iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 7h

Trying out camera movements on the Speed Graphic. The shot on the right was my first attempt, and it is overexposed because I forgot to close the aperture down. I would love a wider lens to get the top of the spire in frame. #largeFormat #aristaEDU #graflex

A black and white photo of a church, lit up at night against a black sky.

A black and white photo of a church lit brightly against a black sky. Two blurry figures move at the lower right of the image.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 15h

Won a few rounds of "is it pictures" over the weekend! May need to give the medium format a few more minutes in the fixer (base is still a bit dark), but I'll test that this evening. #blackandwhite #photography #pittsburgh

Two pages of 120 film shot 6x6, showing photos from a walk by the river in Pittsburgh

A black and white 4x5 negative of a stream flowing through boulders.

A black and white 4x5 negative of a church lit against a dark sky.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Toned my first cyanotype today, and had some success! Toning solution made by boiling some dry apple wood sticks from my yard, yielding this lovely golden sepia tone. #cyanotype #printmaking

A small print of a flower in a warm sepia color, propped up in front of a box of washing soda.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Cats being cute in view of my home office (and my continued privilege of working from home).

A cream colored cat and a smaller orange tabby cat curl together on a floor cushion.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It could just as easily have been an odd and intermittent air draft, but it certainly felt like a gentle lick in the moment.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

While playing ttrpgs at a high school friend's house, I felt a cool wet tongue lick my hand. They had a dog that passed before I met them, which would beg for food at the position I was seated at their dining table. This happened a few times over the years, to a few people.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I've managed to remove the optical elements, but the barrel design has me stumped. I think I'll have to go through the rear to get it apart, but I haven't figured out how to remove the shutter assembly from the barrel yet.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Teardown continues in my effort to access the shutter. Still can't access the blades or the mechanism.

A Konica 1c partially disassembled in a developing tray.

The removed shutter assembly, viewed from the rear with the iris and shutter blades visible.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Specifically any diagram or service manual for the Konirapid-S shutter. I just need to know how to take it apart to the shutter blades.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Took this Konica 1C partially apart to service the shutter. Got the timing mechanism clean and lubricated, but the shutter blades still have a huge amount of resistance. Any advice for how to get to them so I can clean them? #cameraRepair #konica #rangefinder

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Same! In my first watch-through, I was caught off guard by her. I was so focused on Jonas as a "main character" that I didn't pay close enough attention to her until season 2 (and of course when I rewatched it). Phenomenal work from writing to casting to performing.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I still pine for a sandwich served occasionally in the dining facility at the embassy in Baghdad, which they called a Monte Cristo (but was actually just what they could approximate with what they had on hand). I've never had one like it since I left there in 2007.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The threats of "AI" products have nothing to do with possible super intelligence, and everything to do with the ways they are used to commit crimes (including regular fraud) and the ways they will amplify existing inequalities. We need leaders that don't buy the marketing BS and don't fearmonger.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The verbatim liner notes of a Dio album, cut off abruptly where you run out of space.

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Reposted by John W Sheldon

Khairul Hisham @hishgraphics.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Happy 60th Anniversary, #StarTrek! I finished this not 20 minutes ago. #StarTrekDay #Art #Watercolour #TrekTuesday #SaltVampires

Artwork of inks and watercols of Kirk, Spock and Uhura as Salt Vampires.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Spent part of yesterday afternoon taking advantage of the bright sunlight to make some cyanotypes out in the yard. This was the first of the day, using some photo negatives and plants from the yard. #cyanotype #photoprinting

A blue cyanotype print with negative impressions of a maple leaf, a clover, and some mint leaves. Under these are prints from photo negatives.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Real natural lens flare from the Takunar 35/2 early version. Very dramatic, but surprisingly controllable.

A large cat sits in the foreground, nearly eclipsed by a dramatic yellow lens flare

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

What is the coverage area like in this lens?

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Shot some engagement photos on 4x5 two weeks ago and just got done processing and scanning the film. So much fun! #largeFormat #petzval #filmphotography

A couple sits on a low wall in a black and white photo. Behind them is a beautiful manicured park with a large fountain.

A couple in suits hold hands and look into eachothers eyes in front of a large fountain. The background blurs into a swirl around them.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Gotta run more cyanotypes soon, using more large format negatives for contact prints but also more photograms, transparencies, and mixed media stuff.

Fingers hold up a small print in blue and white depicting an antique tractor on a farm. It is a cyanotype positive from a large format negative.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

The crowd there was welcoming, diverse, and rad as heck. I wish I had more time to see the other exhibitors in action and participate in the activities, but there I was trapped with fairly continuous foot traffic at my table! I loved demoing camera features even to people who didn't buy anything.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I had a great time at this event yesterday, and put cameras in the hands of quite a few people! Analog Liberation were great hosts serving a great community!

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

A clear and present danger to Pittsburgh's photography community. Come see me and a bunch of much cooler stuff in Millvale today!

A table with a Vintage Cameras sign is loaded with a huge variety of cameras.

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Reposted by John W Sheldon

John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Saturday! Come to Millvale and check out cool analog photo displays, activities, and goods & services! Commerce! #pittsburgh #millvale #analogLiberation #filmphotography

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Saturday! Come to Millvale and check out cool analog photo displays, activities, and goods & services! Commerce! #pittsburgh #millvale #analogLiberation #filmphotography

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Sometimes you have to do something slightly ill-advised and pull all the optical elements out of a couple of large format lenses, blow out all the dust, clean them all with isopropyl alcohol (and two elements with hydrogen peroxide to get rid of tiny fungus spots), and put them all back together.

A Wollensak Velostigmat f/4.5 lens mounted on a Graflex Crown Graphic camera. It is wide and clean.

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Reposted by John W Sheldon

Jill Lightner @jilllightner.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Street art in her honor from SE Seattle

A glittery tinsel-fringed illustrated portrait of Dolly Parton on a telephone pole. There's a cartoon voice bubble with a quote from her that says "find out who you are and do it on purpose."

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Reposted by John W Sheldon

John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Like film photography? Gonna be in Pittsburgh next weekend? Check out Analog Fest in Millvale, with tons of great exhibits and experts, plus vendors like me selling cool cameras and photo stuff! #analogLiberation #filmPhotography #pittsburgh

A poster for Analog Fest, presented by Analog Liberation. August 28-30 at the Maple Leaf at 115 Sedgwick Street, Millvale, PA. Cameras, Photos, Movies, Gadgets, Art, Workshops, Hand-made instant photos with Sophie Wisdom, Tintypes with Ashley Kouri.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

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Reposted by John W Sheldon

Alan of All Trades @alanofalltrades.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Me: ...compared to stuff like Purify Food and Drink, firearms aren't that big of a deal. Sure guns are deadly, but being able to make sure your troops don't die of dysentery would change the battlefield so much more... Gary Gygax (pointing at me and shrieking): EEK! A Slav! Kill it! Kill it!!

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Post a perfect album from the 2000s (2000-2009).

Cover art from Tool's 10,000 Days album. A head with three faces rotates ahead of the viewer.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

A nasty poison ivy rash on my arms is surprisingly good at interfering with photography plans. Can't load large format film if I can't stick my arms in a dark bag.

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Reposted by John W Sheldon

LycanthrEppy @epidiah.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Running for president with the slogan "By tax or by ax, no more billionaires" not to win, but to nudge that Overton window.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

A few years back I went to a museum that featured a display on early digital image editing, and they described the difficulty deciding and displaying image formats from the 1980's and the trouble they had finding intact period files to display. Significant effort went into putting them on screen.

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Reposted by John W Sheldon

The Mask of the Red Jeph @ass.golf · 16/08/2026

Another day as a Fromsoft NPC. Was having a great time staggering around in a circle moaning when some fucking speedrunner bastard dodge-rolled past me and then killed my boss in the cathedral. fml

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Took this apart and serviced the shutter today: the self-timer works reliably now, and the shutter fires at different speeds as long as you use the self timer (the manual shutter release holds the shutter open because of a broken part). Better than it was before I took it apart! #lubitel2 #tlr

A black twin lens reflex camera labeled Lubitel 2 hangs from its strap.

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Reposted by John W Sheldon

Jaydot dice: @jaydotdice.com · 12/08/2026

Having a sneaky second zoo trip this year and got this baller pic of the polar bear and his reflection

A polar bear resting at the edge of his reflecting pool

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

That's a genuine magazine shot. Beautiful.

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Reposted by John W Sheldon

Daniel Solis @danielsolis.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I have a request for a trekkie with more time and data experience than me: Please make a three-circle Venn diagram labelled STRANGE||NEW||WORLDS. Place each episode of Strange New Worlds according to whether it features something strange, and/or something new, and/or a world. Thank you! #StarTrek

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

It is surprisingly nice for a point and shoot camera from the 1980's. Confident autofocus and reasonably fast, sharp glass. I have genuinely thought about keeping it as a convenient camera to drop in a pocket and go.

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John W Sheldon @johnwsheldon.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Not quite a shitty camera, but I am deeply surprised that it works after having a pair of exploded batteries sitting in it for almost 30 years (they expired in 1997). One thorough cleaning later and a pair of fresh batteries brought it back to life.

A black and white photo of two cats on a hardwood floor. One is on his back wrestling with a larger cat who is walking past.

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