.August 2025.

The Monthly 35mm wouldn’t be true to form if every month wasn’t in line with the Seasonal Aperture Disorder theme, would it? Coming off July with the wind in my sails, the photographic seas sought to make a man out of me yet. My trusted SRT-102 hasn’t been the same since some humidity in Mexico… difficulty focussing infinity and range focus just isn’t right. So I picked up the SRT-201 to keep it in the family.

Aside from a few focal nuances, it was brought to my attention [by me] that the SRT-102 and SRT-201’s internal light meters were not aligned. After strenuous tests—which really was nothing more than referencing an app and looking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth—it became clear that my SRT-102 was in fact overexposing THE ENTIRE TIME I HAVE BEEN USING IT. Now at first this may seem a tad brash, as it has delivered excellent results. But this explains why I have been struggling to achieve a shutter speed higher than 1/250th. Face palm.

Ahem, so what did I do? I daringly decided to take it apart and recalibrate the CLC system myself. It would have cost me another $200+ to send it away for a CLA, etc. Plus, I just picked up the SRT-201. Alas, the recalibration went quite well—easier than expected. But for some reason it retains its 3-stop exposure issue on the 28mm lens. I suppose it’s time to retire the old boy for a bit. After all, I have been using the 102 like a workhorse.

All the while, I decided to practice some hip shooting which didn’t go too well; this was prior to and the catalyst that made me realize I might need a secondary camera. I relearnt Sunny 16 and have been forcing myself to abandon the light meter. A quote was recently shared with me: A good cinematographer paints with light; a great cinematographer paints with shadows. This really rocked my world and I became increasingly aware of many photographs always being so well exposed, not allowing myself to break the chains, so to say.

This does come with a lot of pain though: missed shots due to lousy exposures and simply not understanding light or utilizing the shadows to my liking. It is a work in progress; I would say it is similar to being able to tune an instrument by ear. A final tactic I have adopted is pushing all my film to match an ISO of 800. Initially this was to combat the 102’s (now known) calibration. It shifts the colours and offers a grittier, grainier image. I do quite like some grain damage.

A mixed bag this month: some Toronto streets, some outings to the island with family and friends, and we end it off with The Exhi—CNE—bition. Always unsure how to shoot this event. I took maybe 5 shots last year because I feel everyone gets the same shots. But that thought is so flawed I feel foolish and embarrassed to even have said it. Always hard on myself ensuring my output demonstrates growth each month and that I’m content with my content.

I hope you enjoy it. Feedback is always welcome! See you next month! Or at my show on September 26th at Memento Film Lab, 216 Ossington Ave. Drinks on me!