Some links I have collected recently on the topic of full manual photography. No autofocus and no light meters here.

• BLACK CAT Extended Range
  Exposure Guide
• Andrew Lawn’s Exposure Calculator
• Human Rangefinder Card Generator

• The New Yashica TLR FAQ: Yashica TLRs seem to be a popular choice for getting into medium format photography, and this seems like a good breakdown of the various models.
• Hasselblad Historical: Hasselblad cameras are known as some of the better medium format cameras. This site has more information about them than any one person could possibly need.
• Color Film Chart: A brief summary of the properties of various color films.
• Really Right Stuff: Tripods, Ball Heads, and Panorama Gear.
• The Ultimate Exposure Computer: An invaluable resource when using cameras without meters.
• Exposure Calculator: A quick, simple tool for exposure calculations.

Ansco Pix Panorama
Originally uploaded by SqueakyMarmot.

Lately I have been spending less time gazing at digital cameras and the resulting pictures and instead have been more interested in the analog counterparts. In my hours of browsing through flickr, I continuously notice that a lot of people are creating beautiful images with toy cameras. Last night, I remembered that several years ago, I was given the camera pictured here. It’s an Ansco Pix Panorama. It’s 100% plastic and is completely fixed — fixed focal length, fixed focus, fixed shutter speed, fixed aperture. There is no way to make any sort of adjustment other than the placement of the camera.

Here are the specs:

• 28mm lens
• fixed focus
• 1/125
• f/11
• 35mm film
• 13×36mm panorama mask

This camera was new when I received it, and I think I have only run one roll of film through it since. I just wasn’t that interested in it when I received it. Things are different today. I’m hoping to grab a roll of film on the way home from work today to try it out.

Some Ansco Pix Panorama photos on flickr:

• Ansco Pix Panorama by That was my foot.
• Ansco Pix Panorama by escapo
• Ansco Pix Panorama – flipped lens by QsySue
• ansco pix panorama by mey0r
• Ansco Pix Panorama by Alex Hills

Why is Twitter’s SSL certificate not trusted by the iPhone? Because of this, I can’t log in via Safari. Sure, Tweetie has eliminated my need for logging in this way, but I’m still a bit surprised that this hasn’t been fixed.

An entertaining series of videos from some folks who are very excited about their new Flips.

I’m really liking the Sharpe Residence. I first spotted it in the LA Times feature Homes of The Times listed as A 21st century ranch house in Ventura County. I find myself drawn to the way this house combines the open, free-spirited nature of a rural setting with elements of modern architecture and design.

Nestled along a hillside approximately 60 miles from LA, the home seems like a great weekend retreat. The 10,000 square foot home sits on 40 acres of lemon groves. The home’s two wings form a right angle, and together with the hills at the rear of the property they create an enclosed private space. In fact, the entire house seems quite isolated due to the abundance of trees on the property, as seen on the satellite image below.

John Gruber: “Facts continue to hold a liberal bias.”

If you do nothing else today, watch this video presentation by Lawrence Lessig. It features an exhaustive (yet fairly brief) “comparison of Governor Palin’s experience as compared with every other Vice President in U.S. history.”

Julie bought me a pack of Orbit Positively Pomegranate Gum a while back, probably around May or June of this year. At first, it was just like any other new flavor of gum. I tried it and liked it, but it was nothing special. But by the time I got to the end of the pack, I wanted more.

Fast forward to September 1, which is approximately when I remembered and began to miss that pack of Positively Pomegranate. I have been searching every store I have visited since that day for my favorite flavor of Orbit. And each time I search, I leave empty-handed. Finally, last Friday, Julie reminded me that Positively Pomegranate was a Limited Edition. And today I finally googled it — unfortunately.

I haven’t found any firm dates yet, but the consensus is that Positively Pomegranate is no more. Of the few people who enjoyed it, none can find it in their local stores. I searched an online candy store, and they don’t have it either. I’m thinking that I will never taste a piece of this wonderful gum again, but if you happen to locate some, please drop a line.