Through The Month of April

So last month I did a Roll In A Day A Day In A Roll, and I must say that the first time around was fun, but nothing like #2..  I really enjoyed shooting the second roll, my last roll of Ektar 100, which I've since replaced with a new one, and using my Exakta.  The fun part about the Exakta is that it's backward compared to a regular SLR.  In fact, compared to pretty much any camera it is backward.  The shutter release is on the left, instead of the right, and you're expected to hold it left handed, while focusing with your right.  It just doesn't feel all that natural.  Must admit, though, it's a fun camera to use!

So beside using the Exakta, there is far more that went on during the month of April.  For one, I ended up getting pretty ill, which was not fun, and hampered my shooting, and considering that I never got a chance to get out much because of that, I didn't get out every day like usual.
Nonetheless, I still managed to really enjoy the month, considering there were some days that were amazingly warm, for April, and other days that were just miserably cold.  Snow days included!  Whoever knew you could got from 25°C weather to snow and -1°C in just 48 hours!  Well, it happened.   Too bad I didn't get any shots of the snow falling.  That would have been fun to post, considering the previous day was much warmer.  Go figure!

Yet I still managed to participate in a rather fun little project, that looks like it's going to be every month, so I might, or might not, participate in #3, which will be held on May 19th.
Personally, I think that every month is rather excessive, but it does give people the chance to come and go as they please, and those that didn't get a chance to take part in the previous, well, they can take part a little easier in the next.
I did get a fair number of outings, from using my son's little Pentax P&S zoom, to my Canonet QL25, and my Nikkormats.  I even got my Rolleicord V used and Bronica, so it was a month well spent!
I can't complain when I manage to get my 120 cameras out, as the images are just so much more superior to those of 35mm, but that said, I don't see myself ever doing away with 35mm.  It's just too much fun to shoot!

I also learned a rather valuable lesson this month, regarding lens repair.  ALWAYS make sure you put the lens back together without accidentally flipping an element the wrong way.  You'll still get sharp images, depending on which element, but you end up losing out in the corners, such as the  case in point with my Argus C3.  The image to the left was shot on my C3, and sure it looks fantastic, if I do say so myself, it has a very vintage feel to it, almost like it was a glass plate, which it is shot to emulate, but there's another problem.  The edges of the image are all, well, fuzzy.  This is because I accidentally assembled the lens with an element in backward, and didn't realize it until I got the roll of film back.  At first, I was dismayed at what I had done, except I didn't realize it at first.  I thought, "Oh crap, this lens is shot!" ....  but instead of shelving the camera, I decided to think very carefully what it could be.  I had seen countless images that were fantastic, shot on a C3, but for some reason there was something amiss with mine.  Well, low and behold, I was able to figure it out, and sure enough, now the images out of this camera are perfect!  (or at least close enough to it...) err, well I guess provided I remember to ADVANCE the film to the next frame.  Unlike the image that I shot of the preserver rings.  Nonetheless, if I intended on this double exposure, I'm sure that it wouldn't look quite so good.