Current Gear: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, Yashica Electro 35 GS

Favourite Subjects: Architecture, Nature, Chiaroscuro

Least Favourite Subjects: People, Food, Sports

Dream Photo Vacation: Edinburgh, Scotland

Dream Camera: Leica M-A (Typ 127); Summilux-M 50 f/1.4

Other than a few disposable cameras I burned through as a kid, I didn't get my start in photography until my final year of high school. My first digital camera was a novelty keychain gadget that I used for an English project, posing Lego figures to create a visual novel for part of the Scottish play. I had a lot of fun with that project, and was inspired to "borrow" a forgotten Canon PowerShot A-series from one of my sisters. There are still a few images in my collection taken with that camera. For a point-and-shoot, it was actually pretty good at macro work (using a very loose definition of "macro," of course).

In my first year of university, my parents got me a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT as a gift, which I traded for an XTi not long after. Most of the images you see here were taken with that camera, and I'm still rockin' it nearly 20 years later. It's been everywhere with me. To be honest, I prefer its stark simplicity to the feature-bloat in today's DSLRs.

I was very productive in undergrad, and loved the challenge of getting the camera to see the world the way I did. I shot almost exclusively in manual mode, and tried to keep post-processing to a minimum (though I admit to having a bit too much fun with iPhoto when I got my first Mac in '06). Grad school, however, was difficult, and a lot of my hobbies became more frustrating than fun, including photography. I'd use my phone to capture memories, or post to social media, but the experience just felt soulless and empty. After graduating, I was lucky enough to land a job at my hometown's museum, and photography became part of my work. I've photographed a construction project, fundraising events, artefacts, and promotional materials; but work is work.

I'm a few years into the job now, and I've come to truly appreciate the museum's greatest asset: it's photographic collection. Pouring through the binders of old snapshots, postcards, and slides I'm filled with admiration at the care and skill of even the most casual photographers from the past, many of whom shot at great expense, without light meters or formal instruction. Today, it's so easy to learn how to work a camera, and if your camera can't tell you what to do, then expert instructional videos and dedicated apps are only a quick web search away.

Well, one thing led to another, and now I'm learning how to shoot with film. Such fun! I'm currently fighting with a bricked Yashica Electro 35 GS, which - thanks to a faulty photo cell - is only able to reliably shoot at 1/500. Not to fear, though - I've got an Olympus 35 SP on the way. Hopefully, at least a few of my shots on film will turn out, but until then I plan to add new images taken with the ol' XTi, as I practice using the Sunny 16 and Zone System.

Marcus

November 2025