Tag: snapshot aesthetic

Contax TVS

Posted on by eddietay in Colour

In a previous post on the snapshot aesthetic, I mentioned zone focusing with Olympus XA2 and auto-focusing with Minolta AF-C.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, behold my Contax TVS. It has an aperture priority mode and a program mode. There’s auto-focus (which you could override with a dial).

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This allows me to be more stealthy, and the motorized whirring is not too loud.

I consider the Contax TVS series to be the baby brother of the Contax T1/2/3 series of which T2 is much celebrated, or the Contax G series of cameras.

It has the Vario Sonnar lens which allows for zooming, for days when I’m too lazy to zoom with my feet.

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This lady popped out and I responded quickly enough…

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“Oops, what’s this?” I thought as I was looking at the negative.

The panoramic mode was activated without me knowing.

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Oh oh …

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Hm.

The panoramic mode is basically a cropping of the frame by the camera, and the panels were unhinged.

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I felt there was an intuitive bond between me and the Contax TVS… was I imagining things?

It’s built like a tank, and I could take myself seriously when I’m holding it… I was so looking forward to serious days…

After a moment of reflection and in that rare moment of sanity, I returned the camera to the store.

There were 2 Nikon 35Ti‘s beckoning, and a Fuji “sardine can” Tiara as well.

It was then that I had a Prufrockian moment:

Do I dare disturb the universe?

In a minute there is time

For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

I waved goodbye (in my mind only) to those cameras.

The person at the store kept my number, noted my mournful expression, and 3 days later, I was told there’s another Contax TVS in the store, this one with the original strap, manual (in Japanese), case and lens cap.

I took it out for a spin.

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Woohoo!

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The panoramic mode here was fully intended. This was the only panoramic shot I took. I don’t expect to use it much. It’s a bit tacky I think…

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Happy happy joy joy.

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All is fine – I tilted the camera and shook it this way and that to see if the panoramic mode would kick in.

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I zoomed in and out and it’s fine.

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Zooming in … and it’s still ok.

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Yup, we have a winner here.

The Force is strong with this one…

O happy day!

The Snapshot Aesthetic

Posted on by eddietay in Colour

I’ve been using Olympus XA2 for quite some time now and have been mulling over how zone focusing allows me to compose more quickly.

I happened to come across the lesser-known Minolta AF-C and yes, it’s auto-focus.

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Load it with Kodak UltraMax 400 and it’s pure joy if you’re pursuing a snapshot aesthetic.

You could focus really quickly and the saturated colours would work for those with a taste for lomography.

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The word “snapshot” hints of amateurism, and I suppose it goes against the conventional rules of professional photography concerning proper framing and lighting, etc.

There’s a scholarly article here on how the snapshot aesthetic is being used to persuade in advertising photography.

You could say that commercial photographers have appropriated the style of the amateurs.

The entire style (and persona) of Terry Richardson, right down to his use of non-professional cameras, is based on this approach.

On the other hand, it also has also allowed the work of folks like Lee Friedlander and Garry Winogrand to be taken seriously by the establishment.

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Me, I like the reds and greens.

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I suppose there’s something covert about street photography in that it is aligned with the transgressions of street art.

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It’s true that I tend to take photographs of people in candid moments.

When I’m in the zone, I’ve become quite adept at reading body language and tracking eye movements…

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Though sometimes, non-humans are fascinating too.

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So are serendipitous arrangements of objects that “make sense” and cohere.

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I’m making a point to look for “found exhibitions”.

After all, the entire world is an exhibition if you know how to look.