture of candid or everyday life in a public place. Since the beginning of photography there has been street photography. Capturing everyday life in the click of a button. Man Waiting for T Boston Freezing time. When I think of street photography I think of black and white film shot for news papers in the 1950's and 60's. With street photography you are documenting an act or a scene . You are a fly on the wall witnessing ordinary life in an interesting way. You are documenting history. Now you can take photowalks where street photography is the main subject. Usually larger cities are the easiest for this purpose because of the target rich environment . But you can also shoot in small towns as well. Street photography is not planned it just happens in front of you and you get the shot and it's gone. One way to shoot some good street photography is find a good and interesting background and wait for someone to walk through it. Thats about as planned as it gets. Look for shadows and interesting Georgia Queen Paddleboat compositions when shooting. It doesn't always have to be people your taking photo's of . Make sure you're dressed to blend in to your environment . No bright colors or big flashy Cameras to draw attention to yourself. Small and discreet is the order of the day. So how is street photography different than travel photography?

Travel photography is the documentation of a places landscapes, people, customs and history. They are photo's that you take of a place to remember it. These photo's can be planned. Like Sunrise or sunset Marine One or events that happen on a regular schedule. Research and planning come in handy for this type of photography.  Say you are taking a trip to Boston. (which I highly recommend ) There are so many landmarks and interesting things that are specific to Boston that you want to capture. Google and plan your walk. Plan your stops where you want to go and take photo's. Maybe the landscape of the skyline of a city would be a great travel shot. Think as if you're making a brochure for the promotion of the town or place your visiting . What would you take photo's of. Maybe a market , a big landmark, a stadium like Fenway Park. Make sure you take a selfie with the landmark behind you. You just have to . LOL  Make sure to use different POV (point of view) don't always shoot at eye level. Get your typical winner shot that you see on the internet then get one that is special or unique to you. If you're on a cobble stone street make sure you get your camera low to Boston Harbor at Night highlight the cobble stone.  Make sure you take some food shots. Especially if a town is known for a special type of food. Like Lobster or Clam Chowder is in Boston. If there are lots of monuments or art make sure to photograph at night like in Washington DC. Its a great place to shoot at night.

I just love photowalks where I can combine street and travel photography together. They seem to go together like peas and carrots like Forrest Gump would say. You can easily go back and forth between them. Some of the techniques and tips work for both. Dressing not to draw attention to yourself. Small gear not to draw attention or intimidate anyone you may be photographing.  Travel light and don't carry a large bag with all kinds of gear in it . You'll be tired enough with just the walking . One camera and one lens is a great choice. Comfortable shoes and bring some water.  Have fun and explore!

What are some of the places that you've gone to do photowalks? Well that's enough rambling for this week until next. Get outside and Shoot!

Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week! Me? Can't complain. I've been indulging myself this year in film cameras. I just love these little machines. I have been exploring film like I never did before. When I first started in photography shooting film was the only option and I only shot manual SLR cameras and 35mm film. I really didn't even know about other formats or film sizes. Of course this was way before the internet and all of the info that we can get on all sorts of things now. I have been learning about all kinds of film photography that I never even knew that existed like the topic today of Half Frame Photography.  Now I have shot and own many 35mm cameras and even medium format 120 film with my Bronica ETR SI. But half frame is very interesting to me. Half frame is pretty much what it says its half of a regular sized 35mm shot. It takes the 35mm and doubles the exposures that you would normally get. So if you have a 36 exposure roll of film and you shoot half frame you get 72 shots out of it. So this is a very economical way to shoot. Of course there are advantages and disadvantages of shooting half frame. Half frame camera's came out in the 1950's with Olympus being the leader and the one who made them famous with their Penn series. Other companies followed like Canon. I have just purchases a half frame camera from Canon a Canon Demi EE17 which came out in 1966. I have just received it and put a roll of film through it.

Advantages of shooting half frame. Well the biggest and the most obvious is that it's more economical . You can shoot twice as much for the same price. But there are more advantages as well. The half frame camera's are set up to shoot in Portrait Orientation so normal shots when holding the camera are vertical. You have to turn the camera to get a landscape shot. This makes you look at things with a new perspective and makes your eyes look for portrait type shots which makes you grow as a photographer.  This orientation also makes it easy to shoot dyptics which is two photos with a theme or as a landscape. You can also shoot trypics just as easy to make a landscape . This is very cool for story telling and using photography for telling stories or concepts. Very cool! These cameras are small. About the same size as my Canon Canonet 17 but with a smaller lens protruding out of the front. So they make good travel and everyday camera's.

Disadvantages of shooting half frame. Well the biggest is the resolution of the negative. It's the half size of the full 35mm and therefore will show more grain and look more film like. If your like me that may not be so much of a disadvantage but if your looking for crisp sharp non grainy shots just use your digital camera that's what they are best at. I have heard that the resolution is great for printing up to 8 x 10 and using on social media is no problem. I will let you know when I have developed and scanned some into my computer. But for now I just have to go on what I have researched. 

I am very much looking forward to adding this camera to my arsenal of film cameras .  I think that it will become a great cary around everyday camera even when I'm shooting digital its small enough to come with me to shoot some film on every outing. Even when my better and larger cameras can't come. So until next week get out and shoot!

Hey Y'all! Hope your week is going well. This week I want to review yet another film camera that I have picked up. It's a half frame camera that shoots twice the shots that a normal 35mm camera shoots. It's the Canon Demi EE17. This camera came out in 1966 as a response to all of the success that Olympus had with their half frame cameras the Penn line from the 1950's into the 60's. Canon had some other Demi models prior to this one but this was the last one I believe.  This is a sleek modern looking camera for the 1960's not as boxy as some camera's in this era. It shoots 35mm film but shoots photo's at half the size of a
normal 35mm negative giving you more exposures over 35mm cameras. If you follow me you know I wrote a blog on the buying process of this camera and in this blog I want to go over the specs of the camera . Half frame cameras have become more popular the last couple of years due to the price of film and processing. So much so the camera's that have been made in the last couple of years have been half frame from cheap plastic cameras to a new real camera from Pentax. Pentax's camera is the first real camera to be manufactured in decades proof that film is not dead.

Film: This camera uses 35mm film. Normal negatives are 36mm X 24mm this camera shoots 18mm X 24mm giving you twice the shots. So a 36 exposure roll now shoots 72 shots. Resolution can be a problem with grainer shots. But from what I've read that for social media and prints up to 8 X 10 come out just fine. I'll let you know.

Viewfinder: The viewfinder is Portrait oriented. Much like most of us use our cell phones to take a shot. To take a landscape oriented shot you must rotate the camera just the opposite of most cameras. Inside the viewfinder is the meter readings and focusing distance.

Focusing: To me this will be the biggest challenge while using the camera. This is not a SLR or a Rangefinder it uses zone focusing. You have to guesstimate the distance you are shooting and then put the lens to that distance focusing. I have an olympus camera that does this and surprisingly you get pretty sharp photo's most of the time but trying to shoot wide open at a close subject will be a challenge.

Lens: The lens is a Canon F/1.7 lens. I have been very impressed with Canon's film lenses and maybe that is why I'm buying a lot of Canon film cameras. This camera makes my 4th Canon film camera.

Exposure: This camera does have a built in meter which will allow you to shoot in Shutter priority. In the mid 1960's mercury batteries were the norm. The meter uses a 1.3 volt mercury battery that you can't get anymore. In my Canonet I have the same situation but I use a 1.5 alkaline battery. Which works but is not as accurate as with the mercury battery.
If I have problems with this there are ways around this . First I could use an external meter which will work fine. There is also a regulator that you can get that drops the voltage from 1.5 to 1.3 volts if necessary. 

Self Timer: This camera does have a self timer but with all vintage cameras self timers seem to be the weak link and you are advised not to use them because if they break usually your camera becomes inoperative.

One thing I like about this little camera is that you don't need a battery to shoot it! You can shoot it manually and use a meter or the sunny 16 rule. So where will this fall in my film camera arsenal ? This camera will become my go with me anywhere film camera. Even if I go on a digital shoot like a wildlife shoot I can take this little camera with me and still get some film shots. If I go on film shoots with my Canon AE-1 35mm or my Bronica ETR SI medium format this will be a great backup and fun camera to use.  Is this the best film camera in my collection?  No but it might become the funnest one to shoot not worrying about how many shots I take. I think it will become a good travel companion. If I want super sharp clinical photographs I can always shoot digital but for feel and mood I shoot film. So until next week get out and shoot!

Update: I have put a couple of rolls of film through this little camera and I'm really liking the camera. The lens and the zone focusing has been going great and I might only have maybe 1 or 2 out of focus in a roll. The meter is working great and pretty accurate. I haven't had any out of exposure shots yet. I am shooting Shutter priority which makes this camera very fun to shoot. Its small but solid feel is great. It is fast becoming my favorite film camera. I included a couple of diptychs in the blog that I took and scanned. I like trying to tell a story with the diptychs. Cheers!