Analog Therapy: Minolta X-700 – Rokkor 58mm f/1.2 – Flic Film Elektra 100.
Subtitle 1: Forcing Myself To Get Out & Take Pics.
Subtitle 2: It Is Really About The Lens.
The camera.
A favorite SLR.
The lens.
A recent favorite.
I bought this lens primarily for use with another camera. A digital one… with a big honking sensor.
In theory, using it on a film camera was a bonus. But since it arrived things have flipped. My favorite use of this lens is with the X-700, and adapting to digital is the bonus.
The film.
A recent favorite. Have been informed that it is the same as the no longer available CatLABS X-Film Color 100. And by the look of the negative and resulting images, I believe that is true. Which is a good thing.
The location.
A local downtown. Greensboro.
The motive.
Getting out of a funk.
In addition to the usual holiday blues (Christmas was my dearly departed Father’s favorite holiday, so his is on my mind.), I attended a going home service for a former chorus member the Saturday after. So I found myself in an all too familiar space…
I do not feel right because I am not shooting.
I do not shoot because I do not feel right.
The only solution is to force myself out of the house.
And the result is always the same. A wonderful time, often laced with unforeseen serendipity.
The pics.
Before I left the house.
Thoughts.
Another successful bit of analog therapy.
But more than that, it moves towards confirming a theory that I have been playing around with.
The lens is king.
I have owned some pretty precious film gear. And have traded most of it on. Why?
I am glad I imagined that you asked.
This is a humble camera provenance-wise. But it does what it needs to do:
- Keeps the film safe from light.
- Properly exposes the film.
- Allows you to focus the lens out front.
Add in a fantastic lens and…
…you have a combination that can go toe to toe with any analog capturing device at any price. Nice.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 