Canon AE-1 with Kodak Ektar 100

I didn’t mention this at the time, but mid-year when I assembled Some Favorite Photos from 2020 So Far, I was a bit surprised how many photos I had considered that I had taken with my Canon AE-1. Only 3 made the final cut, mainly because I wanted to make sure all my cameras were represented, and I didn’t want to have too big of a collection.

I say “surprised” because I hadn’t had a strong opinion about using this camera. Some of my cameras (like my Minolta XE and my Olympus OM-1), I particularly enjoy using. It’s hard to say why, but for whatever reason, I easily took to using those cameras. I certainly haven’t disliked using the AE-1, but I had never “bonded” with it like I have with some of my others which led me to taking it for granted. It was a gift from a friend so I hadn’t invested any time researching it the way I have for cameras I considered buying. Because of that, I may not have been as enthusiastic about it.

I recently shot a roll of Kodak Ektar 100 with it and was very pleased with the results. I’m definitely developing a new appreciation for the AE-1.

As has been the trend during the summer of the coronavirus, many of the pictures I took with this roll were in our more immediate neighborhood.

We had a bad storm early in August which caused the Schuylkill River to rise significantly. We’re only a few blocks from the river so we took a walk to check it out and take some pictures. It was in the evening so the sun was starting to set.

As a point of reference, here is what the Schuylkill Boardwalk looks like with a normal river level.

And here are the photos I took while the river was high.

And a few other photos from that walk.

I finished the roll on a couple of walks that took us a little farther afield than our usual neighborhood walks but not too much farther.

I’m glad I didn’t go with my initial impression of the Canon AE-1 and gave it another try. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m trying to resist the urge to bring any more cameras into my life right now so I can spend more time with the ones I currently have. Gaining more experience with the AE-1 is evidence that I can grow more comfortable and more pleased with a camera after spending more time with it.