My Favourite Lens

Vintage Lenses | Film Cameras | Street Photography

The #leesixtyfive Project: Photographs 331 – 365

Look at that title. It has the number 365 in it. That means the #leesixtyfive project actually got completed. At no point was I 100% sure it ever would.

This update features the last batch of photographs along with some lessons learnt whilst doing the whole thing. If you’re doing a 365 project of your own, you might find some helpful nuggets here.

Come read, come see if the final images were any good or not, and come get inspiration and motivation for your own projects if that sounds like something you want to do.

Olympus Supertrip Camera Review

The Olympus Supertrip is a point and shoot film camera from the 1980s with nothing but the most basic features. Sounds terrible, you might think. I don’t necessarily agree.

I’ve shot some street photography with mine and have not been unhappy with the results. Going out shooting was actually pretty good fun, thanks in the main to that dearth of settings to get bogged down in.

Come read this review to see some example shots and decide whether the Olympus Supertrip should make it into your own collection or not.

The #leesixtyfive Project: Photographs 301 – 330

Number 11 of the planned 12 #leesixtyfive updates is here and taking us into the final stretch of the street photography marathon I decided to put myself through.

It features some shots from earlier in the project, as I needed to dig myself out of a hole and catch up, and some shot in the more correct time period for this chapter.

Come see how they look, my thoughts on them, and how the project itself is going with just one more update to go after this.

Canon Sure Shot AF-7 Camera Review

This Canon Sure Shot AF-7 cost me less than the lunch I had before finding it in a charity shop. It cost less than each and every roll of film I’ve since put through it.

So at that price, it must be a heap of junk, right? No, not right. Maybe I have low standards (I definitely do) but it’s actually not bad at all for the street photography I shoot.

Come find out in this review if you should seek one out too, or whether you should take the plunge and spend your hard earned couple of pounds or dollars if you also come across one in the wild.

Chasing Light in Qibao Old Town

Sitting out to the west of the city centre but still absolutely in Shanghai, Qibao old town makes a lovely day away from the shiny skyscrapers of China’s biggest metropolis.

If you’re going to go there, try to pick a day with fewer people. So neither a weekend nor a national holiday. Try also to pick a sunny day. Then you can take advantage of the light and get better photographs.

Trust me. I shot parts of Qibao – on Fujifilm Industrial 100 film – on both bright and overcast days. Come see the difference good light makes to your photography here.

The #leesixtyfive Project: Photographs 271 – 300

I’ve finally done it, friends. I’ve finally gone and raided the archives to give the #leesixtyfive project the boost it needed. All 30 photographs in this update were taken at some point earlier in the year.

You may consider it breaking the rules of a 365 project. I can understand that. But y’know, my project, my rules. And they switched to 365 images in 365 days a long time ago.

Come check out this latest update to find out why the process of your own 365 project is the result, and to see if I’ll ever get mine completed in time.

The #leesixtyfive Project: Photographs 241 – 270

So we made it past the 250 mark. Although that doesn’t seem too significant a milestone when the target is 365… but it’s better than not making it to 250.

These descriptions are getting harder to write for these middle-of-the-project updates, although I’m happy I have the opportunity to have to come up with something.

In truth, photographs 241 to 270 aren’t the priority right now, even as I type this. Photographs 271 and onwards are. Come read and check out how I plan to get them in the coming weeks.

A Few from the m50 Art District, Shanghai

m50, at Moganshan Road in Shanghai, is one of the city’s most iconic art districts. It’s also one of the only places in town you’ll find genuine street art.

I went there with the old Olympus Supertrip and a roll of Fuijfilm Industrial 100 to get a few shots, which you can see in this short essay.

Come take a look, find out how the m50 art district came about, and how you can get there if you’re in Shanghai and want to check it out too.

Shooting for the Shitty Camera Challenge

The Shitty Camera Challenge was pretty much as the name suggested. That was… to shoot with a shitty camera. You could use any film you wanted and then were to post the results to Twitter.

There was a suitably bad first prize, which I don’t know who won right now but I hope it wasn’t me, and lots of fun to be had on the #shittycamerachallenge hashtag.

For me, it was an excuse to get out again with the Canon Sure Shot AF-7 and try some Rollei Retro 400S for the first time. This is how it went. Come take a look.