A podcast about cameras and camera collecting from Jeff Greenstein and Gabe Sachs, brought to you by the gang at the Sunny 16 Podcast.
Consulting Producer Tucker Sachs, the real brains behind I Dream of Cameras, has long lurked in the shadows with a bone and a chew toy, but in this episode he finally steps into the light. Also discussed: photo books, photo contests, photo walks and photo acquisitions, along with every syllable of your deathless prose from the Prodigious Mailbag™. It’s a doggie-dog world!
Daido Moriyama’s ’71 NY is an incredible photo book shot on an Olympus Pen W
Gabe had a blast at the latest Beers and Cameras feat. Joe Stitt
Spotted: a Fujica ST 801
check out Walker Evans' subway photo book, shot with a Contax II: Many Are Called
Jeff entered an Epson pano competition - any favorite photo contests?
Gabe really should get a Nikon SP, but in the meantime he finally snagged an ugly black-paint Nikon F from KEH
our new cult favorite film: FPP Color 125
bulk-loading and its discontents
Gabe scored a slew of point-and-shoots at a yard sale for a total of $28:
Polaroid announced an upgrade to their B&W 600 film - kudos!
The IDOC gang are planning a Polaroid-peel-apart-film-shooting festival
check out Sissi Lu's reels and IG live shots
Jeff is performing at the Ruskin Theatre in Santa Monica on Mother's Day (click See a Show and then look for Library Girl)
The Prodigious Mailbag™ features the Osmond brothers doing Crazy Horses
Hank Haddock’s ISO 3200 stickers (designed by Suné Horn) will help you avoid arguments at airport security - find them at tinyurl.com/savemyfilm
do you make photo books, and if so how?
and finally, Consulting Producer Tucker Sachs puts in an appearance
He wouldn’t…. Now that the long-raging and ill-advisedly-ignited Vivian Maier debate has finally died down, Jeff wouldn’t throw gasoline on those embers by expressing a Strong Opinion about some recent Viv-related news, would he? Well, you’ll just have to tune in to find out. Also discussed: the boys swap cities, Gabe in New York and Jeff in Los Angeles; recent shooting adventures with a slew of cameras both old and new; and the proper way to express your love of our smash hit podcast: through lavish gifts!
we had a tremendous response to the last episode — clearly 69 is something people really enjoy
heh heh heh, the folks at Camerosity took the bait — haven’t y’all read The Mouse That Roared?
Gabe’s adventures in New York shooting his Rolleiflex and Leica M10 with Sissi Lu (shoutout: Katz’s Deli) and Chris Chu (shoutout: Salt’s Cure), plus drive-bys at B&H and picturehouse + the small darkroom
Jeff sold his Robot Royal 24, but shipping to South Korea was twice as much as what the UPS website originally quoted, so he realized a net profit of $3.32
however, he still wanted a square-format 35mm, so bring on the Mamiya Sketch… which is delightful and quirky!
shooting the Canonflex R2000
shooting the Pentax MF with FPP Color 125 (see Jeff’s article in Casual Photophile)
a hearty thanks to super-listener Jeffry Pittman, who sent us a Baby Rollei, a Hermes 3000 typewriter, and lots of film
iPhone iOS 17.4 now includes podcast transcripts so you may enjoy our soaring rhetorical flourishes
Jeff mildly reacts to some recent Vivian Maier news
Gabe’s planning an all-medium-format film shoot with the Pentax 6x7, the Mamiya RZ67, and the Hasselblad 501CM
a passing mention of new friend Peter Kagan, about whom you will hear more
a bold voyage into our Prodigious Mailbag™
and finally, a fond farewell to the great Joe Flaherty
Paulina Porizkova joins the boys to offer her unique perspective on the art and business of fashion photography. How’d she get into it? What’s the most important thing a photographer should know about working with models? Why does Paulina call Irving Penn “Mr. Penn”? Does the fact that Jeff has a spreadsheet of when he last changed the batteries in his cameras render him more attractive? All this and much, much more in our sexy Episode № 69 — nice!
how Paulina got into modeling at age 15, how she learned the craft
her growing awareness of lighting and cameras
the dance between photographer and model, and how it’s altered by different types of camera
how a photographer’s behavior influences a model’s confidence
how real is the Veruschka scene from Blow-Up?
do you know if the shot is good?
how aware are you of camera equipment?
can what you know about modeling be taught?
pay attention to lighting! take a selfie when you look great!
were you ever interested in photography yourself?
her late husband Ric Ocasek’s interest in photography
studio vs. location shooting
the business of modeling is not what you think!
does the fact that Jeff has a spreadsheet of when he last changed the batteries in his cameras render him more attractive?
what is the most important thing a photographer should know about working with models?
is it different working with a female photographer?
working with Irving Penn and why P always calls him “Mister”
the one photographer she wishes she’d had a chance to work with: Helmut Newton
the resurgence of 35mm point-and-shoots in fashion photography, e.g. Marie Tomanova’s shoot for Czech Vogue
can you get a good shot of a model by being mean to her?
what’s it like shooting with your boyfriend, former photographer of plants and buildings?
the portrait by Jeff that P loves
her Top 5 photographers she enjoyed working with:
Mr. Penn
Arthur Elgort (author of Camera Ready and Camera Crazy)
Marcus Bard
what’s it like being constantly confronted with images of your younger self? do you have a favorite?
It’s an xlent xlerated xtralarge xtravaganza as Gabe and Jeff hack and slash their way to the bottom of the Prodigious Mailbag™, which features a slew of emails penned by celebrities under the pseudonym “Alan Peres.” Also discussed: cameras of ’55, cameras of ’24, Dune 2, SB2, SL3, FP4, HP5, Number Six and Zippora Seven! Tune in as we run the numbers!
Cameras in Focus 1955:
the Nikon SP was in development (which prompts a reprise of Jeff’s astonishing SP acquisition story)
a 1955 survey of 35mm cameras by price range
Jeff briefly acquired an Asahi Pentax SB2, rare variant of the H3/S3 sold only on Japanese military bases… but it was broken, so back it went
Gabe launches the Under $40 Camera Challenge!
The soon-come Pentax film compact camera will be a half-frame model with zone focusing
For the third straight time, Leica reports record revenue, plus the new SL3 is out
Gabe rhapsodizes about the monstrous Gowlandflex
Dave Tada picked Gabe up a coveted Nikkor 28mm f2.8…
…but he still yearns for an ugly black Nikon F
Dune 2 was shot on a $50 Helios-44!
Jeff watched the great Yu Tsai in action at the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue 60th anniversary shoot in Fort Lauderdale
We go XL to empty out the Prodigious Mailbag™
Our IDOC Discord channel is hoppin’! Join us!
“Pablo Larraín, the film’s Chilean director, felt [Jackie] Kennedy’s love of beauty was so integral to her character that he requested [Natalie] Portman utter ‘I love beauty’ at some point during the shooting of every scene.” This is absurd, but not as absurd as Episode № 67 of I Dream of Cameras, “Your Extra Time and Your Kiss,” in which we discuss cameras called Beauty and Kiss and Super. Tune in for all the mayhem!
Jeff made yet another math error! 64 is 2 to the fifth
Gabe presents… Cameras in Focus, 1956:
Beauty 35 Super(“I love beauty”)
Jeff snagged a Canon EOS New Kiss Panorama (a.k.a. Rebel G, a.k.a. Rebel 500N) for $14.50 and gave it to his brother Steven
After much equivocation, and after handling the lens at B&H, he concluded he does not need the extravagantly-priced 30mm for the Hasselblad XPan
Gabe did an all-film photo shoot with Claire Hinkley during the recent L.A. monsoon
Also shot Kylie Silkman and her sister Danica with the stunning Helios-44 lens
Jason Schneider's books on camera collecting are amazing
Perplexity.ai is a useful tool for camera comparisons
We will try to chat with y’all on Discord - check the #idoc-podcast channel under Sunny 16
Don Goldberg at DAG helped Gabe fix the broken strap guard on his Leica M6 TTL
And finally, a deep dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™!
It’s a voyage to the bottom of the Prodigious Mailbag™ on our Smash Hit Podcast™, but before that there’s talk of the year in photography 1957, the revived Southern California camera show, Jeff’s trip to the Caribbean with a sexy Swede and also his girlfriend, eBay execs sending pig fetuses to their critics, and so much more!
Jeff made yet another major math error! 64 is 2 cubed
Sorry, but Parenting Hell is not a smash hit podcast
Gabe presents The Year in Focus 1957:
Concava Tessina watch camera TLR
Leica M2 (for real) which when new went for $276, or $2,884.37 in today’s dollars
Asahi came out with the original Pentax
Gabe went to the new Huntington Park camera show (very exciting) and nearly bought a Contax T
Jeff visited 5R Photo Lab in New York and met proprietor Alec
A trip to St. Barth’s, French West Indies occasioned the return of the XPan, and a love affair was reignited
Jeff shot with both Portra 400 and 160… and liked 160 better!
Gabe visited Jeff and P in NYC, went to B&H Photo, bought nothing…
…but then ordered an Exa 1B and a Helios-44 lens
Mint unveiled their coming-soon Rollei 35AF — apparently anyone can license the name “Rollei” for a buck fifty — but who needs this thing?
A bunch of eBay execs were creepy criminals
Jeff got a cool Minox film slitter from camerhack.it
Check out RitchieCam, a camera app for iPhone with an XPan emulation mode
A dive so deep into our Prodigious Mailbag™ that it requires a bathyscaphe
Gabe wants to hear about online photography websites you love - blogs, magazines, whatever
You want more and you want it fast? Tune in to Episode № 65 of I Dream of Cameras, “Rebel Rebel,” in which Gabe and Jeff wax rhapsodic about the trash-table treasure Canon EOS Rebel 2000. How did this grubby chunk of plastic capture the hearts of two men devoted to the cult of Leica? Pluck this pod and find out! Also, we call out great cameras NOT from the big-name brands, recount recent shooting adventures, and take a shallow dip into the deep and prodigious mailbag!
Jeff made a major math error! 64 is 2^8
Cameras of ’58:
Mamiya Elca (and from ’59, the fascinating square-format Mamiya Sketch)
And now, the long-promised Minority Report (great cameras not from the big-name brands)
Alpa 11si (of course)
Plaubel Makina 67 (Gabe’s gonna get one!)
The trash-table Canon EOS Rebel 2000 is dirt cheap and packed with features — we both love ours!
There’s also an even-cheaper EOS Kiss Panorama with a stupid panorama switch!
The 40mm f2.8 pancake lens is delightful
Check out Casual Photophile's impassioned defense of “Dorky AF” SLRs of the late ‘90s
Gabe’s been shooting portraits (?!) with Leica’s 28mm Elmarit
And finally, a dip into our Prodigious Mailbag™
The big news in Episode № 64 of I Dream of Cameras is the release of Harman Phoenix, a brand-new experimental color film from the company we insist on calling Ilford ‘cause they didn’t give us free stuff. Also covered: notable cameras of 1959; fun with Lomochrome Turquoise; Gabe’s recent five-camera all-film photo shoot; the growing cult of the Minolta P’s; last-minute holiday gift ideas; and tons of blowback in the Prodigious Mailbag!
Cameras of 1959:
debut of the Nikon F
the original one-lug Olympus Pen (made not by Olympus, but Sanko Shoji)
The Russian Mir (a simplified Zorki 4)
Gabe went to The Darkroom for the exciting debut of Harman Phoenix, a brand-new film from a company we insist on calling Ilford ‘cause they didn’t give us free stuff
Labs working with this film are running smack into The Scannenberg Uncertainty Principle
Jeff had a blast shooting Lomochrome Turquoise with his rare and exotic Mamiya/Sekor 2000 DTL
Meanwhile, Gabe’s been shooting with his cheap ’n’ cheerful Canon Rebel 2000 + 40mm f2.8 pancake lens — the results blew him away!
He also recently did an all-film shoot with the Contax 645, Rolleiflex 2.8E2, Yashica T4, Leica M6… and Minolta P’s! P's Mania rolls on!
Directing NBC’s new sitcom Extended Family, Jeff did some set photography with his beloved Olympus Pen EE-3. 78 shots on a roll!
Holiday gift ideas! Jeff recently acquired some excellent photo books:
Hasselblad - The Camera System 50 Years 1948-1998
Why not our new Alan Daly t-shirt, or something else from our burgeoning merch page?
Or Rachel's Brewster-Wright’s Ultimate Film & Darkroom Workbook
A dip into our Prodigious Mailbag™, featuring:
More Vivian Maier blowback from our 50th episode - as revenge, Viv will be getting a one-woman show at Fotografiska New York in May 2024
An excellent photo club, The Slow Camera Exchange
A wonderful 1942 article from The Atlantic, The Dream Camera
It’s our third anniversary episode, featuring celebrations galore and talk of cameras past, present and future. Plus the return of our Prodigious Mailbag™, featuring NO PRAISE! Tune in for all the merriment!
Cameras of 1960:
the original Canonflex
Pentax Spotmatic shown at Photokina
Gabe and Jeff got great birthday gifts!
the original Kodak Instamatic
Lego Rolleiflex
A golden Minolta P’s
Gabe’s been trawling eBay for early LIFE magazines
Please tell Jeff he doesn’t need a Nicca IIIL
He’s also fascinated by the ridiculous Contax Preview
Gabe’s got some shoots coming up, and plans to use:
and the super-cheap Canon Rebel 2000 with the 40mm pancake
Jeff’s quasi-repaired Pentax ES II is cursed… never again!
…but he’s loving his rare and delightful Mamiya/Sekor 2000 DTL
…and will soon be shooting on set with his beloved Olympus Pen EE-3
A deep dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™
and finally: Gabe throws out the Under $95 Camera Challenge!
Gabe goes to a celebrity wedding; Jeff appears in Vogue Portugal. Gabe has a birthday; Jeff has a breakdown. And all the while, they scour the globe in search of the world’s finest vintage camera shops. Tune in for pulled pork and wienerschnitzel and much, much more!
Cameras of ’61:
A vintage Hasselblad 500c ad: What could possibly make a camera worth $550?
Gabe had a birthday and received a photo-themed gift: Life Magazine and the Power of Photography, featuring his beloved Gordon Parks
Our corporate retreat in Austin, Texas featured visits to The Camera Exchange and Austin Camera, followed by BBQ at Rollin’ Smoke, where you get a free beer with your tip
Gabe’s verdict on the Nikon 28Ti: he agrees it’s boring and prefers the Yashica T4!
Jeff’s Pentax ES II mega-saga: if your stuff gets damaged by UPS, submit a claim! As for Electro Spotmatics of all sorts, never again!
The new I'm Back digital insert for 35mm cameras is larger than it appears - would you do it?
We were gifted a complete set of Atlanta Film Co. films from Bill Manning
Jeff returned to Vienna, which is vintage camera heaven! Notable stops included Camera 31, Westlicht, Jo Geier, United Camera and the astounding Photo Börse
More security hassles in Frankfurt - next time, lie about your ISO!
Gabe’s been shooting with his Rolleiflex and Leica M6
Jeff spent some time with Leica photographer Pat Domingo
Also a shout-out to Branislav Simoncik, who shot P for Vogue Portugal
Starting with Episode 17, the subtitles on the episode page at idreamofcameras.com became delightfully obscure references, yet nobody ever mentions them. Y’all paying attention?
A rare treat: IDOC № 61 is dedicated to you, our legions of devoted listeners. In this XL episode, we take a deep, deep dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™, which as of recording ran 46 emails deep. Tune in as Gabe and Jeff respond to inquiries, sympathies, clapbacks and condemnations. It’s sixty-wonderful!
Cameras of ’62:
Hasselblad 500C in space! Wally Schirra aboard Mercury 8
After we revealed our eBay watch lists, people did indeed skunk us! The mint Minolta P’s, the bulk roll of Panatomic-X, the rare Pentax SB2, the Alpa 10d half-frame and one of the two Nicca IIILs are all gone!
and for the remainder of the episode, a deep dive into our Far Beyond Prodigious Mailbag!
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