Frustrated by my inability to see outside in nature lately, I’ve turned my attention to the Junk Drawer in hopes of finding some worthy subjects. Dredged up this old transistor radio that was my husband’s when he was a kid. It still works!
These first three were shot with the Olympus 90mm f2 macro and the legacy ring flash unit. Rather than mount the flash directly on the lens I held it in my hand and aimed it at the radio, trying for shadows. It’s sort of hit or miss, but the process is enjoyable. I really need to rig a diffuser for it though. But the old 90mm gets cranky after using it a while. The aperture ring sticks and really needs overhauling. Apparently there’s like one guy left in the world with expertise in old Olympus lenses and so I should get it to him before he quits. So the next shot was done with the ZD 12-60mm zoom and no ring flash, mostly because I liked the light from the skylight.
Check out that stylin’ leather cover. Yep, gen-U-ine leather. Dig it. Yeah, that’s how my 5 year old husband rolled.
Here it is with that same lens and the ring flash. Once again handheld and off to the side of the unit. I like this one because it echoes the need to use your imagination when listening to the radio. My little transistor was glued to my ear at night when the radio plays came on. Even a TV kid like me could picture every scene in her head.
I thought about leaving these in their glorious beige-ness, but converted to black and white in Lightroom instead. I think it helps concentrate the textures and shapes. The accumulated dust in the crevices isn’t any more compelling in it’s dun-colored loveliness. So monochrome it is. Which is a great lead-in to my next post.
Great photos. 🙂