An Urban Adventure League August update.

Camera: Minolta Hi-Matic 7s. Film: Ilford HP5 400. Hello, friends. We find ourselves in interesting times. When COVID became a "thing" here in the United States in mid-March, I was hoping we'd be over the hump in a few weeks, a month tops. Of course, that hasn't happened, and we are nowhere near being done...

Minolta Hi-Matic 7s: An appreciation after six months of use.

I bought my Minolta Hi-Matic 7s rangefinder camera in January, when I decided to get back into film photography. It's a big yet stylish piece of mid-century industrial design, everything about it shouts "Camera!" I've used it a lot over the past six months, getting familiar with its functions, its quirks. Six months later, I...

Restoring mojo

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49799992881_74fef21208_b.jpg Despite the trip being a three out of five stars type of affair, my Bike Overnight to Barton last week was fun. And getting out there on the bike has gotten me excited about camping and touring again. I had been worrying that my desire to go on that trip could be chalked up...

I bike camped. An overnight at Barton Park, 22-23 July 2020

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50145842791_418174ebe5_b.jpg I bike camped this week. This shouldn't be a big deal to say here on the Urban Adventure League blog, since I've sort of wrapped my identity around bike camping and touring. But after a pretty minor 2019 bike camp/tour season and this whole pandemic we're living under, it's a bigger deal than it...

Pentax IQZoom 170SL: I shouldn’t like this camera, but I do.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49539645111_69e18b8d00_b.jpg I've had my Pentax IQZoom 170SL (known outside the US as the "Espio 170SL") since February. I got it because I wanted something small to go along with my Minolta Hi-Matic 7s. It wasn't the second film camera I bought after the Hi-Matic (that'd be the Fujica DL-100) but it was the second one...

A social distance cycling adventure to Powell Butte: 16 July 2020

It's been awhile since I've ridden a bicycle with someone that isn't part of my family. The risk didn't seem worth it. While the risk has definitely not abated, I'm feeling a bit more comfortable hanging out with someone else. So I got a hold of my friend Steve, rode to his house off of...

Searching for new-to-me parks with the van

Hello folks! It's year whatever of the pandemic! The days before having to mask up to go into a public place feel like a lifetime ago. This is our new reality, at least for the moment. Like you, I wish to get out of this purgatory as soon as possible. But I'm a pragmatist, and...

Ricoh 35 ZF: Another new-old camera enters the stable

Over the past six months of my Film Photography Journey, my preferences have become apparent: I usually like bringing two cameras with me.* One will be strapped around my shoulder, loaded with black and white film. A smaller compact will be elsewhere (usually in a pouch), loaded with color. I've been doing more black and...