From The Fridge
How it Started
The Camera My Grandad Gave Me – The Minolta SRT 101
There’s a certain gravity to using something that’s been handed down — especially when it’s the same camera your grandad used to document his life. The Minolta SRT 101 isn’t just a machine to me; it’s a link. Heavy, mechanical, a little rebellious in its age, it makes you work for every shot — and rewards you with character you can’t fake.
I love its clunk. The mirror slap is less of a click and more of a thunk — a sound that’s halfway between analog poetry and a garage door closing. No frills, no auto-anything. Just me, the needle in the meter, and the moment I’m chasing.
Back To The Future – Switching to the Maxxum 800si
Trading the SRT for a Maxxum 800si felt like time travel. Suddenly I had autofocus, matrix metering, and enough buttons to program a space shuttle. But here’s the twist: I loved it.
The 800si is criminally underrated. It has that late-90s brashness — the kind of camera you’d expect Mulder to carry in The X-Files. Paired with the right Dynax glass, it becomes this oddly elegant mix of tech and tactility. I still shoot manual half the time, but when you’re in motion — Phoenix light changing by the minute — autofocus has its perks.
The Ongoing Obsession with Film Stocks
If my camera is the canvas, the film stock is the soul. I’ve tried nearly everything…except CineStill (don’t @ me). But I’ve hunted down some rare finds along the way — like Fujicolor 100, a gorgeous, balanced stock that reminds me of old travel magazines and Japanese ads from the ’80s. If you’ve got a plug on Fujicolor in the U.S., hit me up — I’ll barter in rolls of Tri-X.
Right now, I’m obsessed with:
🎨 Analog Abduction 250D – Soft grain, punchy shadows, and the kind of mid-tones that make strip malls look cinematic.
🧪 Kodak Tri-X 400 – The forever workhorse. Sharp, moody, flexible. Probably in my top three of all time.
🌙 Ilford Delta 3200 – Grainy? Yes. Gorgeous? Also yes. Especially during those dusky golden hours in East Phoenix.
🔬 Kodak T-Max P3200 – Haven’t shot it yet, but it’s loaded and ready for my next photo walk.
Phoenix Suburbs on Foot – A Film Photographer’s Playground
Most of my favorite shots come from something simple: a slow morning or golden evening, a friend or two, and a Phoenix suburb we haven’t explored in a while. No destination, no pressure. Just wandering — cameras in hand, eyes scanning for light and lines.
We shoot where others might just drive past. Abandoned strip malls, cookie-cutter apartments glowing orange, cracked sidewalks with desert flora peeking through. Film slows us down. It forces presence.
Sometimes I go out to make art. Sometimes I go out just to see.
