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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!!!
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