John Spahr

From my Instagram (with some edits):  WHERE DID THE TIME GO??? It's crazy that my freshman year of college is over. Miss it already. I think many of my peers learned a lot this year. I know I did. So, I decided to do something different for this shoot with Trent. I wanted to share some of the lessons I’ve learned and realizations I’ve had. The photos below are the product of two days of shooting and multiple hours of editing/design. And it was worth every minute! And thank you Trent for being willing to team up with me on these! I had so much fun. Anyway, I hope you all have the best summer you’ve had yet. Here’s to three more years of fun, growth, and fulfillment. ❤️ And now for the photos... Enjoy!

Hi, folks! I have a (really) quick post for you today. I just got a Canon EOS 50D as a backup for my Rebel T7, and I'm highly impressed. Despite being pretty old, this DSLR pumps out some incredible pictures. Some cameras are timeless, and many of these old Canon digitals are shining examples of this. Eventually, I may cover the 50D in more detail. But for now, here are some of my favorite photos that I've taken with it. Enjoy!

Hey, everyone! Today, I got some pictures just outside of Galveston, IN. As usual, I took my trusty Canon Rebel T7. However, I decided to change things up with my lens of choice. Meet the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens , ideal for close-ups and portrait photography! It's not the most versatile, featuring a fixed focal length of 50mm, but it is still useful in many situations. So, here's what this compact yet powerful lens can produce: Pretty cool, right? I'm pleased. I made minimal edits to these photos, and I think they came out nicely.  Moving forward, I plan to start doing more edits to my photos and explore RAW photography. I've even secured a Creative License again! Stay tuned for that; it's going to be cool. That's about all for now, though. Thanks for reading and looking at my pics. Have a good one!

Just when you think you've seen everything, you're gifted a still camera that saves images to compact discs . I had been aware of Sony's CD Mavica line of cameras for a while, and I had owned numerous floppy disk Mavicas, but using a CD Mavica for the first time was surreal nonetheless. There's something special about a camera with a whole optical drive in it. It reminds me a lot of a Discman. I was fortunate enough to get mine for free with all of its accessories and several blank discs. My model is the MVC-CD400, and it was one of several CD-based Mavicas in Sony's lineup. This camera, in particular, dates back to around 2002. The weird round shape is the result of cramming a whole CD mechanism in this camera. The hardware is delightfully 2000s. The entire front panel, including its surprisingly bright LCD, folds out to reveal a compact optical drive. It reads 8-centimeter "mini" CDs. These are significantly smaller than normal CDs, and while the camera ...

If you’ve followed my work, you know I love my Canon Rebel T7. I'll admit, I’m a sucker for DSLRs. They’re inherently more mechanical in nature than their more modern mirrorless and mobile alternatives. Problem is, they’re big and bulky. And I love that… Except when I’m on the go. Sometimes, I just don’t have time to be swapping lenses.  That's where phone photography comes in, right? Well, not really. I love the various tactile controls and shooting modes on my Rebel. Using a phone feels soulless by comparison, with everything being dumbed down and AI-assisted. I was after a DSLR-like point-and-shoot camera, and that's where this little guy came in... Meet Uncle Ricoh! Obligatory Napoleon Dynamite joke out of the way, this is my favorite point-and-shoot camera I’ve owned. This is the Ricoh Caplio GX100 from 2007. It has all sorts of snazzy features that satisfy the camera geek within me. I'm talking about multiple knobs and dials. I'm talking   about a proper  man...

Hey folks! Tonight, I got some pretty neat close-ups of a few objects around my dorm room. These included my vintage Pioneer turntable, a snow globe, and a mysterious glass orb. I paired these with LED lights to get some unique ambient and abstract shots. To preserve colors, I did not make any edits. What camera did I use? You guessed it; my trusty Canon Rebel T7 with a Canon 18-55mm lens. Admittedly, it is my favorite camera at the moment. Anyway, here's what I came up with: Those are the pics! I hope you found them interesting, cool, awesome, and everything in between. I definitely had fun with them.  Also, a massive thank you to Porter for helping me sift through these pics and choose the best one.  That's about all for now! Stay tuned for more.

Hey, everyone! Today, I went out and got some photos around my college campus. The weather wasn't too great, but I got a few pics I like. As usual, I used my Canon Rebel T7 with Canon wide and telephoto lenses. I made some minor edits, but these photos are largely unaltered. Here's what I cooked up: Austere atmosphere Lone stroll Nature vs lamp Take my hand Camry makes a left turn Red splash A rare instance of vibrancy Quaint village; ideal for skateboarding Cascading vinyl Overall, I'm pretty happy with what I came up with here. I am excited to further explore B&W photography, and I'm also interested in continuing to tinker with the color profiles on my camera. I hope to share the results here soon. Anyway, I hope you liked the pictures, and thanks for stopping by. :)

October is nearing its end, and that means we’ll have to contend with winter soon. With this in mind, I wanted to capture rural Indiana's fleeting autumnal beauty this weekend. I decided to do this with two cameras: My beloved Canon Rebel T7 (paired with my Canon EF-S 18-55mm lens) and my Sony Mavica FD88 ( as seen previously   on this blog). I chose to use the Canon for still shots, as per usual... The Fall Vortex Red Splash Bokeh Leaf 3000 By the time I had taken these three photos, the sun had started to set. I was ready for a break. The following afternoon, I decided to find my next subject. My cat Mocha proved to be exactly what I was looking for. Yep, I took a bunch of cat pics. Sue me. A Distinguished Gentleman A Clueless Gentleman A Distracted Gentleman Mocha's Calm Stare I'm glad Mocha cooperated, as the results are quite nice. I had a lot of fun with my fall pictures, but nothing beats photographing cats (when they're on board with it).  As for the Mavica, I u...

Hey, everyone! My fall break is rapidly approaching its end, so today, I decided it was once again time to take some proper pictures with my Canon Rebel T7. I used my trusty Canon EF-S 18-55mm lens for these shots, and it did not disappoint. As usual, these photos were taken exclusively in manual mode with minimal edits. Enough talk, here are the pics! Shimmering Flower Shimmering Flower (Alternate Shot) Flower Nestled in the Leaves Pumpkin Contemplating Fall Vibrant Sunflower In Her Element Intense Stare I'm really happy with all of these shots. I really missed taking photos with my little Rebel. Admittedly, I've been a little distracted by my recent instant camera addiction , but this is still my favorite camera of all time. With that in mind, I'm extremely glad I had the time today to use it again. Thanks for stopping by, and stayed tuned for more photography stuff! Have a good one.

Hey, folks! I did it. I finally got into instant photography. And I love it. Admittedly, I've had some experience with instant photography before now. I got my first instant camera at a thrift store in 2022. It was a Polaroid OneStep from the 90s, and while film was still readily available for it, it was far too expensive to justify using it regularly. As cool as instant photography was, I accepted that it wasn't economically viable for me and moved on. ...Until about a month ago! On one of my first dates with my girlfriend, she introduced me to her Fujifilm Instax Mini 11. It was a much more compact and modern instant camera than my Polaroid. It also used smaller film slides. This was a big deal, as she informed me that the smaller film came at a smaller price. I was intrigued. A couple weeks later, I ventured to Walmart and splurged. I picked up the cheapest Instax they sold: The Mini SE. It only cost about $57, and it came bundled with 10 slides of film. I also picked up an ...

Hey, folks! I've got a very quick post for today. I just went on a drive and took some pictures on my Canon 10D. This is a DSLR from 2003, and it's still capable of taking some nice images. I paired it with a period-accurate Canon 28-80mm lens for the full retro experience. With that in mind, here are my favorite shots from tonight's adventure: The classic sunset pic. Nature vs. the fence. Summer embodied in one image. It's very pink. Non-colorized version of the last picture. Time flies when you're having fun. I hope you liked the pics! Thanks for checking them out, and happy snapping.