I have been maintaining a photography website since 2011 to showcase landscape, nature, and architectural photography. I am now going to change the focus of TMphotosite.com to be oriented towards the process of creating photographs rather than the end product. That means, equipment, technique, process, inspiration, and all things in between. Using vintage photo gear is one of my core interests, and I use everything from 1940s folding cameras, to 1950s Graflex “press” cameras, to 1960s and 1970s Mamiya medium format cameras, to 35mm SLR cameras of the 1970-1990 period. As a cheap Midwesterner, I acquire just about everything at low cost and restore it back to good working order. Of course, some equipment simply isn’t available unless one can pay the going price for it, so that happens from time to time as well.
I learned photography back in the late 1970s with vintage medium format equipment – Graflex Century Graphic and Rolleiflex cameras. I also developed film and created prints in a darkroom, and still do that with black and white, including using a 4×5 Omega enlarger. In 2020, I started using high-quality digital cameras, with just a few “modern” lenses and a mountain of vintage 35mm era lenses. Since 2002, I have been scanning negatives and slides from vintage cameras and producing all color output (prints, canvas, etc.) using digital technology. I haven’t met anybody in the past 20 years or so (especially myself!) who misses creating color prints in a traditional darkroom. Digital image processing also enables us to simulate printing black and white negatives without testing everything the hard way. Thank God for digital photography!
Given my varied background and range of experience, and travels to various locations, there will be plenty of fun things to bring to this blog. I’ll usually travel to a few locations every year – The Appalachian Mountains, Lake Superior, Upper Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and various places around the Southeast and Midwest – to create new images and enjoy the magnificent natural environment. In addition, I am always repairing, testing and using some new (actually “ancient” “old” or “vintage” is more accurate) piece of equipment. Finally, I will try to introduce readers to some posts on traditional film and black and white printing processes too. Stay tuned.
TMphotosite.com is dedicated to keeping alive the art of photography as experienced through the use of vintage equipment and processes. Digital equipment and processes significantly enhance the enjoyment and efficiency of photography, making vintage equipment more useful and fun. Tim McCauley, the creator and author of TMphotosite.com, is a longtime photographer of landscapes, nature, and architecture. His photographs can be seen at pinemountainprints.com.
