Vintage Camera Tees Designed by Me!
Pentax MX Tee
I had started this project about a year ago and never really completed it as I would have liked. I finally decided to quit sitting on the idea and pursue it. The concept is to have an image of an old camera printed on the front of a t-shirt with it appearing to be a real camera worn by the person. The camera straps could actually be extended up to look as though it is hanging on the front of them.
Yashica Electro 35 Tee
I started by shooting my beloved Pentax MX slr, Yashica Electro 35 GSN rangefinder, and Canon Canonet QL17 GIII rangefinder. I got them posted on my website that night. I decided the next day to do some more, so I shot my vintage Diana plastic camera, Kodak Brownie Chiquita, and WWII era Rolleiflex twin lens reflex (tlr).
Vintage Rolleiflex Tee
I’ve got them on my website through RedBubble and I think they came out great. Had to tweak the sizes a bit to give them a realistic look. Thinking of ordering the Pentax one for myself because it’s my favorite camera and it’ll be cool to wear it even when I’m not 
Upcoming Events!
Just an FYI about some events coming up where I will be showing my work.
Saturday, April 30, 2011, 10am-7pm Life is Art Fest in Boca Raton, Florida
Friday, May 6, 2011, 6-9pm East Village Uncorked in Pompano Beach, Florida
Come on by, see my work in person and say “Hi!” All the work I sell at events is hand signed by me on the spot and I can even personalize gifts with the name of whomever you are giving it to
Analog Soul Photography Booth at Riverwalk Blues Festival
Vivian Maier and Rolleiflex Inspiration
In recent months, I have been in a little “slump” in my photographic adventures. Luckily, in October when I took a driving trip to see my family in Virginia, my father gave me a Koni Omega Rapid (oddball medium format), Graflex Crown Graphic (large format), and a Rolleiflex Automat (twin lens reflex) to use! He’s always been good like that and I think that seeing me getting back into film photography made him want to hand these off to someone to use again…they were just sitting in drawers in their dank basement.
Goodies from Dad
I got home with these new gems and was getting some great inspiration just by having these cameras in my hot little hands. Upon my return, I was on flickr catching up and someone had posted about a photographer by the name of Vivian Maier from Chicago that had just been “discovered” after her passing. He made mention of her use of a Rolleiflex and this really intrigued me. I found more information on the web about her shooting through many decades with her Rollei and that there were thousands of rolls of film found of hers. There were two major things that made me very interested in her; the fact that she was a woman photographer in a time when it was very male dominated, and that she used a Rolleiflex camera rather than a more “dainty” 35mm or other smaller camera that a typical woman of the era would.
"A Seat on South Beach" shot with Rolleiflex Automat
I came to read about her, watch videos and see her story explode across the internet. What a find this John Maloof had come across! Thoughts of her falling into obscurity went through my mind and made me so thankful that John had the wisdom to see the great value of this woman’s images and the story of her life. There is now a display of her work and a couple of her cameras in Chicago…makes me really want to go there to see it and the place that she had called home for so much of her life.
"Boca Grande Light III" shot with Rolleiflex Automat
Now this Rolleiflex that my father had entrusted me with had so much more meaning to me. It started with a fascination of the German engineering of a machine that was made around WWII and now the added interest of a mid century woman photographer having used a very similar camera. I can’t wait to use the camera more and watch the incredible story of this amazingly talented woman photographer unfold.
"Boca Grande Light II" shot with Rolleiflex Automat
Twin Lens Reflex Cameras
I have long had a passion for twin lens cameras. Dad let me use his Yashica Mat 124g when I was 13 or 14 years old. He even guided me in the darkroom for developing the 120 negatives. It was the beginning of my medium format shooting and darkroom experiences.
I used my Pentax MX 35mm through high school and college and picked up the Yashica Mat again in the late 80s. There was just something about the twin lens camera that inspired me…the classic ground glass viewing, the large size of the negatives, or maybe just the square format. It was always fun to get the twin lens out for a day of shooting.
“Dilapidated Barn” c. 1988 shot with Dad’s Yashica Mat 124g
Well, Dad had a habit of selling his gear at camera shows in exchange for other stuff, so the Yashica went to a new home. I expressed that I missed the tlr, so he said I could use his Chinese Pearl River version. I took it home and put a few rolls through it, then put it away as the appeal of electronic wizardry snuck into my brain. As the 90s went into the new millennium, I went to digital cameras…until last year (2009) when I dove right back into film photography again. I pulled that Pearl River out of the box of my stored camera collection. The magic was back in my hands…though this was a very lowly version of a tlr, it was a pleasure to use and produced lovely images. This was also the first time in my photographic history that I became comfortable not using a handheld meter and using “the meter in my head.”
Pearl River 4-s Twin Lens Reflex Camera
“Up the Lox Tree” shot with Pearl River TLR
I made another trip to Virginia recently and Dad “loaned” me yet another tlr…this time a legendary Rolleiflex! I was thrilled to finally get my hands on such a renowned camera. It is one of the earlier Automat models from just after WWII with the Xenar f3.5 lens. Even though it’s not one of the uber expensive 50s or 60s versions, it’s still wonderful. I have shot a couple of rolls in it and the German engineering is truly awe inspiring…especially for its age! I am looking forward to many more years with this vintage beauty.
Rolleiflex Automat
“Boca Grande Light III” shot with Rolleiflex Automat
