I know I've been a bit secretive on some projects I have in the works, but today I'm really excited to start discussing one of those projects.

So let me back up a little bit. A few weeks ago, I was at a Barnes & Noble and saw a book titled 50 Photo Projects. I came home, went on Amazon, and found it and a couple other books - including Camera Creative.

In the latter book, the author - Chris Gatcum - discusses 52 different interesting photography projects. Number 17 is TTV Photography - or Through The Viewfinder photography. In short (don't worry, I'll blabber on and on in much more detail later), this means that you're taking photographs through the viewfinder of another camera.

So a few days later, we ventured out to a nearby flea market to see if we could find one of the vintage cameras necessary to try this out. We came home with the following batch...

Across the back row (from left to right), we have a Brownie Six-20 Brownie Junior, a Brownie Reflex Synchro Model, and a Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model. In the front row, we have my current favorite - an Argus Seventy-Five. Oh - one of the most awesome parts of this... I scored all four cameras for a total of $20! (not kidding!)

I think that only the Argus and the Brownie Reflex will work for the TTV Photography, and I'll get into the how's and why's and what's of TTV Photography over the next few days. For now, I'm just going to wet your appetite with a shot I took tonight after getting my first contraption built. Yes, that is what TTV photographers generally refer to the (typically) cardboard frame you build so you can use a new digital camera to take photos through an old TLR camera - don't worry, like I said, I'll get more into all of this in the coming days.

For now, check this out...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D TTV Argus Seventy-Five, Tokina AT-X M35 Pro DX AF 35mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1, 12 sec at f/12.9. ISO 200. Tripod and monopod mounted. Cropped in Photoshop Elements 8.0.

Except for cropping the photo to match up with the Argus's square format, that photo is straight off the compact flash card. I know your first instinct is to say it was completely photoshopped to give it that vintage look, but that is what TTV photography is all about! Instant vintage. I just love it all - the grainy image, the rounded corners, the distorted edges, the vignetting - all without photoshop.

We're headed to Phipps tomorrow specifically to see what kind of shots I can get with this awesome new setup, and if that photo above is any indication, I think there will be a lot of cool new photos to share here this week.

Stay tuned! Or better yet, drop me a comment and let me know what you think of this "new" type of photography.

- Bill