User:Tarn McDaddo

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My love of photography began early in life. Both of my parents had a strong interest in amateur photography, and I have been around cameras as long as I can remember. As nearly as I am able to tell, the first time I shot an entire roll of film on my own was at the age of 6, with an old Kodak Brownie that my father had received in his early teens (shot on 127 film). I used that camera off and on for a few years until I received my first camera that was all mine: a Kodak Instamatic X-15, received at age 8.

Between the ages of 8 and about 15 I shot with a variety of cheap, low-quality cameras, until I took a photography class in high school. At that time I began learning to use my first serious camera, my father's 1966 Yashica J-5, which I took over after he bought himself a new camera outfit. It was through that camera that I really learned how film exposure works, how it can be manipulated, and how film responds to variations in lighting and camera settings. The camera is fully mechanical, with fully manual settings, and requires a significant amount of thought with each shot--one must first meter the scene with a small light meter built into the top of the camera (guessing at what it is pointing at), then transfer the settings to the shutter and aperture. Focusing is of course manual only.

In college I started getting more deeply interested in photography, part of which included a rapidly growing interest in vintage camera gear. I inherited a few vintage cameras through family connections, then through extended connections, but also bought cameras at vintage gear swap meets and thrift stores.

A few vintage cameras in my collection:

...plus several Argus C-3s, other Kodak folding cameras, and a variety of cheap Kodak snapshot cameras (Duaflex, Brownie, Instamatic, etc).


About Me




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