For Christmas my parents got me a Rolleiflex camera and book of some Vivian Maier work (a nanny from Chicago who documented her life from her Rollei)..

 

… and I just got back the first images I took with her.  Not bad, I must say! But it will for sure require some practice with the focus..  Typically cameras have a viewfinder you look through with your eye, but what’s neat about the Rollei cameras is that it has a waist level viewfinder.  This pretty much just means you pop open the top, and let the camera hang at your waist (kind of like how Vivian is holding it in the picture above) and look down as you compose/focus.  It is pretty fun to try something different, but also feels quite strange to me.. again, it will for sure require some practice and getting used to it more.

What I love the most about the Rollei though is the square format.  There is just something I really love about square images and the composition it allows you to work with (so think 5×5, 10×10, 12×12, 20×20 prints up on your wall).

Anyway here are the few shots I took that actually turned out 🙂 And if you have a cooperative subject (an immobile baby, a child who will take my direction, or even you and your spouse..) you just might see me pull this baby out and take some photos of you with it 🙂