My new second-hand lens gifts us autumn sunshine

It was the end of October, the sun was peeking out that day. I went out with my Sony alpha 99 in hand and had a mission: to take photos and test the new second-hand lens.

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My favourite lens (Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.4) said bye-bye in September. The focus ring no longer works. I was only reminded of the malfunction when I was about to go on holiday at the end of October. But it was no longer realistic to bring it in for repair to then take it with me on holiday. It remains to be seen whether a repair is possible at all.

As the camera was supposed to come with me, I looked for another solution. The solution was: Look on Kleinanzeigen (german online classifieds) for an alternative lens. No sooner said than done.

The universe was very kind to me and I came across a new second-hand lens via Kleinanzeigen. It wasn't the same model but for me it was absolutely comparable (Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.7). I was able to have a look at it in the neighbourhood before I decided to buy it and the price was more than fair. The seller was friendly and we chatted a bit about analogue photography before I left. A really good Kleinanzeigen buying experience.

I checked out the lens at home. First indoors. And then outdoors. And so we are back at the beginning of this text. I went out with my Sony alpha 99 in hand and had a mission: to take photos and test the new second-hand lens.
Result: Test passed.

~

If you're like me and miss the sunshine of warmer days, perhaps these pictures bring a bit of comfort today.


Camera + lens: Sony alpha 99 + Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.7

just one picture & how it was created: The ivy coat of the house

The ivy coat of the house

2024

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Frankfurt. Starting from the grounds of the Japanese film festival, I was on the way to a restaurant. "Walk instead of taking the metro", I say to myself. I don't know my way around Frankfurt. On good days, all the more reason to walk. On bad days, absolutely the opposite and I would definitely take the metro. So it was a good day.

Not far from the grounds and I am captivated by the sight of this house. This house with its turret wears a beautiful coat of ivy. I position myself on a street corner, exactly where I end up taking this photo. I work on the exposure settings. Through the viewfinder, I see the top window of the turret, covered in ivy, opening. An older man, well-dressed, shows himself and looks out. He looks in my direction and waves. I turn round to the back to see who might be standing behind me and would wave back. To my astonishment, or perhaps shock, I don't see anyone there. He's waving at me. Hicks.

He looks friendly but I'm still embarrassed and feel like I've been caught out. I finally wave back and he stands there for a while. I wonder if he wants me to take a photo of him. He gets lost in this big house and the photo, and I don't really like taking photos of strangers anyways. I wait in a very obvious manner and don't take a photo.

He goes back from the window and closes it. Everything is as before. And I take my photo. With this memory between the grains of film.


Camera + lens: Minolta Dynax 7000i + Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.4
Film: Agfaphoto APX100
Development + scan: ON FILM LAB

Tschüssikowski 2024 and Hallu 2025!

In November, I asked myself whether I should do anything for the end of the year. A recap of the year? Although I love recaps, I don't yet know to what extent I will look back on my 2024 on the blog. The last blog birthday wasn't that long ago and as it covered quite a lot of the year, there's the possibility that I'd repeat myself. But I do have one or another vague idea for a recap. But this will happen earliest in January. We'll see.

Before I say goodbye to the soon-to-be old year and welcome the soon-to-be new year, a thought popped up in my head: a thanks to Kato from kommunikato. She and her project heul nicht, mach doch! and/or her newsletter made me wanting to reach the 100. 100 blog posts. And only after that figure, I could give up in case it wouldn't work out. I thought of this again the other day when I heard about consistency in a photography podcast. I cracked 100 this year and here I am - this is post 141. Pretty proud and happy with my blog in 2024 ✨ I liked this thought for the end of the year and and this needed to be said.

Now and finally: Tschüssikowski 2024 and Hallu 2025! I wish you a smooth start to the new year! 🎇


Camera + lens: Minolta Dynax 7000i + Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.4
Film: CatLABS X FILM 320
Development + scan: fotobrell