Life Imitates Art: John Waters Attends the Mahoning Drive-In

by Johnny Martyr & James V. Mignogna While seeking a publisher for this article, owner and operator of the Mahoning Drive-In, Jeff Mattox passed away on April 13th, 2024 at age 65. We dedicate these words and photos to you, Jeff. Thank you for casting your magic across the screen. Cars have been parking at the Mahoning Drive-In in Lehighton, Pennsylvania since 1949. Back then, Mahoning was…

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The Conundrum of Supporting My Local Camera Shop

by Johnny Martyr On my way to work, I called the local camera shop to verify they had the camera I found on their website the night before. I was so excited when the employee reported that he had the Zeiss Super Ikonta in his hand that I replied “I’ll be there in about ten minutes to buy it!” It’s amazing that I didn’t notice the Zeiss when I’d visited the shop just a week ago looking for a…

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Why Buy A New Film Camera When I Can Buy Used Ones From eBay?!

by Johnny Martyr Film photographer in 2000: “Why would I buy a new Nikon FM10 for $150, a new Nikon FM2 for $700 or a new Nikon FM3a for $800 from a camera store when I can buy a used Nikon FM from eBay for $50?” Film photographer in 2010: “Why would I buy a new Nikon FM10 for $300 from a camera store when I can buy a used Nikon FM for $75, a used Nikon FM2 for $200, or a used Nikon FM3a from…

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I Don’t Shoot Expired Film, Maybe You Shouldn't Either

by Johnny Martyr Look, I don’t want to curtail anyone’s creativity, but I think it’s worth rethinking how readily many photographers shoot expired film. For me, shooting paid work, I never ever take client photos on expired film. And I really don’t use it for personal work either because to me, it’s just not worth it. Now, if you can save a few bucks on low ISO or b&w film that’s a few months…

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Q&A: Which Leica M Should I Buy?

by Johnny Martyr Here’s a DM from a reader in France: “Hi Johnny, how are you? My name is Victor and I live in Paris. I was intrigued by your article about camera shops in Paris. I am trying to start in the photography world, more as a hobby than anything else, and I wanted to get a first camera from one of these shops. My idea was to get an analog and a digital camera. Do you have any tips to…

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Unboxing & Evaluating A Welta Weltur 6x4.5/6x6 Folding Rangefinder

by Johnny Martyr I got the notification from my Ring doorbell when a non-descript cardboard box was dropped off at my front porch. Who, in the 1930s would have imagined that this little handcrafted camera would be couriered to the United States by robots and its arrival announced by a motion-sensing camera that transmits images to a computer in the recipients pocket? I sliced through a couple…

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Meta Outage

by Johnny Martyr Meta outage – Facebook and Instagram are down! Go outside! Take some photos! Here’s a recent and appropriate shot I took of what is perhaps the last public payphone still standing in Frederick, Maryland. I shot it with my 1930 Leica and Leitz 5cm Elmar. I used a DOOMO Meter S to verify exposure and will soon be publishing a very comprehensive accessory shoe light meter article…

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Q&A: I’m Afraid to Shoot 3200 ISO Film Because It Doesn’t Cold Store Well So I Push 400 to 3200 Instead

by Johnny Martyr I recently got a question in response to posting some Kodak TMAX P3200 photos. The gist of it was that a photographer is learning how to achieve higher ISOs by pushing 400 speed films (which he referred to as “traditional films”) instead of using 3200 speed films (as if these are not “traditional”) because they have heard that 3200 speed films do not store well.  I am a big…

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Q&A: Why Do You Use 0.85x Leica Rangefinders instead of 1:1 Voigtländers?

by Johnny Martyr Yesterday, long time photo buddy Brent Legum Levenson asked a really great question on my Facebook page. He was referencing my Leica M6 TTL cameras which have 0.85x viewfinder magnification. “Any reason you got the .85? I think I’ve only seen the .72 versions in person. Also, I liked that the Bessa R3s were 1:1 finders, has Leica ever done that? It was cool being able to keep…

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Q&A: How Do I Shoot Landscapes With a Barnack Leica and a 135mm Lens?

by Johnny Martyr Yesterday in the Leica III Users group on Facebook, someone asked:“I just got my camera back and am wanting to put my 135mm Elmar to use. Does anybody know of a good video or guide on how to use the lens? Am I just overthinking it? The Summitar 50mm is pretty intuitive, but I’m (maybe unnecessarily) intimidated by the Elmar). Any other considerations with it? Was just watching a…

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Artist Statement & Biography for Johnny Martyr

Artist Statement I am an East Coast documentary photographer who shoots exclusively on black and white 35mm film with mechanical cameras using existing light with minimal digital editing.  My work is is informed by mid-century photojournalism and is a response to perfectionism fatigue and homogeneity in commercial photography.  I use film imaging techniques to convey timelessness and…

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Johnny Martyr's Top Ten, er, Eleven Blog Posts of 2023!

by Johnny Martyr An easy blog topic that you’ll see this time of year will be retrospective lists. Retrospectives are a great way to drive more traffic to previous posts without much effort and keeping your post frequency in tact. For some reason, lists are a great way to excite search engines too. Combine these simple ingredients and you can’t fail. Well, shamelessly, I am no better than any…

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How to Support Film Photography

by Johnny Martyr I’ll cut to the chase. I don’t need you to buy me a cup of coffee or to support my growing family; those are my responsibilities. What I do ask for is help with supporting my work. And I feel okay asking for this because my work is all about keeping film photography alive. Supporting one another’s film photography is how we do that. There are a number of ways to do this. And…

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Gilligan's Return: Leitz 90mm Tele-Elmarit-M Thin Review Part II

by Johnny Martyr Since Molly Kate kindly featured it on 35mmc, my Leitz 90mm Tele-Elmarit Thin Review has been getting alot of traffic. The review concluded with my decision to throw Gilligan overboard and invite The Skipper to join me on the top deck. Quick recap: I was lead to believe that all Thin Canadian 90 TE’s (Gilligan) are plagued with an unrepairable haze problem and so Fat German 90…

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Q&A: Is it Hard to Find Clients for a Documentary B&W Film Photographer?

by Johnny Martyr Comedian Nikki Glaser and musician Anya Marina recently posted photos that I took of them in Baltimore. I got a slew of new follows and DM’s about my work. One of them was a good question that I get from time to time. There were a few from other photographers whose question was along the same lines. The question was along the lines of “Hey Johnny I love b&w film documentary…

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The Kodak Ektar H35N Has Another Important Hidden Feature

by Johnny Martyr Based on my enthusiasm for their previous model, makers of the new Kodak Ektar H35N, RETO, kindly sent me a production model to try. A few weeks ago, I tested the upgraded half frame 35mm camera, wrote a review and published my thoughts and results on Petapixel. Alot of folks DM’d me about the article who had further questions or just to thank me. Among them was RETO, who…

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Q&A: It Pays to be Pedantic

by Johnny Martyr My college linguistics professor Judy Lombardi was fond of saying “things are what we say about them in our social world.” The older I get, the more this concept sinks into my brain and guides how I strive to communicate. I don’t claim to know everything, but when I do know something, I try to express it accurately and clearly so that there is no disconnect in understanding…

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