My Journey Into Photography: A Review Of My Journey In 2021

2021 has been a challenging year for everyone around the world, our microscopic nemesis has seen many countries enforcing strict lockdown rules to try and bring it under control whilst getting as many people vaccinated as possible. As you can imagne this has affected every photographer as we like to get out and about. Keeping my wife and family safe has been the most important thing I have done all year, but that doesn't mean to say my photography has suffered. On the contrary, I have improved a heck of a lot and achieved the goals I set myself for the year plus one or two extra's. TL; DR It was awesome!

At the start of the year I began my participation in the Frugal Film Project 2021, a year long quest to shoot frugal film in a camera costing no more than $50. This year we spent 6 months shooting B&W and the other half shooting colour film. I chose Fomapan 200 for the first half of the year and Kodak ColorPlus for the second half with my Olympus 35RC that cost me £35, or around $47. I'm glad I took part in this project as It made me get out and about and learn how to use my 35RC and appreciate the qualities of the film I chose. My December roll of ColorPlus will be revealed in my next blog thus bringing my FFP 2021 to a close. I had so much fun I have signed up for the 2022.

I learned how to develop colour film using the C41 process and finally nailed the last mental block I had with developing film. I have spoken about my mishapo with developing chemicals when I was in my teens that gave me a mental block from developing film. I think I can now say that wiith encouragement from the good folks at the Negative Positive Podcast, the Frugal Film Project, Embrace The Grain Podcast and the Classic Camera Revival groups on facebook, I have put that block firmly behind me. ECN-2 next?

I have also learned the art of "DSLR Scanning". This is a modern use of "Repro Photography" used for duplicating slide film. My Nikon D700 and D90 have been great tools for this task. I have been looking back over my film archive and choosing a few shots to see how I could reproduce them and make them better than the scans I made with my cheap Ion Slides2PC scanner. The difference is like night and day. If you haven't given this a try yet, all you need is a digital camera, a macro lens, a tripod, a negative holder and a light source. Reversing the shot in the photo editor of your choosing is a simple task and so rewarding when you get it right.

The cameras I have used the most this year have been my Olympus OM-1, OM-2 and 35RC. The Olympus OM-1 has long been my dream camera and to be able to achieve that dream back in 2019 was very satisfying and I have yet to be dissappointed with it. I bought both the OM-1 and OM-2 from an estate sale and, after getting the OM-1 serviced, I have really enjoyed using them. I try to use my cameras in rotation, but I have definitely been getting fully aquainted with the wonderful OM System this year.

When you carry two or three cameras with you the less weight the better. Olympus OM cameras are almost the perfect street photography set up as their size makes them discrete and folk tend not to notice them when I'm out and about. The perfect street photography camera is definitely my 35RC. It's small, has a very quiet shutter and when using the auto setting makes life very easy.

28mm has become my go to focal length this year, I have a couple of them with different mounts and I really enjoy using them. My most used Olympus lens was definitly the Zuiko 28mm f/3.5. It's not the fastest lens in the Olympus Zuiko range, but it is definitley a great accompaniment to any of the OM cameras. My Hoya 28mm HMC f/2.8 lives on my Pentax MV1 and, whilst not the sharpest prime lens in my collection, it delivers the goods time and again. My favourite 28mm lens has to be my Tamron Adaptall 2 28mm f/2.5. Some folk scoff at the Tamron Adaptall range, but there are a couple of hidden gems amongst them that are starting to attract a premium price. The 28mm f/2.5 is one of them.

My most used zoom lens is definitely my Tamron Adaptall 2 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 CF Macro. Tamron's Adaptall 2 range of lenses is a great way to acquire a decent range of lenses for every SLR camera you own, especially if you're not blessed with a lot of cash. I have been using my 28-70 on my DSLR's this year and had a lot of fun with it.

Another thing that happened this year was getting a couple of articles published on casualphotophile.com an excellent photography website filled with lots of reviews and articles of all things photography related. I wrote about Nikon's excellent AF-D range of lenses that are not being supported by the new Z mount range. I lamented about a perfectly good range of lenses effectively being rendered obsolete for not having autofocus motors built into them like the later AF-S lenses.

I also wrote a review of a new brand from Kosmo Foto to add to it's Kosmo Foto Mono 100 B&W film. Agent Shadow 400 is a B&W film sourced from one of europes longest running film manufacturers and it's a great film. Stephen Dowling at Kosmo Foto ran a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign to bring this new brand to the market, which I backed before being offered the chance to test the film and wax lyrical about it. I will be receiving my film and the Graphic Novel that accompanies it sometime in the new year and I'm really looking forward to it.

Here are a few of my favourite photo's from 2021. I had a great time this year, despite the challenges of the pandemic I have learned a lot and really enjoyed my photography in 2021. Whatever 2022 has in store for me, it will be with a camera by my side that I face the year ahead with quiet optimism. Thank you for visiting my blog in 2021, I wish you a very Happy New Year and hope 2022 brings you health and happiness.