slr | little home by hand

In between all those colourful, bright digital shots I just have to throw in these black and white photos from my Olympus OM-2N. Not only because they are different but because I am thrilled by how they turned out. It was love at second sight I’ll admit but I am starting to see the huge potential of this small and amazing SLR.

Not to mention that I just get a thrill out of using it…pressing that shutter and especially advancing the film manually is pure joy for me…I’m weird like that 😉

I am pretty suprised at just how contrasty and grainy this 125 ASA film turned out. I shot black and white film with a point and shoot as a teenager and don’t remember them turning out so ‘retro’. But then again I wasn’t using a 30-year old manual SLR so maybe that’s the difference.

I will definitely take the time to get to know this camera better though the prices to develop film are really steep and I’ll have to restrain myself from taking too many pictures.
Don’t worry about the digital photos though, I’ll keep them coming 😉 I have three photoshoots with adorable kids scheduled in the next 2-3 weeks, starting this weekend with 4 toddlers under the age of three!

Having discovered serious photography only a couple of years ago I really only know digital. I did have a much-used analog point and shoot since age 14 though and have always loved shooting black and white film.
I knew my dad had some analog SLRs somewhere and on my begging got them out for me. So here’s my newest toy:

It’s the Olympus OM-2N, an analog SLR from the late 1970’s and I am in love with it. Now don’t be fooled by its relatively small size and vintage look…this baby was the height of technology in its day and is still a serious and professional camera. But oooh, isn’t it cute, too?
And the even better news: there’s more where that came from! My dad not only has two more models of the OM-series but also a set of lenses in every size imaginable, most of them prime lenses! He was planning to be a professional photographer in his youth (guess it kind of runs in the family).
I chose the OM-2N because it comes with aperture priority as opposed to only full manual, which I thought would be easier as I am still figuring out the various knobs and manual focus. For starters I also took along a 50mm 1.4 and a 180mm 2.8 lens (sigh).
I shot the first test roll of film today and will be taking it to be developed tomorrow (provided I figure out how to rewind the film and get it out of the camera first). If the photos turn out anything close to how awesome it felt to shoot them I predict this Olympus and I are going to be very fast friends!

It’s funny how automated you become when you shoot a lot…the first couple of photos I found myself quickly looking at the black back of the camera and wondering immediately after why I was doing so. Then I understood I was looking for the (nonexistent) preview picture to see if I’d gotten it right first try.
I will be shooting mainly black and white film I think and I am so excited to get to know film in general and this camera in particular better. That said, I am still loving the digital world…I googled the camera just for fun and the first thing that came up was the complete manual as a free pdf – thank you internet!