Occasionally, when I'm out and about with a rangefinder camera I'm asked "is that an old camera?" This sometimes leads to my own question in response "what do you mean by old? The camera itself... the design...?" though most of the time all I can manage is a simple "no." The Leica MP is indeed a throwback machine and I have a fondness for throwback machines.

I suppose we're informed (perhaps by photos?) of the characteristics of objects from different eras. It's one way we can identify a 1955 Chevy and a 1995 Chevy if we don't happen to have samples of each handy. Or, at least some of us can. I have trouble telling all the modern lozengemobiles apart.

People will often pose the same "is that an old camera?" question when they see me using a 4x5 view camera which sports a black bellows. Clearly, any camera that has a bellows must be old, and I suppose it's a reasonable assumption.

Though why the question has to be asked is another question.

The photo at left is a detail from a 1930 Kodak Box camera (which not only still works, but also uses still-available 120 roll-film.) It's an old enough design that most people probably wouldn't even recognize it as a camera unless it was being used, in which case it has more in common aesthetically with a modern subcompact digital camera insofar as users of both devices use their respective viewfinders from a distance of some number of inches rather than pressed to the eye (as with an SLR.)

The ABSTRACTS, LANDSCAPES, and OBSERVATIONS galleries show my fine art prints.

The FEATURES link takes you to themed collections of my work, such as documentary and film-set photos.

Finally, the PHOTOBLOG link goes to a regularly-updated series of slice-of-life and commentary photos.

The Red Machine Photos

See the Features section of my site for photos from the production of the movie The Red Machine.

Santa Cruz Open Studios 2008

I'll be taking a break from Santa Cruz Open Studios for 2008, partly a deliberate vacation and partly because of other plans for October.