We’re sure your vintage camera collection is still missing at least one or two of these rare Leica cameras.
Leica cameras easily make it onto a lot of photographers’ wishlists and and become their tools of the trade. But for those who are also avid vintage camera fans, rare Leica models can be the Holy Grail cameras of a collection. If that sounds like you, we put together a roundup of five rare Leica cameras that we believe will make great additions to your acquisitions.
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Ads and commercials are always fun when you have a fun product, as these fun Minolta commercials from the ’80s prove!
With the recent vintage camera ads we’ve featured being on the fun and interesting side, it was only a matter of time before we spotted and shared today’s commercials. If you’ve shot with or still have the Minolta compact featured here, you’re in for a treat. But if you’ve never seen the camera before, your curiosity will definitely be piqued!
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It’s a new year, so let’s kick it off with some smartphone camera fun.
Let’s be honest; smartphone photography started as a bit of gimmick. It was fun to think you could create a photograph with a tiny, pocket-sized device. Since then, smartphone photography has become big business, and many photographers are advocates for doing the core of their work on a mobile device. But, we don’t want to get too lost in all the seriousness that comes with the creative world. We want to go back to having a little bit of fun while checking out some cool photography. So we’re going to play a game. Are you ready?
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All photos and words by David Levitz. Used with permission.
I’m David Levitz from San Francisco and I’m a hobbyist street and travel photographer. I use photography like many others as my creative outlet from my normal day to day work. I’m fascinated by cinematic scenes, night colors, poor weather conditions, and urban environments and the people within them. When I take photos I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for but often it’s silhouettes of people in interesting places or dramatic colors/moods. I try my best to capture imagery that’s unique to me.
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All images by Bo Wen Huang. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Anyone into urban exploration will tell you abandoned places are home to a lot of history, nostalgia, and drama that are simply perfect for photography. If the more emotive side of photography appeals to you, today’s body of work will definitely inspire you to seek these forgotten spaces. In his Abandoned Taiwan snaps, Taipei-based Bo Wen Huang takes us to many different places in the country that show various scenes and stages of decay, each with its own mood and imagery.
Here’s a vintage camera ad from Nikon that doesn’t require rocket science for photographers to appreciate!
While commercials and advertisements that sell straight up do the job well enough, it’s always been the creative and disruptive ads that make a difference. So, for today’s dose of retro goodness, we thought about sharing one of those witty, vintage camera ads that we no longer see in today’s promotional materials. This one is especially a bonus for long-time Nikon users, especially those who may have started their photography journey with this film SLR camera!
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All photos by Denis Vejas. Used with Creative Commons permission.
A compelling documentary photography project rarely comes easy. More often than not, a story unfolds out of tips from locals, chasing leads, and keeping an eye out for stories that are unique, untold, and unexpected. These are just some of the lessons that we can learn from an interesting work of Lithuanian documentary photographer Denis Vejas, who spent one winter in Kazakhstan in 2011 to 2012 to document life for its last Sufi dervish shaman.
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All images by Saiful Huq Omi. Used with permission.
“I really do not want to go into details about my own traumatic experiences,” says Saiful Huq Omi. Omi is a photojournalist who, for the past 12 years, has been documenting the oppression and genocide of the Rohingyas. The Rohingyas are Muslim people based in Rakhine State, Myanmar. After the Burmese government revoked their citizenship, the community has been left stateless, now living a life of pain and suffering. After his first visit to the community, Omi became deeply connected to their struggle. He made it his mission to ensure their story was told. In 2018, in conjunction with Schilt Publishing, Omi released his work in the form of a photobook. However, that’s not where the story ends, and even today, he is fighting hard to get people to listen.
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All photos by Kristina Makeeva. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Everyone knows the power of beautifully captured cat and dog portraits (and how these photos can turn the cutest pets into Internet superstars). Anyone who wants to take better pet portraits, especially of cats, are in for a treat with the adorable work of Moscow-based Kristina Makeeva. While these feisty felines are often challenging to photograph, the results are rewarding, as she demonstrates in the portraits of her cat, Kotleta.
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All photos by Laura Emerson. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Man has long been captivated by the quest to explore the unfathomable expanse of the universe. Yet, there are still depths right on our own planet that we haven’t reached. To some degree, we don’t have to look far for worlds that are strange, otherworldly, and unfamiliar. In her clever and stunning underwater series, London-based Laura Emerson shows that the wonders of the cosmos lay not only in some distant corner of deep space, but also right here on our home world.
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Markus Hofstaetter recently shared how he makes ground glass for a large format camera in this cool video.
Austrian wet plate and wedding photographer Markus Hofstaetter has always been our go-to guy when it comes to all things cool about large format photography, especially wet plate photography. Aside from taking impressive, one-of-a-kind snaps, he’s also quite the handyman with his cameras and often makes modifications and DIY parts required by his projects. The latest of these is DIY ground glass for the large format camera. As always, he documented the process in a cool video and shared a bit of information about it with us.
Does anyone remember this Polaroid Land Camera with a “countdown” feature? Let this vintage camera ad remind you if you’ve forgotten!
Polaroid cameras from decades past remain among the most popular and beloved when it comes to vintage cameras, revered alongside their modern counterparts. That’s why, apart from the cameras themselves, a lot of instant photography fans find themselves fascinated with the vintage camera ads that feature them. Today, put the spotlight on one such ad, which takes us back all the way to 1970.
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Street Photographer Glenn Batkin tells a story of butterflies in a way we’ve never seen.
“Lucky for me they never asked to see a portfolio because unbeknownst to them, I had just purchased my first digital SLR only a month before,” explains Glenn Batkin to us on how he got into photography. This sense of adventure sets the tone for the experimental playfulness we find throughout his series on butterflies. Glenn is an NYC based photographer and has been shooting for over a decade. His work is mostly documentary-based, and these days he identifies as a street photographer. When you’re used to reacting to things happening in front of you, it may seem that photographing a subject like a butterfly could be almost too easy. But, Glenn does it masterfully in a way we’ve never really seen before.
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This commercial from the not so distant past will make you wonder why Kodak didn’t seem to make it big in the digital era.
While Kodak is still around, it remains revered for its rich film legacy and not really for any of its digital offerings. In fact, the Kodak disposable camera (or single-use camera, if you’d rather call it) is more popular today than any of its EasyShare digital point-and-shoot cameras. It’s actually puzzling, as a commercial from the mid-1990s reminds us of the time that the company seemed to have understood what it meant to take pictures further.
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The ladies of 1912 were toying with the idea of selfies long before the smartphone era – or so this vintage camera ad seems to suggest.
The recent decade saw the world so enamored in selfies that it has gone from a seemingly innocent preoccupation to an obsession likened to a mental disorder. But, self-portraiture isn’t only a thing of recent times, and there are several things that prove it. One of them is a vintage camera ad showing how it was done way back in 1912 — or not.
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Having a black and white aesthetic can add a touch of class to boudoir photography.
When executed correctly, boudoir photography is one of the more polished and artistic genres within the field of photography. Shooting the work in black and white adds an extra layer of sophistication to it, making it extra appealing to those who view it. Of course, other components like strong lighting and an experienced model contribute to giving the imagery and extra edge. But being a master of the black and white look is going to push the photographs a little bit further than the rest. Thankfully, there are incredibly masterful photographers working today in black and white boudoir photography. We’re going to take a look at five of the best.
All photos by Hengki Koentjoro. Used with Creative Commons permission.
From one of our favorite black and white landscape photographers comes another stunning series showcasing the beauty of the sea. This time, he takes us to Banten Province of Indonesia, where he captured the mighty waves of Sawarna Beach and transformed them into minimalist monochrome masterpieces. If you’re looking for some inspiration for landscape photography in glorious black and white, we’re sure you’ll be impressed with his take whether you’ve been following his works for a while or seeing them for the first time.
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Well, what do you know, turns out Bender from Futurama is one passionate film photographer!
If you’re looking for something to tickle your funnybone, we come bearing some photography humor! This time, it’s a quick dose of pop culture stuff courtesy of Matt Groening’s (yep, the same guy that gave us The Simspons) animated sci-fi sitcom Futurama. If you’re a film photographer this one is especially for you!
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All photos by Jonas Daley. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Among our favorite approaches to landscape photography are those that invite the viewer to abandon the familiar and use their imagination to look at a certain location. It definitely shows in many of the alien-inspired vistas and abstract-driven works we’ve featured in the past. The latest to catch our attention is a surreal series by New York-based Jonas Daley, where he transforms the mountainous expanse of China into an infrared-inspired wonderland. If you like the look and colors of this dreamy aesthetic, we think his work will catch your attention.
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For your dose of vintage camera ads today, we bring a bunch of Japanese commercials showcasing the Asahi Pentax as the camera for the intrepid traveler.
If you’ve been looking forward to the vintage camera ads and commercials we’ve been sharing recently, we’re sure you’ll like today’s bunch. In case you missed it, Pentax recently turned 100 years. So, we thought it would be nice to share these quirky commercials from Japan, starring the Asahi Pentax cameras as worthy travel companions. Those who still have their vintage Pentax cameras will definitely find the ads extra amusing!
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All photos by Jérôme Epaillard and Teresa Machado. Used with Creative Commons permission.
If impressive and eye-catching architectural photography is among your passions, it pays to learn different approaches to the craft. Many of the bodies of work we place in the spotlight, however, also feature the tried and tested techniques of showcasing the details of buildings and other architectural elements. Our latest addition to this list is a collection of industrial architecture snaps by Paris-based photographer pair Jérôme Epaillard and Teresa Machado. If you need some ideas on how to pay closer attention to details and bring it to your own architectural photography, we’re sure you’ll find a great deal here.
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