a quality affordable 35mm Rangefinder

Ive been on the look out for a compact 35mm camera for sometime now. Ive not necessarily been looking for a rangefinder but something thats is built well, reliable & retro. So after researching a little bit on line, I came across the Yashica Electro 35mm Rangefinder. Its often referred to as the 'poor mans Leica'. Clearly not on the same level as a Leica in terms of the build quality but nevertheless a cracking little affordable unit. Yashica produced over 8 million of these camera's. You can pick one up in the US for silly money but here in the UK, they tend to be somewhat more expensive. I managed to grab this one of Ebay last week for £76. I was prepared to pay a little more if Im honest as this example was one of the best Ive seen advertised for some time. Getting hold of an instruction booklet was a bonus too. Cheers Shaun

So, now Ive sorted the camera out, its film time choice. Im starting off with a few rolls of Kodak Portra 400 & 800. I reckon this will be a pretty good choice given the fact I love vivid and colourful imaging. Portra is a high speed daylight well balanced film offering a natural palette with vivid saturation and low contrast. Lets see how it goes....

Industrial and modular

I called over to see the guys at Kyst last week. They design, create and build modular designed spaces.They've commissioned me to shoot their imaging for the business and their forthcoming new web site. A brief which Im delighted to take on. Commissions such as these are so interesting to shoot. I think you'll get some idea from the imaging below. All very industrial and different.

Cornish patina - The RMS Mulheim

On 22 March 2003, the RHS Mulheim was on a sailing from Cork, Ireland to Germany with a cargo of scrap car plastic. The ship ran aground at in Gamper Bay, between Lands End & Sennen Cove. It was discovered that the chief officer,who had been on watch at the time caught his trousers in the lever of his chair when trying to get up, causing him to fall and rendering him unconscious. By the time he regained consciousness,the ship was already bearing down on the shoreline and the rest is history. She ran aground and broke up on the rocks.
Cheers for the tip off Ben....

Today she's a wreck of her former self. What remains is part of the hull and a collection of colourful twisted steel with amazing patina.

When you start looking around the wreck, there's something quite ghostly about it. Even though there's nothing there, you can sort of connect with the feels of the crew of impending doom as she bore down on the rocks

Mat McIvor. Artist, illustrator,designer and retailer

If you take a walk down Chapel St in Penzance, you'll come across a cracking little independent retailer by the name of Fishboypz. Thats Matts shop!! Hidden away on the second floor of the shop is his studio where he designs, paints and screen prints all of his work. I called in the other day for a chat about his work and to roll off a few shots. 

Don't forget to check out Fishboypz Chapel St, Penzance. Without doubt the best indi clothing retailer Penzance has

the retro man

I came across this random bloke yesterday hidden away in the back streets of Marrakesh and sandwiched between a flower and chicken market. Completely random stall selling all that is 70's ish retro kit. Cameras, radios. hifi's and more. I loved what he had for sale, but also he had one of those well worn faces that I love shooting.
 
Shukraan....
 

The 88 year old obsessive collector

This is Ken. A 88 year old Cornishman with a passion for Jaguars. He's a humble man and real gentleman with an immense amount of mechanical knowledge when it comes to cars. Ken started his collection at the age of 19 and since then has amassed over 20 different models.
From XK124/140's, Mark V11'S to E types, Sovereigns, to XJS's and even two rare SS Models.

I was fortunate enough to be invited into his world recently. He has this vast showroom where all keeps all of his cars. There on public view but its not often you'll get the opportunity to be shown round by him. Age hasn't effected  drive as he continues to restore them as we speak.

             Age hasn't effected his drive as he continues to restore this XK120 as we speak.  

After the tour of the showroom, Ken invited me into his home to view the other side of this avid collectors world. I couldn't quite believe I was seeing. He showed me to this room, protected by his dog, joking, completely full of of Jaguar memorabilia. Amazing! Models, brochures, manuals, key rings, the list went on and on. I didn't know where to look. I was lost for words

A massive thank you Ken. Respect.....

the other side of Salzberg

From a historical point of view, Salzberg has to be worth a visit. Its Austria's fourth largest city, its a world heritage site, the birth place of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the setting for the "Sound of Music" film. It has some great Baroque architecture but there's another side to Salzberg. The not so attractive side.

I refer to the influx of organised begging gangs fuelled on by the current Europe refugees crisis. At first, they're great from an photographic subject point of view, but then it becomes a little more rehearsed. 

Every 100 yds or so you'll find the same looking individuals begging day in day out. Don't get me wrong, I love the challenge of grabbing interesting street photography content, but after a while the interest wore off....

Simple and functional

I love the simple functionality of Polaroid camera's. A prime example of that is this 320 Land camera. Simple, to the point and even now attractive in its own retro way

tell a story without words

Yet another great giveaway from Ray Larose is up for grabs at the moment.  Put four images together that tell a story. No words, all in black and white and then check out the link enclosed blow and grab yourself a lovely Ricoh 500 ME camera. Thats whats up for grabs
(http://www.raylarose.com/2016/02/the-ricoh-500-me-giveaway/)
 

Here's my entry.... No words, just a visual

At last, a real camera bag

Ive used a number of high quality camera bags over the years and there always the same problem, they're designed with "Square" in mind. Any photographer will tell you, camera kit is anything but square. So, whats the solution? Simple. Get yourself a "Peak Design" bag.

Peak Design have produced what can only be described as the perfect everyday camera bag.
Outstanding quality, brilliantly designed and that perfect weight for a camera bag, light !! Even the POS and packaging it arrives is quality. Ta Peak Design....
 

Check out their vid: www.peakdesign.com

Doesn't always have to be human

If its got a face and carries some composition value as an image, I'll shoot it. Woof......

Lets explore and work together

Im looking forward to working and collaborating with Killian at Lets Explore magazine this year.
A beautiful magazine with quality content imaging and copy