To be totally honest at the moment, I’m focused and really excited for the future. Talk to me tomorrow and I’d probably be a different beast with an attitude lower than a snakes belly, but at the moment everything is fine. I’m curious why I feel this way.
Curiosity
As you will all possibly be aware, I like fixing cameras and I love my photography, it being a major feature throughout my life. I struggled in the transition from Analogue to digital and that was when my interest in the hobby dwindled. I wasn’t ready to accept the digital age, I was and still am really, an analogue dinosaur. But I’m curious.
I have recently delved deep, deep into the digital world, tried some really good equipment belonging to a photographer friend, and I really like it, I want to do more. I’m now interested. But is it too late?
I have also been a social media dinosaur, having had bad experiences in the past I’ve pretty much ignored everything but YouTube for the last ten years or so. I’ve regularly slated social media, and now this is another subject that makes me curious.
I’ve changed my attitude. I have in the last, few days gone back into the social media community, yes in many eyes I’ve probably succumbed to the call of this evil temptress, however, hear me out you have some learning to do regarding moi!
Im now on FB, Instagram, and Bluesky and these accounts are pretty much locked down to subjects that I want to see, and people I want to correspond with. It’s opened up communication with distant family members, old professional contacts and over the last few days I’ve even had requests from some of these old contacts to step back into the business professionally, and assist them. I just need to learn to ignore negativity if it begins to creep its way in, and it probably will.
The issue here is that I’m not set up professionally or in the position do so at the moment. But the call to return has hooked me and I am giving it immense and serious consideration. As many will know, and it’s there written there within my profile, that im wishing for an early retirement, and this could be an option that brings in a small income to allow me to realise that goal earlier than I initially intended. But like any business opportunity there is some investment required, and I’m now looking at ways of providing for those required tools of the trade as such.
This has been a positive, because of Social media that has opened up to me, but I’m being cautious.
Im always going to be here working with my old cameras and stuff though, as that’s what i love to do, it just all ties in like a great big knot of contentment, hope and ambition.
And it’s a nice, not always felt, feeling.
And I’m liking it, a vein of positive energy running through an aging body.
Long may it last. We all need dreams. We all need goals. It’s just I’ve left it so late in life, that’s the only nagging doubt that remains.
Today I took the wife to have some dental treatment. Whilst awaiting for her to rise from the chair, I decided to take a walk around the local park and surrounding areas to take some pictures. I only had my iPhone with me, so I snapped away. Whilst back in the surgery waiting for her to exit her temporary “Prison” (Her words, not mine) i was able to do some edits of what I’d seen. A thoroughly enjoyable walk, and a view of the area that on previous walks, has just passed me by.
Strange title. I know. But I had my first experience of it only yesterday. A photographic moment that I’ve never experienced before, but shall be using more of in the future.
My dear wife – totally unaware, as was i
I’m currently in the middle of repairing a Nikon Coolpix L820 16mp bridge camera. The camera has a broken rear LCD screen, and this is the only way of seeing the subject as there is no through the lens viewfinder. Whilst testing its limits and finding out about the faulty screen, I became aware that it sounded as if was working, it was making all the right sounds. So I threw an SD card into the camera to give it a try.
I was just pointing anywhere and pushing the exposure button, taking pictures of everything and nothing, I had no control on settings and functions only the exposure button. Anyway, I did this for a few minutes then transferred the SD card to a reader connected to my iPhone.
Nikon Coolpix L820
Wow, I was impressed with this one picture only, of my dear wife just finishing some lunch. She wasn’t aware I had taken it and neither was i.
This is the magic of photography.
The original was colour, I was so impressed with the sharpness, tones and colours in the picture. It’s not a particularly good picture, just a candid one of someone going about their day, totally innocent and unaware.
I love Black and white pictures, so I quickly converted the colour version via my phone.
I was in two minds as to whether I continued with this repair, as the cost of parts were rising the more I delved into it. This picture alone, changed my mind. I am going to finish the repair as this camera is too good to let go.
And I’m just amazed, that a random photo, that the photographer and the subject were both totally unaware of being taken, has come out so well. (All that has been done is a bit of cropping to align the subject)
The post for the camera referred to herein, will be published shortly.
Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.
No one likes to blow smoke up their own asses and confess to these actions. I’m not going to start doing that here, today. Random acts of kindness aren’t usually discussed, because that’s seen as boastful. Most people seem to just keep these actions to themselves, building up the personal satisfaction levels in their own minds, and there is nothing wrong with feeling a bit of pride for your actions. It’s good, and should be encouraged for everyone to do, however some people are naturals, and some people just need to try a little bit harder.
I’m just going to discuss one act of whatever that both my wife and I were involved in, in the seaside town of Latchi in Western Cyprus.
We were out for dinner at a small restaurant. A couple sat at the table adjacent to us and we struck up a conversation, we had never before met in our lives. It transpired they had married that day, just the two of them, as they had no immediate family, or friends with them.
We were finished and were saying goodbye as they were about to choose a drink, we heard them talking about how expensive the wine was and that they’d stick with the water.
Drinks
We were paying our bill away from the diners when I asked the waitress to send a bottle of good wine to the newly weds table, but they were only to tell them it was paid for and not to disclose who had paid for it. I’m sure they would have known eventually.
As we were leaving, the wine was arriving at the table and from the distance that we were, I could see them looking around and best of all they were both smiling. I couldn’t see anyone celebrating such an event without being able to toast their momentous day.
Yes it gave us a warm feeling, and I sincerely hope the recipients felt the same way, knowing that not everyone out there is bad, and there is always someone looking out for you. Someone cares.
I’ve been after a couple of cameras for quite a while now that hold a great deal of sentimental meaning to me. This will become apparent when i publish the individual posts for them, but for now i just want to share the result of an auction i participated in on the 31st July 2025.
A Canon A1 and an Olympus trip
Today I’ve probably made the best purchase off of an auction site that I have ever made previous. I’ve been following a number of Canon A1s lately and they have all been going in the £120+GBP bracket, some even higher than that. Today I have lost out on two that sold for £93 for a damaged body and one for £121 that was just a body but of a much better quality. This particular auction I was watching was for an untested duo of cameras, a Canon A1 as well as an Olympus Trip 35mm. The Olympus alone normally commands the high £80GBP range and both of these were in this particular auction. I was just watching as this was going to sky rocket in my opinion, two good cameras from a respected seller who I have used before. Two minutes from the auction end, bidding was sat at £39GBP and I thought that any second now the price was going to go crazy, especially in the last 30 seconds. I put in a max bid of £55GBP for the lot, as I pretty much knew it would sail past that amount and go for a price in the £150-£200 price range. I hit the bid button with 20 seconds left on the auction….
You have won – congratulations!
I thought you’re having a laugh, no way. And then it came up with the winning bid being £39:00GBP no one else was bidding, crazy.
The A1 camera consists of the body, a winder, an FD 50 1:1.8 lens, a camera manual as well as a lens manual.
Postage was the grand total of £4:99 so my total for these two cameras was £43:99GBP. That is nuts, and to say I’m pleased about this is the understatement of the century. I have two of the cameras I wish for the most, and I have just landed the bargain of the day, I was in the right place at the right time. Wow. It’s unusual to catch other auction bidders sleeping, it will probably never happen again for me, it’s a very rare occurrence. Two cameras of this magnitude for £22:00GBP each! That’s unheard of.
I don’t know for what reason they are not working, as they both appear to be quite tidy examples. I have used this seller before and the posting above could also be worded such as to imply that the units may well not have been tested. But, that’s what this site is about, repairing old cameras and getting them working again. There’s no fun in talking about a good functional camera, that’s boring. We want the meat and potatoes as they say, we want to see things being fixed, or broken further….you never know with me.
Thanks for sharing my excitement at this purchase. It will all make sense once i’ve assessed the cameras and carried out any repairs.
Thank you for passing by. It’s always appreciated.
Foxes Den 
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