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  1. #1
    Woe is me! wfooshee's Avatar
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    Oct 2011
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    Panama City, Florida
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    656

    Playing with my very first camera....

    Back in 1979, I asked my folks for a camera for Christmas. I had a stupid Kodak Instamatic, which used the 126 drop-in film cartridge, and flashcubes. Mine was so cheap I had to turn the flashcube myself, it didn't rotate automatically when winding the film! I had friend at school shooting 35mm SLRs, as the Japanese were just getting good with those. Most weren't even automatic, they were match-needle metering. Anyway, the concept of interchangeable lenses, and the quality of the images, and the occasional borrowing of a camera all convinced me that I was ready.

    Dad said they couldn't really handle the expense of a new system, but here, try this and let's see how it goes, handing me his 1952 Voigtlander Vitessa folding rangefinder. He showed me how it works, how it opens and closes, how to focus, how to set shutter and aperture, and handed me his light meter as well.

    Now most guys at that point would be all, "I don't want this old thing, it can't do anything for me!" but I thought that was the coolest thing I'd ever had put into my hands. Best way to describe the camera is to show you, so watch this (watch it fullscreen, and set it to 1080


    This is frame 15 of the VERY FIRST roll of film I put through the camera, January 1980. It was Kodachrome 64.


    I used this camera for several years until one day I had a chance to get a Canon AE-1. A friend of my sister's got one for his birthday, had no interest in it, and I jokingly pulled out my wallet, found a hundred dollars in it and offered it to him. He accepted. I took it and ran. Brand new AE-1 with a 50-1.4! Deal!!!

    Anyway, moving from the Instamatic to the Vitessa forcibly taught me a thing or two about how cameras and film work together. The effort it took to get the picture made you think and look and plan and see, and I try to keep that mentality in place even now, with auto-everything digital.

    So I ran a roll of Velvia 100P through it during July and August this year, and here are some of the shots. Unfortunately Picasaweb is adding a bit of noise to them, so I'm trying to find another host....

    In our local airport, available light from windows and skylights:


    At my local state park, with late afternoon light:




    My bike in the parking lot, same late light:


    Another day, I'd been shooting in the shade, and walked back to get this shot, sorta forgot to stop down. I like the effect, though.


    Going for f:16 instead of f:4.....


    My baby girl and hers. Long handheld, about a quarter second, maybe even a half, I can't recall. ISO 100, for crying out loud, and I don't have a flash that works from a PC cord any more!


    Another granddaughter. I don't really know if I missed focus or if this was a long exposure, but I love the tones.


    This film really likes full sunlight!!!

  2. #2
    Analog Photographer, Digital World Axle's Avatar
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    Dec 2004
    Location
    Milton, ON, Canada
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    2,141

    Re: Playing with my very first camera....

    Awesome, beautiful camera and beautiful work. They just don't make 'em like this anymore!

    Thanks for sharing!
    Alex Luyckx | Photography
    Capturing Beauty in Everything

  3. #3
    Captain of the Ship Photo-John's Avatar
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    Aug 2001
    Location
    Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
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    15,422

    Re: Playing with my very first camera....

    Great story with very nice illustrative photos, wfooshee. I haven't watched the video yet, but I will. Did you make the video, too? One great thing about learning with an all manual camera like that Voiglander, is there are no crutches to lean on. Mistakes result in total throwaways. That will either motivate you to really understand exposure, or just put the camera away. I'm glad you invested the time and effort to learn
    Photo-John

    Your reviews are the foundation of this site - Write A Review!

  4. #4
    Woe is me! wfooshee's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Panama City, Florida
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    656

    Re: Playing with my very first camera....

    I made the video with my D7000 tripod mounted, and a very bright light aimed at the ceiling.

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