Analogue Gang

I wanted to introduce my analogue camera collection. It's a small collection for now but I have big aspirations for it. Before I started buying cameras for myself I would mess around with the various family cameras we've had over the years. As well as disposable cameras. I used to buy the Boots black & white disposables and take silly photos of my boyfriend of the time. My stepdad is one of those technology types especially when it comes to cameras and to this day he always has a camera on him. He was the one who pushed me to use the family cameras if I wanted. I must have used it more than I realised because I've got heaps of photographs from my school days, primary school mostly. When digital became more affordable for the common man my stepdad was there for it. And again I was allowed to use his latest bit of kit. What trust he must have had in me as this was in my secondary school days. Then he bought my first digital camera (which I've still got!) for my 17th birthday. And since then I've been buying my own cameras. I upgraded digitally, both times with a Canon, and then over the course of 2011 I fell back in love with analogue.

So this is my little analogue collection so far as I've purchased them over time.

Ah the good old Polaroid. Who doesn't love a Polaroid picture? This was probably the first film camera I purchased for myself many years ago before Polaroid went bust. I have a little stack of Polaroids and I absolutely love them. It's one of the most attractive and satisfying formats I'd say. I know you can buy film for this camera from The Impossible Project but it is painfully priced and you only get 8 shots in comparison to what you used to pay for a twin pack. Sigh. Maybe one day as part of something very special I'll treat myself.

Gifted to me by my darling friends the Supersampler was my introduction to Lomography. I must have been banging on about it somewhere for my friends to see this as a worthy gift. It's a funny old camera this one. With no viewfinder you just have to aim and shoot with this camera and you're encouraged to use it on sunny days for best results. I must confess the fad of this camera wore off after a little while but I re-discovered it last year and took it along to Portugal. I ran a couple of rolls through it, seen in this album, and in the Portuguese sun this camera became fun again. I am going to endeavour to use it more this year.

After a hefty few years stay in digital photography I began becoming interested in analogue photography again at the start of 2011. In particular I'd keep seeing blog posts about people using analogue camera and every so often I'd see Lomography related stuff as well. So once in a while I'd happily browse the Lomography website pining for the money to buy one of their cameras. When I finally got the full amount of my student loan early last year and a conveniently timed Lomography voucher came about I took that leap. I bought myself the Diana F+ deluxe kit and shortly after we fell in love in Seville. This camera can do just about everything and actually has 3 formats to work with; 35mm, 120 and instant. It's like 3 cameras in one!

After a summer in Portugal with my Diana I knew I was ready to take it to the next level with analogue. So shortly after returning I visited The Real Camera Company and invested in my Olympus OM10. That shop by the way is analogue camera heaven. I knew roughly which cameras I wanted purely from what I'd seen online and was actually leaning more towards a Canon since digitally that's what I use. But this Olympus won my heart and has remained with me at all times ever since.

Then a funny thing happened. I rediscovered eBay. As I began using the Lomography website more I would see all these great examples of photography and the same few cameras kept popping up. I know that it's the photographer who makes the photograph not the camera but undoubtedly the camera plays a big part in the deal. So when this Zenit-E appeared for the right price I went ahead and indulged. Be warned this is a hefty camera. And Russian. It has fewer settings than my Olympus and I'm yet to actually test it but I am excited to get to grips with it.

I still fancied a Canon SLR and as luck would have it eBay had one for me. So I hastily purchased this Canon AE-1 which came with a bag full of random accessories, a flash and a 28mm lens. Again I'm yet to test it out but rather excitingly the camera did come with a film already in it and about half used. I am so excited to eventually get the roll developed because what's more fun than mystery photographs? I'm planning on taking the Canon out to finish that roll and run my own test roll through soon. It's fully manual so it should be pretty exciting to get to grips with exposing photographs with proper consideration.

And finally, the latest and truthfully possibly one of the most exciting additions to my camera collection is the Lomo LCA+. I have lusted for this camera for YEARS now. Actual years. The more I read about it, the more I saw what it produced, the more I wanted it. And again eBay had one for me. Brand new in box and about £100 cheaper than they're sold on the Lomography website. I couldn't resist. I was so excited when it arrived and took on a state of unbelieving awe that I finally owned one. It got its first run at The Blue Planet Aquarium last week and I'll be taking the film to be developed tomorrow. Fingers crossed for that. This has become the second camera that comes everywhere with me now. Expect many photographs from this little guy.

So there you have it. My little camera family which I hope will continue to grow over this next year and many years to come. I may well do a separate post on my current camera lusts. I'm forever browsing eBay and am planning on exploring the world of car boot sales and charity shops in the hope of finding some camera gems. Should you happen to have any old cameras that you'd like to see go to a good home or know of anyone wishing to get rid of their old cameras, well you know who to contact ;)

All shots were taken on my Canon 450D.

Laters,

P x