Three Cameras At The Cades Mill Bridge

This post has been a long time coming. Back in 2024 I had just left a softball tournament in Covington, Indiana. On my way home I stopped and made a few photos. One of the first photos that I made was at the Cades Mill Bridge. I went a little out of my way to see this bridge. I had some film cameras with me that day thinking about this three camera project. I was still getting to know my film cameras so this was a great place to play around with them.

Canon AE-1 With CineStill 50D

This was my first film camera after many years of not having one. I liked the look, but something with me and the camera did not mesh. Every now and then I would end up with out of focus photos. I don’t know why that was, but it didn’t happen with other similar cameras. I liked how the camera looked, but the uncertainty of it made me quit using it. Here though I had it loaded with CineStill 50D and I was shooting with my Canon FD 35mm lens. This was my first time making photos with 50D and I really liked the look of it. You need a lot of light to make that film work though.

Fujica AX-3 With Kodak Elgar 100

This photo stands out from the rest because all that I had for this camera at the time was a 50mm lens. That extra 15mm really brings you closer to the bridge. I think that it is a little overexposed as well. That is too bad. I really like this film and this camera, but here things just didn’t turn out.

Canon AF35mmII With Kodak Color Plus 200

This was my first point and shoot film camera when I started making film photos. I also never really knew what I was going to get with this thing. The results would be all over the place even if I made photos back to back. Here though I kind of like how it underexposed the scene a little.

Sears TLS With Santa Gold 200

A bonus photo for this post. I had my uncles old Sears camera loaded up with Santa Gold 200 film for this trip as well. Something happened to the film that I ordered at some point though because even though it was new film it photographed like it was expired film. I didn’t know what was happening at the time, but in some cases it gave me a pretty amazing result. I am not sure what I think about this photo. Some days I love that it looks like a super old photo. Other days I think it looks like a mistake. What do you think?

Conclusion

This is the part of the post where I talk about which photo I like the best. Usually it is pretty cut and dry. For this post I didn’t even include the photo that I made with my trusty Sony mirrorless camera. This is all about the film and the cameras that helped me make the photos. It pains me to say this, but I think that I like the photo made with my Canon point and shoot the best. We all love to think that we are the reason that photo is good. With an old film camera you are manually adjusting the focus and setting up the exposure. With that Canon point and shoot it was that simple. I pointed the camera at the bridge and pushed the button. There is something about that photo though that I liked. Which one was your favorite?