I felt like some easy black-and-white shooting, so I loaded a roll of Kodak Plus-X into my Olympus Stylus.
It didn’t go so well. About halfway through the roll, the Stylus malfunctioned. When I pressed the button, the Stylus made a wheezy noise but wouldn’t fire the shutter. I’d close and reopen the camera and try again, and again, and again, until it fired. Eventually it wouldn’t fire at all. Unfortunately, I still had five shots left on that precious roll of Plus-X, which isn’t made anymore. Reluctantly, I threw in the towel and pressed the film-rewind button.
At least I got this totally awesome selfie while looking the camera over, trying to figure out why the shutter wasn’t operating. I discovered that the wheezy noise was the lens extending part way.
I got some pretty good shots before the problems began, however. I really like the tones in this shot of my front yard. It’s one of the last shots I took with any ash trees in it.
I took the Stylus along when Margaret and I spent an evening strolling through Fountain Square. These preserves were for sale in a former Sunoco station converted to a little market.
It seems nigh onto impossible to get a bad photo of the Fountain Square Theater building. It anchors this hip Indianapolis neighborhood so well.
I’ve shot the front of the former G.C. Murphy store many times, but always in black and white. Someday I should shoot it in color. But the bricks always look so silvery in black and white.
I carried the Stylus around for a few weeks, shooting whatever. I met my pastor for lunch one day and shot the front of this nearby McDonald’s. Around here, all of these older McDs are being torn down and replaced with stores in the chain’s new corporate look. I prefer this style. I do not, however, enjoy how washed out the sky and the top of the roof turned out. It was a blisteringly bright day, though.
I also shot a few photos around what is now my former workplace. One of my colleagues drives this old Honda Prelude when he doesn’t ride his motorcycle.
I also got this snap of my desk, just a couple weeks before it wasn’t my desk anymore. I’m not a fan of flashes on point-and-shoot cameras; they always seem to be too bright. This is no exception. But I’m glad to have this photo now, so I can remember this good little space.
I’ll probably send this Stylus to the Great Camera Store in the Sky and just buy another one on eBay. The Stylus is too good not to have one here for those days when I want good optics but point-and-shoot simplicity.
