Hi lovely photo friends! After a short break, Weekly Exposure is back. This week: going minimal with gear, discovering Mexican-made darkroom tools, and catching up with the photo community.
I’m going minimal
I’ve never been a camera collector, so when I see my bookshelf and I see six cameras, I wonder: “what the fuck, Rick?”.
Having many cameras is unusual for me, as I was used to having only one back in my digital days. Having unused cameras bothers me and makes me feel guilty.
Some timeless advice says that you should stick with only one camera whose ins and outs you know. This way, it becomes an extension of yourself. It doesn’t demand that you get fiddly for each shot you want to make. You just do it unconsciously.
That’s how I intend to operate, so during December I decided to sell all my gear except the two cameras I used the most during 2025: the Olympus XA3 and the Leica IIIf.
However, the Leica will go as well. I no longer enjoy the separate viewfinder/rangefinder windows: they slow me down, but no longer in a good way.
After some research, I’ve decided that a Canon P rangefinder will meet my needs. It’s small, well built, quiet, and it feels good in hands.
When you (hopefully) read this, I will be in the middle of shooting my first rolls with it. I cannot be more excited. I’m happier this way, as I want to focus this year on getting better as an enthusiast photographer and I don’t want my equipment to get in the way. Having many cameras was forcing me to rotate them, but that’s not what I want. I will be almost “one camera, one lens”. My charming Olympus XA3 helped me get some of my favorite pics of last year, so it will have a place in my pockets.
Fun fact: my first digital camera was an old Canon Rebel XS. Who knew that 14 years later I would be back with Canon (with an even older camera).
Life works mysteriously.
Pira Developer is super cool
A couple of months ago I got a Pira Darkroom Helper, which is a device to help you develop rolls easier. To my surprise, it’s made in Mexico. You can consider it to be an AGO competitor. My last eight rolls were developed with it, and it was wonderful. It felt like magic.
If you’re bored by doing tank inversions, check it out as it might be what you’ve been looking for all this time. Dani ships to the USA and worldwide via FedEx.
I’m not sure how it compares to AGO, but one thing I can tell you is that it’s cheaper, well built, and it works beautifully. I can do pull/push, it has a heater, it has memory, etc.
Some goodies from last December
For some random reason, this holiday season wasn’t that great for getting out to shoot. Maybe I was burned out from real life work and I opted to rest as much as I could. However, I’ve managed to get some pictures I liked.
My commutes to the office are more interesting when I’m shooting from the car window using the XA3.
I can’t stop shooting buildings in Mexico City. They are so different, and somewhat appealing.
Maybe my fave from Xmas season.
I could spend a night in that little cabin in Los Pinos.
More buildings with plenty of character.
Whenever I’m close to a metro station, I’d like to snap a picture.
I like to shoot old buildings surrounded by nature. I think of them of I am legend or The last of us vibes.
The Plymouth Lawyer.
Catching Up with Photo Substack
I’ve been trying to consume the cool stuff the community is putting out there.
One of those is this article where good Dan from okayfoto tested Japan Camera Hunter Street Pan 400. If you’ve been following my adventures (thank you), you might know that I love deep, inky blacks. Well, Dan nailed that aesthetic with photos from his recent trip to Japan. If you’re into BW photography, check it out to get some inspiration.
Japan Camera Hunter Street Pan 400 — okayfoto
After Tokyo, you can jump to France and accompany Cedric on his long commute to work. Great storytelling and pictures, obviously. This gentleman is an inspiration to document everyday life.
Another cool thing I consumed last Friday was this movie - I mean, Negative Influence podcast - with two of the coolest dudes here: George from Focus Tilt Photo and the one and only, Justin Allen- Photographer. I enjoyed the small talk between these two and I might have learned the difference between town and village, haha.
Lastly, but not least, I’d like to give my buddy Richard Schulz a shoutout with the release of his Apartments zine. I truly enjoyed these shots captured beautifully during the night. Check it out.
See you next week
I hope to be sharing the first rolls I’ll be shooting with my new Canon P. I’ll be using Kodak Double-X, as I love it so much. This week I had the chance to get 5 bulk-loaded rolls, and I couldn’t be happier. I got 5 of them for ~45 USD, which is “fair” considering that the branded ones like Reflx Labs or Cinestill are around 15 USD each (💀).