Most of the photographs I made with this camera were at home and around my neighborhood, due to those lockdowns. I was able to relearn how exposure works and how to compose in pleasing ways. I tried out only one color emulsion and one black and white emulsion and loved both. But I was really feeling black and white in those days.

This was made with Ilford Delta 100 and the SMC Pentax 28mm f2.8 on an overcast spring day. We were walking around one of the many lakes in our neighborhood and I was trying to compose with simple rule of thirds compositions. It led to this high contrast scene that could almost be a silhouette of the landscape. The serenity that was felt everywhere you went in those days, simply due to lack of crowds, was captured here and I loved it.

I made a lot of great photos with this camera. But there was one moment when I realized that I had become a photographer, more than just some dude with a camera.

I was with some students on a study abroad in Costa Rica and had taken this V-Lux with me. I had taken a few photo walks and made a nice landscape up in the mountains, but this moment, when I photographed this howler monkey, this was when I knew I needed to keep shooting.

It is still one of my favorite photographs I've ever made. It is what gave me the confidence to keep shooting with that old and outdated V-Lux for so long. Why get another camera if I was making photos like this with this hunk of ancient hardware? The batteries are so old at this point that they barely hold a charge, but I still pick it up from time to time and photograph birds in my backyard. I think I'll always have this camera for what it did for me.

I took the Q with me everywhere. And I really fell in love with the 28mm focal length. While I have preferred 50mm these days, even for street photography, I really do enjoy going back to 28mm. So whether it was walking streets of Miami, where I call home, or traveling elsewhere, I felt a level of comfort with the Q that I hadn't felt before.

This photograph was made in the Miami neighborhood of Coconut Grove. I was able to just go out and make street photos at home, which is not something I usually do as time rarely permits it. But on this day, I had time. I took the camera with me and just walked. I was nearing the end of my photo walk when I stopped to compose this window. As I was composing the shot, this young boy, walking a few paces ahead of his family, hopped into frame and peered into the window, spying on the stories happening inside. It was such a perfect moment and it has become one of my favorite street photos.

Going back to film allowed me to slow down, stop taking pictures, and start making photographs. It was years after the COVID pandemic and film was not as scarce as it once was. I was able to shoot FujiColor 200 for pretty cheap and discovering Palm Film Lab in Miami allowed me to get my negatives developed and scanned with quick turnaround times and at reasonable prices.

This is the hardest camera from which I chose a favorite as I think I improved my photography most with it. I was much more selective with when to release the shutter and therefore created more keepers than ever before. This one was made with Kodak Pro Image 100 and the Summicron-R 50mm f2 lens while cruising aboard the Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady. The rolls shot on this cruise are what started to move me back to 50mm as my primary focal length.

I have traveled with it and made some amazing photographs, but it was acquired at a time when I was moving back to film. Today, I am exclusively a film shooter unless I have been hired as a photographer, in which case I am expected to deliver digital photos. But every time I take this camera out, I love the experience.

This photo was made in York, England. I had just entered the Shambles neighborhood near York Minster when this dapper looking gentleman popped up in front of me. I believe he saw my camera and decided to become my subject without needing to be asked as he stepped into the light, creating some dramatic contrast of light and shadow on his face, and held this pose until I smiled and doffed my cap.

This camera is possibly the most over-engineered camera in the history of camera-making, but it sure is a joy to use. Everything from the viewfinder, to the shutter speed dial, to the film advance lever is perfect. And because of how amazing the R lenses are, I love the results I get from this camera.

I have not put many rolls of film through this camera, but each roll has given me at least one keeper. This one, actually, is from the test roll I shot with this camera to ensure there were no light leaks and that the shutter was working appropriately at all speeds. I loaded up some Kodak Tri-X 400 and went out with the Elmarit 35mm f2.8, which has become my favorite lens to shoot this camera with.

This was early in the photo walk, my third exposure. I saw this half frame composition, which I always love, and thought the humor of two people walking in the exact direction that multiple signs indicate to be wrong was too good not to pass up.

After a test roll made here in Miami, I immediately took the camera with me to New York City where I put ten rolls of film through it and fell in love. And after the rolls I've shot, I have come to realize that my favorite color film is Kodak Ektachrome. There is something about the color rendering and the lack of grain that makes the final results an absolute joy to view.

This photographs was made on 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. I was noticing that as pedestrians crossed by this on spot where light was being reflected off a window, the shadow created was deep and dark, giving a reflected view of the person if shot low, while including their legs, the chosen mode of conveyance. So, I waited for the right moment and luckily prefocused on the right spot and caught an interesting hand gesture at the same time.