Moon, Flowers, Cat

Waxing Gibbous on the evening of Jan. 6, 2012

It was a clear evening and the moon was inviting. So I took out my tripod, telescope and my Olympus E-P3 which was already fitted with a T-mount to micro 4/3 adapter. This was my first attempt at capturing the moon with the E-P3 and telescope combo. The crisp picture of the moon showing up on the LCD screen was a delightful surprise. It practically covered the whole screen! No crop was needed for this shot!



It's been a while since I took out my OM 50mm f3.5 auto macro lens. This winter we are experiencing a very mild winter and despite several days of frost there are still daisies on the bush! They are always one of my favorite macro subjects.



Here's a shot of another daisy.



What a pleasant and delightful surprise it was to see Bird's Eye Speedwell on the ground in the winter! In the spring the ground would be covered with this pretty flowering weed! These are very tiny flowers and they measure not quite half an inch in diameter.



How can I not take a picture of my cat that loves to be with me in the yard when I am holding my camera? She was having a jolly old time "bathing" in the dirt that the gopher left on the ground!


*All pictures were shot with Olympus E-P3*

Vintage Cameras

I had never owned a 35mm SLR camera before because I couldn't afford one. My film camera experience was confined to the film point and shoot cameras, and I still remember my very first Minolta semi-auto focus which I bought when I was in college. Boy, did it take quality pictures! Haze started to accumulate in the view finder as years went by, and one of my brothers was the last person to have used it. I am not sure if it is still in his possession. Now I own several vintage film cameras! :-) My mother-in-law gave me about five and recently I acquired a few more from eBay.

 

  I won this beautiful range finder Yashica Electro 35 on eBay. It appears to be a working one, and I am still waiting for the battery to arrive before I can fully test it with film. Size-wise it is slightly larger than the OM-2n, and it is even a teeny bit larger than the Minolta Hi-matic 7s (given to me by my mother-in-law) which I thought was large!

 

  This beautiful Olympus OM-G is also another acquisition from eBay. I have several OM lenses that I use, with an adapter, on my Olympus E-620 and Olympus E-P3, and it makes perfect sense to actually own an Olympus OM SLR or two, right? I have not tested it with film yet, but the camera is in good working condition.

 


  When I received this Olympus OM-2n, also a recent acquisition from eBay, I was dismayed to see only darkness when I looked through the viewfinder. Dang it, the seller sold me a camera without a mirror!! No, no, he did not! :-) Turns out the camera is capable of interchangeable focusing screens and the mirror was in the up position when it was shipped to me. A tool to flip it back down did not come with the camera but the user's manual says using the finger carefully to bring it down works as well. I've not tested this camera either, but it is in good working condition. I need to use up the rolls of film in two other cameras before I start testing these recent acquisitions.

 

  Today I contacted my niece, who is into photography, and asked if she'd like this Canon AE-1. The answer was a resounding "Yes!" She told me she could not wait to hold the camera in her hands. The camera is now with a Vietnamese friend who is taking it back to Vietnam with him so he can have it CLA'd at a camera service shop there. It costs a lot less to have it serviced there and he will return it to me, together with a Minolta XG-7, via a friend who travels between California and Vietnam frequently. 

  Today I won an Olympus Trip 35 (I was the only bidder) on eBay. So my collection of vintage cameras grows!

Frosty Morning Pictures

I love taking pictures of the tiny ice crystals on what are left of my African daisies and scabiosa. My fingers were freezing but it was worth the few minutes I spent taking these pictures!