adetorrent; photography, lifestyle.

Sigh. So it's been a couple of weeks or so since my part 2 post of the miranda camera. I have been trying to shoot some new photos with the second camera I bought after the miranda, but have had a few issues with loading the film, batteries, e.t.c, but have now finally (hopefully) successfully shot a roll which is currently being developed. The lab I use takes a week! So rather than wait another week, I thought I'll post some more photos from the miranda taken late summer, including one OF the miranda itself, taken with my faithful dslr, and VSCO'd to death by the G3 filter on my iPhone. This has basically messed up the exif data, if indeed they can be seen. Without further ado, behold the magnificent light leaked photos from Camden. Really, I think this may have been my own fault. I probably didn't close the back of the camera properly. Either that or my cheapo lab is rubbish at developing film. Either way, light leaks are 'in' and hipster kids thi

I have since learnt a thing or two about photography. In theory, this camera should be able to perform a lot better with the new and much improved photographer driving it. After all, "the camera doesn't matter" right? On a lovely late-summer day on the South Bank of London town, the Miranda was once again loaded up with battery and film after a decade and a half, and put into action. As a point and shoot, no settings were required. The only ‘control’ one has really is ensuring there’s good light and attempting as good a composition as possible given the inaccurate viewfinder. The Miranda felt quite clunky, however actually quite charming to use. It definitely brought back some old teenage memories of using this camera with my friends on the basketball court trying (and failing miserably) to replicate some Michael Jordan posters of the time. I must track those down and post them up soon. The lens is softer than a memory foam mattress, but some would like that. The

See the following link for a pretty good overview of this camera http://saturatedimagery.co.uk/cameras/miranda-solo-twin-md/ This is the camera I used through most of my teenage years. I'm not quite sure if I bought it myself, or it was bought for me, but it was the first camera to be unequivocally, and completely mine. What I do remember clearly about using this camera is buying film for it, and how expensive I thought it was. Hence, I’d always go for the cheapest option available, and almost always 24 exposure rolls. Also, photography then was a matter of; point the camera in the general direction of the subject(s), and press the button thing. Done. With no consideration (or knowledge) of light, composition, film speed or any of that, no wonder 99% of the photos taken with the camera back then turned out, well, rubbish. This was despite the efforts by the photo lab to educate me with the ‘Advice Label’ tabs the placed on some of my worse pictures, bless them.

I still have every camera I've ever owned, save one. That missing one I am not sure was really actually ‘mine’, or shared with my siblings. I was extremely young, so I don’t remember what the camera was, but I do remember it was a 110 format camera of some kind with inbuilt flash. I have since owned a digital SLR, and very recently a beautiful retro-styled digital compact. I've also recently acquired a whole load of film cameras – classic and rubbish plastic ones alike. Virtually all the cameras still work, which is amazing. Hearing of my photographic nostalgia, friends have handed me their old plastic cameras from the 80’s and 90’s in addition to mine dug out from storage, but the gem in my collection has to be my dad’s old Kiev-4. As fortune would have it, a certain low-cost shop has been stocking cheap 35mm film. I bought quite a few and put into storage, in case it was a one-off. So there you have it; a collection of old cameras, and enough film to go round. Sounds