More on the Hawkeye Brownie Munny

I found a few more pictures of the Kodak Brownie Munny I posted about yesterday. These other angles provide a little more insight as to its exact construction. It appears as though it is a working Brownie that has been bondo'd onto an 18" Munny model. Check out these other pics!

Kodak Brownie Munny

This was just too cool not to repost. From the KidRobot fan collection it is large Munny doll that has had a Kodak Hawkeye Brownie molded to the head. I am unsure if the camera still works, or what was involved with creating the doll. But it is very cool still. Maybe I'll throw one together myself... ok probably not.

Two more Aura galleries are online

You know the drill by now. Go to afterglowpic.com login, save the pictures of you. Post them to your Facebook/Myspace/Twitter/whatever social networking site you are a part of. And enjoy!

Aura's Fat Tuesday celebration now online

Go check the pics out at:

afterglowpic.com

New Camera: Sawyer's Nomad 127+620

In the midst of writing the initial draft of this blog. I realized something that had somehow skipped my mind in the past few weeks since I have owned it. I never made a true post exclaiming that I found a Sawyer's Nomad 127. For the few of you out there (I'm sure there are some) who happen to stop upon this blog on a regular basis. I did post about the camera showing up in that picture taken at Blue Moon some 3 years earlier. So yes, I completed about a month ago 1/4 of my Sawyer's collection.

The camera is pretty basic. And when I say pretty basic. I mean incredibly basic. It has one f/stop (around 11) and one shutter speed (around 1/100) and there is only one film speed available as well since it takes 127 film. So the manner in which you take pictures is pretty limited to sunny days or setting onto a solid surface and pressing the shutter twice (since there is no tripod mount). The camera is literally bare bones, coming apart in two halves to load the film it doesn't have a very sturdy feel to it. I actually ended up taking it apart to see how it worked. The shutter is a lever and pushes the shutter spring down. Once it reaches the breaking point it snaps down letting light onto the film.

The other interesting thing to note is that when looking through the view-finder it has an exceptionally wide range to it. Something that is particularly bizzare when you compare it to new cameras and that the glass is pretty flat. But the film when loaded is actually curved onto the plane. Giving a wider angle of view with a cheaper lens.

So when I went to Hollywood Photo this past week, I was looking around and happened upon another Sawyer's. In a box, with the manual and flash! I was flabberghasted. Unfortunatly when I asked the owner and sole employee how much he wanted he informed it it was not for sale. So you couldn't imagine my astoniment when I saw another 620 in a parts box! The shutter release was broken so I was able to pick it up for only $1.

For the most part it is the same camera. Just a bigger boxier version to accommodate the larger film type. It also shoots in 6x6 format instead of the 4x6.5 the 127 uses. Something that strikes me as odd for two cameras sold under the same model name. It also has a bulb setting in addition to the 1/100 shutter speed. I just need to find a way to fix the shutter mechanism and we will be good to go! The film won't be a problem either. Since the way the film holder inside is spring loaded, rather than a compartment that has a specific size layout. 120 film fits in there perfectly fine with no modification!

So as of now, I am halfway done with my Sawyer's collection of cameras. I just need the Stereo-Master and the Sawyer's Mark 4 TLR.

Pdexposures Facebook reaches 100 fans!

Ok so this really isn't news of any importance. Just pretty cool to me.

24-70 f2.8 Lens rental

I got this from Pro Photo Supply not a few hours ago. And already has it paid for itself. The lens is so incredibly sharp and with a 2.8 f-stop through the entire focal range. I don't know what else I could ask for. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. They are so choice.

I will be using this for my upcoming photo-shoot for the cast of "Beauties" this weekend.

Pdexposures on Twitter!

Weather you want to know what I am doing at that exact instant or if you just love following new people on Twitter you can follow Pdexposures now! Check it out @NMatosPDX or just click the link in the sidebar at right.

Pics from Aura last weekend

I got the lucky opportunity to shoot for Aura Nightlife this past weekend. Check out what I shot at:

afterglowpic.com

The Holga is getting all the love today

After fitting my sweet new attachment to the Holga, I wanted to do more. I was never happy with the way the plastic felt on my hands when holding it. And what more legit replacement for some dried out plastic than nice fresh Leatherette? Well I didn't have any leatherette, so I used pleather I had lying around. I think it came out pretty good, what do you think?

Camerabag: My new (old) favorite app

I've had this sitting on my phone for a while now. And it hasn't gotten much use. So this morning hwile lying in bed and playing with my phone I decided to give it a try. Holy crap my iPhone was transformed. It has various filters on it that mimic the looks of various iconic cameras. Such as the "Helga" (Holga) "Lolo" (Lomo) "Instant" (Polaroid) and various others. Just apply one (or multiples) to the picture and it drastically changes the outcome!

The craziest part is that for the low-low price of $14 they make a desktop version as well so you can edit the images from your fancy dSLR. Check out the image below (and the blog below this one) for various samples of what the images can look like.


To download the app or the desktop version, just go to their site:

http://www.nevercenter.com/camerabag/

DIY: Camera quick release $1

I've been spending a lot of time on the NSOP forums (New School of Photography for those who aren't aware.). And one of my favorite sections or sub-forums on there is the DIY. There is one thing that most people who like photography know, and that is that it takes years to break through, and often a lot of money in equipment to do so. That of course isn't always the case but a good percentage of it. So finding ways to save cash along the way is fantastic.

One of the things that has been discussed recently is the quick release camera clip. Something that attaches to your belt buckle so your secondary camera is always right beside you, without getting those messy camera straps in the way. And I whole heartedly agree. So while at the dollar tree the other day I stumbled upon a cell phone clip (remember the days of those? Think back to your old Nokia). $1 later, it was on my Holga. A camera that I never liked the strap as it was too skinny. And I am nowhere near pretentious enough to carry around a Holga on its own. It is perfect for the Holga's lightweight construction, and very easy to access. Check it out!

Shooting film to help your photography?

I cam across another blog the other day. And the question that they posed was simple "Does shooting film make you a better photographer?". Now I feel there are many answers to that, hundreds of different aspects that could be considered before giving a well thought out answer. But what reason did they give?

"By limiting the number of images per roll, you instinctively become more aware of each image as an overall composition. If you don’t, you’ll find your wallet empty much faster."

And that was it. I wouldn't call it a wrong answer... but why did they feel the need to limit it so much? I am no stranger to film. I love learning about the different cameras and formats of film that each one takes. How they use to formats differently. Yet there is still so much for me to learn. I am a complete amateur when it comes to darkroom work. Not to mention that I can't even fathom using a color enlarger, or even developing color film. Some of these things are simply beyond my grasp (and pocketbook).

Either way. In the near future I will tackle this question again. Only with much more depth and thought put into the answer. Stay tuned.

Roller Coaster

I feel like I am always in a constant battle to be a better photographer. Every time I shoot I try and incorporate something new that I have recently learned. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes I feel like I actually took a step back. It is a constant push pull. And I'm not gonna lie, it is frustrating as hell. I look around me, the digital age has completely revolutionized photography. It is no longer the skill that it once was. Realistically, despite what the gear-heads will say. Anyone with a basic camera and a decent eye can do what it used to take years and years of experience and big time and money invested into gear. And seeing that first hand is kind of depressing.

I don't want to lag on such a depressing subject though. As I can see growth in my work over the past year, and huge leaps and bounds over when I first started. It's just frustrating where on one hand I feel limited by the gear I have, and on the other know that there are people doing more with less. Sucks for them tho, as it's just fueling my fire to learn.

Nothing better than homemade

I had originally made a pinhole lens based off an online tutorial that didn't work out well. I had made the pinhole too large and therefore nothing would ever come out sharp. Well I re-worked it after reading a bunch of books on the subject and found what I thought would be the best solution. Here's a quick shot I grabbed with it.

New wilderness photo's

I haven't had a lot of experience with doing nature and landscape photography. Mainly due to me not getting a chance to go out there. Which is kinda surprising since Oregon is full of beutiful forests. Recently we went camping in Estacada, OR and I was able to snap a few shots while there. Anyway, check them out at the main site!

Pdexposures.com

Polaroids: Not that frustrating

It seems stupid, and I'm sure it is. But I figured out what my biggest problem is when it came to development times for my Polaroid pack film. And that is? I'm a terrible human thermometer. Thus, I can't correctly guess the times to develop the film for and wasted more than half the shots. I ended up getting 4 out of the 10 by the way.

Looking forward to getting some new film!

Polaroid SX-70 accessories

My good friend Alex Ugarte of Ugarte's Designs brought over something very cool today. He acquired these items from his Grandfather and we threw all these accessories onto my SX-70 (which they are made for). There is some really neat stuff in here including manuals, close up lenses, tripod mounts and more!

More new pics on the main site!

I feel like I am on a roll this month! Currently all four of the galleries on www.pdexposures.com are from the month of January. I don't think that has ever happened before. But it is exciting to be getting this much work done. And not only are they all different shoots. But there is film in there, different cameras, different lenses and a whole bunch of variety. Now is the best time to be checking out what I have going on at www.pdexposures.com!

Click here to see the latest gallery!

New pics on Pdexposures

Finally uploaded some shots that I took last week while walking around downtown Portland. This has also made me realize how badly I need to change my website around.

Click here to see them