Blatherskite

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I am a Children’s Librarian living in the Portland, Oregon area. When I am not Children’s Librianing I like to play with cameras and film. I also like playing the ukulele, knitting, sketching, and hiking.

I am so. stoked.

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I have nothing to rant about today. But here is an Instagram photo of my new camera that came in the mail today and that I am dying (DYING) to get my hands on when I get home from work. At lunch I had a chance to take a look at it. It appears to be in great shape. I have no idea in the world how to work it. I was surprised to flip up the top and see the image reflected on the reflector thing, all camera-lucida-like.

I found this web page that I plan on studying (note to self).

Here’s to new adventures!!

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11 responses to “I am so. stoked.”

  1. Silver Image Studios Avatar
    Silver Image Studios

    Exciting, isn’t it? Glad you got your camera! If you ever want to talk about the camera, or how to use it, feel free to call anytime. My contact info is on my website: lsafilms.com. Have fun.

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    1. Moni Avatar
      Moni

      Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you read my blog and I have you as a resource! I’m putting film in it right now as I type this 🙂

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  2. OST Photographic Services Avatar
    OST Photographic Services

    Enjoy your “new” camera. You should be able to get pretty good quality if the lens is fine and you understand aperture and shutter speed along with the relationship they have. Again…enjoy!! 🙂

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    1. Moni Avatar
      Moni

      Thank you!

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  3. Silver Image Studios Avatar
    Silver Image Studios

    Hello again! I see your cameras meter requires a 1.3v mercury battery to operate. If you don’t already have a battery for it, I would say, do not bother with trying to find a vintage compatible battery. It’s just unnecessary.

    You’ll see websites that recommend buying these rare and expensive alternative batteries. What I do is, I go to my nearest drug store and purchase a 1.4v hearing aid battery. Find the largest one you can. The extra .1v of charge will not make any difference on your cameras metering functions.

    You’ll notice, the hearing aid batteries are smaller than the original mercury batteries so you’ll need to do one thing. Because the new battery does not make contact on both sides, you need to bridge that gap. I use a small piece of aluminum foil folded up and resting on top of the new battery. This way, when you replace the battery compartment cover, the foil completes the contact between the cover and the new battery. Try this and let me know if it works. I’ve done this and similar with my vintage electronic cameras.

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    1. Moni Avatar
      Moni

      Killer! Thanks! I will try it! 🙂

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  4. OST Photographic Services Avatar
    OST Photographic Services

    I’m curious how you’re making out with this camera. I hope we’ll see some of the shots you’ve taken with it. Keep shooting….

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    1. Moni Avatar
      Moni

      I have been shooting with it all week. I shot a roll of Portra 400 and a roll of Portra 160. I have a roll of Tri-x and Ektar that I want to run through it too. I will take the film in to get developed this weekend. I am curious to see how everything turns out! I has taken some getting used to but I think I’m doing ok. I have read that getting things in focus takes some practice so I’m curious to see how I did on that front.

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      1. OST Photographic Services Avatar
        OST Photographic Services

        Sounds great…

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  5. First photos on the Yashica Mat 124g | Blatherskite Avatar
    First photos on the Yashica Mat 124g | Blatherskite

    […] As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I received my new camera in the mail from KEH.com. As soon as I got home from work I loaded it up with film (Portra 400) and took it out to shoot a few pictures. Those first few shots didn’t come out exceptionally well, composition-wise. Here is one that I took the next day at the library: […]

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  6. Week 6 – A Yashica and almost instant gratification | 52 rolls

    […] week I decided to take out my favorite camera, my Yashica Mat 124g. I bought this camera two years (ish) ago. It was the first nice film camera I bought – a […]

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