Small & Simple

Several of my favorite cameras do not have built in light meters and the Sunny 16 Rule can be tricky with the changing light conditions of the foggy north coast of California. So an accurate, easy to use, pocketable light meter is essential.

I have several light meters (Weston Master III, Sekonic L-248 and L-308s). They're all great, but none are really small. And lately, I am on a quest for simple, minimalist photographic tools. So I went searching and shopping and came up with a cool selenium meter produced around 1960 -- the Gossen Pilot.

Selenium meters don't need batteries. Light powers the meter. The downside of these meters is that the selenium cells degrade over time, so they aren't always accurate. In addition, selenium meters don't measure low light levels very well, so they're best used outdoors. Which is exactly what I wanted this meter for--a small, light, simple exposure meter that I could slip into a pocket for long walks with my camera.

I found my Pilot on eBay for under twenty bucks. It came in it's original box with manual and plastic clam shell protective cover.

I tested my Pilot along side my modern digital L-308s and it's still accurate. Gossen and Sekonic make modern analog and digital display battery-powered meters that are as small as the Pilot, but they're both well over $100. I can buy another Pilot or two as spares in case this one dies and still be ahead of the game. There was also a Pilot II produced around 1975. Same meter with updated look.

I like this meter. It measures incident and reflected light.  It's small, simple and is easy to use and read in the field. Perfect addition to my minimalist photographic toolbox.

Got a favorite light meter? I'd love to hear about it!

Thankful

Honestly, a day doesn't go by that I don't feel thankful. Thankful that somehow, at this late stage of my life, I was given the opportunity to reinvent myself one more time and live in a place that really nourishes my soul. Thankful that I can grab a camera and explore some of the most beautiful coastline in the US. These are some of my favorite images from the past six years, all taken along the coast of California from San Francisco north to Mendocino.

Myers Grade, Nikon FE2 with 85mm Nikkor

Leica MP, 35mm Summicron

Nikon FE2, 85mm Nikkor

This is Spud Point Marin in Bodega Bay shot with my Leica M3

Expired Fuji 400H film

I love shooting late in the day.

Nikon FE2 with 85mm Nikkor

Starfish near Bodega Bay

Nikon F2 on Bodega Dunes

Pentax ME Super

Leica M4 with 35 Summicron

The beach changes by the hour.

Leica MP and I think I was shooting Kodak Plus-X

Nikon FM2N with 55mm Nikkor

A rare warm day on the Sonoma Coast

Magic Hour

Leica M6TTL with 35 Summicron

Leica MP with 50 Summicron

Heading home...

Play It Again Sam

The medium format Hasselblad V-Series cameras were the iconic picture taking machines of my youth. They were big and loud and complicated and insanely expensive. I remember looking at the ads for the vast Hasselblad system in the pages of Modern Photography and Popular Photography, then flipping through to the camera store ads in the back and gasping at the cost. Hasselblads were for working, professional, mostly studio photographers.

A couple of years ago, I got bit by the Hasselblad bug and with film cameras becoming more and more affordable, I decided to indulge myself. I got a nice deal on a 501c body, a couple of finders and lenses and two film backs from Marc Miller in Tucson. I shot a couple of rolls of color and one or two of black and white, put the camera away and hardly used it again. Eventually, I traded my Hasselblad for a Nikon digital camera and mostly forgot about Hasselblad. Mostly.

Early in November, I started thinking about Hasselblad again. I started asking myself what was it about the camera that made me set it aside so quickly? I started thinking that maybe the Hasselblad was too ambitious a camera for my experience level at the time. And, unknowingly, I configured my first Hasselblad in such a way that it was big and heavy and overly complex. What I had learned, since I parted ways with the Hassey, is that I feel most comfortable when a camera is simple, straightforward and if possible, stripped to its most minimalist form.

So I went looking for another Hasselblad. This time, I settled on the 500C/M. Pure. Simple. Mechanical. I opted for the basic waist level finder, 12 exposure film back and Carl Zeiss 80mm f/2.8 Planar CF lens.

I had a metered prism finder on my first Hasselblad and while it made shooting the camera at eye level a lot like shooting a 35mm SLR, it added lots of weight and size to the camera. In the studio on a tripod, that's fine. Out in the field, not so much. So I went this time for the lightest, smallest, easiest to handle configuration. And with the metered finder, you still had to transfer the meter's suggested exposure to the lens (no auto-exposure here), so why not just use one of my small, handheld meters?

I went for the chrome version (they come in chrome and black and all black) because I like the way the chrome Hasselblads look. I opted for the crank-style film advance. They also offer a knob-style. I like this one better. The CF version of the Zeiss Planar is one of the later versions and there's not much more to say about amazing Carl Zeiss optics than has already been written.

I got a great deal on my 500C/M from Marc Miller in Tucson. Marc has an eBay store. He's an honest seller with great gear at fair prices. He included a nifty lens hood at no charge.

I shot my first roll of Kodak T-Max 100 with the camera today. The 500C/M in this configuration is much smaller and easier to handle than my earlier Hasselblad with prism finder and 150mm lens. The waist level finder is big, bright and clear. Precise focusing with the flip up magnifier is easy. Loading film into the camera's film back was intimidating the first time around. This time, it was like riding a bike. I might pick up a second film back and keep one loaded with color and one with black and white. With the Hasselblads, you can change backs mid roll if you want.

Too soon to tell if the 500C/M will be a keeper this time around, but I'm feeling it will. This simple, small, light configuration is fun to shoot. I like the square format. And after shooting Leica M2s and M3s, I am not intimidated by unmetered bodies or different methods of film loading.

The Hasselblad is an acquired taste and maybe I am at a point now where I can truly appreciate this fine camera. I'm going to shoot a few rolls and post the results soon.

A Slower Portra

For several years, Kodak's Ektar 100 was my favorite color film. It is forgiving of exposure errors and renders satisfying, saturated colors. I shot Kodak's Portra 400 only occasionally, thinking that it was better suited, as its name implies, to portraits of people rather than still life or landscapes. Then one day, I mistakenly set my camera to ASA 200 when it was loaded with 400 speed Portra and headed out to do some photography. Overexposing Portra 400 gave me the colors I had been looking for all along. I always shoot my Portra 400 now at half the box speed and am quite pleased with my images.

Recently, I picked up a ProPack of Portra 160. My thought was to use it to shoot the nice Fall colors in the abundant sunshine of October and November in Wine Country. The first roll shooting any new film is an adventure. You never know what you're going to get. I mounted a 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikko to my Nikon FM2N, set my camera to ASA 100, grabbed a coat and went out for a walk.

All in all, I am fairly pleased with my first roll of Portra 160. I think I might dial the meter back to half the box speed on this film as well. There are enough rolls left in the ProPack and enough nice Fall days left to experiment some more. 

The Keepers

I happened to pause a moment while looking at my "camera shelf" the other day. Six years into this process of buying, using and selling old film cameras, it's interesting (to me at least) the cameras that I have kept and continue to use. Here's my list, in no order of any particular importance.

Nikon F2 with AS Metered Finder

NIKON F2: I love the F2. I have two bodies and four different prism finders. I thought that the F2 was a bit too heavy the first time I held one. I wouldn't have imagined at that time that it would have made this list, but the F2 is a camera you appreciate more and more as you use it. It's a flexible, dependable photographic tool. I'll be buried with my F2s.

Contax RX with Zeiss Planar

CONTAX RX:  I bought my RX and 50mm Planar lens because I like the way the Contax cameras of this era look. I was surprised at how wonderful this camera is to use and the great images the Carl Zeiss lens is capable of. My RX was produced just as auto focus was taking hold, so it has the brain of an auto focus camera without the capability to actually focus the lens. A little indicator in the finder tells you when your subject is in focus. You don't need it though. The finder in the RX is big and bright and snappy.

Leica M2 with 50mm Rigid Summicron

LEICA M2:  My favorite of the un-metered M bodies, the M2 is simple, quiet, precise and an absolute joy to use. Designed as a less expensive alternative to the M3, the M2 has a cult following for good reason:  it's a damn fine camera!

Nikon FM2N with 85mm Nikkor

NIKON FM2N:  I bought one of these when they first came out and sold it during my divorce. I regretted it as I was counting the money. This is a wonderfully simple and reliable camera that many pros had in their camera bags as back up bodies to whatever pro model Nikon had out at the time. The FM2N just goes. I had Japan Camera Hunter source mine and it was a great experience. Want a great simple SLR? Get one of these.

Mamiya 645Pro with Metered Finder and Power Winder

MAMIYA 645PRO:  I don't shoot medium format much, but when I get the itch to, I grab this camera. The Mamiya handles like a 35mm SLR, has oodles of lenses and accessories and is easy to use. With finder and power grip, it's a big and heavy beast. Strip it down to the basic waist level finder and crank-style film advance and it's very portable. When I was shopping, it was a toss-up between the Pentax 645 and the Mamiya. The vast array of accessories available for the Mamiya won me over.

Leica Black Body MP with 50mm Summicron

LEICA MP:  The first new camera I have purchased in forever and probably the last one I ever will. The Leica MP is the camera I grab most often. Probably because it's small. Also, it has a spot on built in meter. It's simple. Easy. Feels and sounds great. How great is this camera? It's a film camera and it's still in production.

Nikon F4 with MB-20 grip

NIKON F4: I held one of these in a camera shop in Tempe, Arizona when they first came out. I thought it was the most amazing camera I had ever held. Autofocus...wow! Nikon jumped way high over the competition when they introduced this camera. Take a look at cameras today and then look at the F4. It's the mother ship. This was the camera that changed everything. By today's standards, the F4's autofocus is pokey, but for what these sell for today, you've just gotta shoot an F4 once in your life.

Canon P Rangefinder with 50mm F/1.4 Canon LTM Lens

CANON P: This is the Canon that changed my mind about Canons. I've never liked 'em. Ever. I picked up my P from an eBay seller in Japan. I had Bellamy Hunt source me a 50mm f/1.4 LTM lens for it. The P is a great camera! Fun to shoot. Tack sharp glass. Takes Leica screw mount or Canon LTM lenses. These are cheap online and they are really, really neat cameras. Want one? Get one!

Leica M3 Single Stroke with 50 Rigid Summicron

LEICA M3: Hardly an instance goes by when I am out with my M3 that someone doesn't say: "That's a cool old camera!" The Leica M3 is what made Nikon and Canon eventually get out of the rangefinder business. Like the Beechcraft Bonanza airplane, designed in 1947 and hardly changed at all through the years, the M3 was so perfect from the start that Leica only made simple refinements over the years. Today's MP is just the M3 with a meter.

Pentax ME Super: Small Camera, Big Features!

PENTAX ME SUPER:  My photography friend Jim Grey sparked my interest in trying a Pentax SLR. I picked up a body and lens on eBay for well under a hundred bucks. This camera was such a pleasant surprise! Fun to shoot, great images, small enough to slip into a coat pocket. If you want to shoot film and not spend a lot of money, pick up one of these!

So there's my list of the keepers. The cameras that I've grown to love.  In my AnalogBook, elsewhere on this site, you can see the full gallery of all of the picture takers that have come my way. 

The Beach, The M3 and Portra

Late afternoons, mostly late Sunday afternoons...my favorite time to shoot at the beach near where I live. Leica M3, 50 f/2 Summicron, Kodak's Portra 400 exposed at one half the box speed.

Things that just work...

For me, Sundays are for relaxing and photography. While thinking about what kit to shoot today, I recalled that I hadn't shot my Leica M3 for a while.  When I went to grab it from the camera bag, noticed it was loaded with film (24 shots in). The little metal film speed reminder dial on the back was set to ASA 100 and the yellow filter on front of the 5cm Summarit would mean there was Acros or TMax inside. Sometime during this busy Summer, I had started this roll and today, I'll finish it off. For the life of me, I can't remember what's on the exposed frames.

What is amazing is that while my 56 year old memory often fails me, this similarly aged Leica doesn't. Clicked off a few shots in the beautiful early Sunday morning light and the shutter fired off quietly, sublimely, precisely. My trusty old Weston Master light meter came to life for me as well. These things were designed before computers, assembled by hand by people. A testament to good, solid engineering and fine craftsmanship.

Two Ps Are Better Than One

When I find a vintage camera I really like shooting, a little bit of worry creeps in. When a camera has been out of production for 20, 30, 40, 50...60 years, replacing or repairing a favorite shooter isn't easy. They aren't making any more of these things. So I worry to myself: "Gosh, I really like this camera. What if I drop it off a cliff? Will I ever find another?" 

When I stumble on a camera I enjoy using, I start snooping around eBay and Craigslist for a back-up body. The back-up might replace the primary camera should that one fail or, at the very least, contribute parts during a repair.

I've written how I enjoy using my Canon P, a mechanical rangefinder from the late 1950s. I sourced my original P from Japan and had the Japan Camera Hunter (Bellamy Hunt) find me a Canon LTM f/1.4 50mm lens for it. The lens Bellamy found me, by the way, looks like it's never been used. Trotting around happily shooting my P, I got to thinking that I should acquire a back-up body just in case. I trolled around eBay and found another decent P on the East Coast. It was a bargain. I was thinking I might send my original P or the recently acquired one off to Youxin Ye for a CLA. October maybe.

Minimalism in Photography

I have learned something about myself during the five years that I've been tinkering around with old film cameras. Even though I always have at least a dozen different cameras in my arsenal, I seem to grab the same minimalist cameras over and over. I enjoy photography the most when I have the least amount of technology between the image and me. 

When I shoot Sunny 16, it's the Canon P I grab most often, followed by my Leica M2 or M3. I love the substantial sound of the Canon's metal shutter curtain and the Canon LTM 50mm f/1.4 lens is capable of lovely images. Considering the fact that my investment in this Canon kit was very modest, it's a camera I don't mind tossing into the car and carrying around with me often.

When I want a camera with a built-in meter, I'm apt to shoot one of my Nikon F2s or the FM2. If I'm out for a day of walking or hiking, size and weight always seem to rule and in that case, I'll grab my Leica MP. The MP is small and light. You can tote it around all day with ease. The Leica's simple built-in meter is nearly always spot on. Shooting any Leica M body is a treat and my 35mm f/2 Summicron is small, precise and sharp.

After trying lots of different film cameras, I've settled on simple, mechanical, manual focus, manual exposure cameras made of metal. Minimalist tools seem to work best for me. 

Portra 400 at Point Reyes & Tomales Bay

I find myself waffling back and forth between two color films: Kodak Ektar 100 and Kodak Portra 400. For a few years, I shot nothing but Ektar and loved the saturated colors and fine grain. Recently, I've been shooting Portra and am starting to enjoy it's color palette--especially when overexposed. Maybe it's the seasons. Maybe it's the lens I'm using. I'm not sure, but I am happy to still have the choice of using either of these fine films.

Here are some Sunday shots from Point Reyes Station and Tomales Bay. Leica MP, 35mm f/2 Summicron, Portra 400 metered at half the box speed.

Lately...

Work has consumed me much of this Summer and I haven't been out shooting as much as I would  have liked to. I did use up some Fuji Pro 400H film that had just inched past it's expiration date. My results were hit and miss as is almost always the case when I shoot Fuji color film.  Here are some my favorites from the Pro 400H rolls..

With the Fuji gone, it was time to re-stock for the prime picture taking months ahead. I've always had better luck shooting Kodak film and have decided to spend some time getting to know the Portra emulsions better. Clicked up B&H Photo in NYC and ordered a Pro Pack of 160 and 400. Considering all of the black and white I shoot. this stock of color film should last me through the end of the year.

I also added another camera and lens to my arsenal. Both were sourced by Bellamy Hunt (the Japan Camera Hunter). The camera is a Nikon FM2n. I purchased one of these brand new in the  1990s and sold it during my divorce. I enjoyed using the FM2n. Simple, mechanical, reliable. I regretted selling it then and have always wanted another. Bellamy found me a "new old stock" FM2n in Japan for about the same price as well-used copies were selling for on eBay. It only took three business days to arrive Japan to California. The camera still had the protective tab inside the film chamber that you remove before shooting.

Bellamy also found me a lens that's been on my wish list for many years--the 85mm f/1.4 Ais Nikkor. This is a huge hunk of glass and considered to be one of the best manual focus Nikkors ever made. I shoot a lot with the 85mm focal length so this lens will get oodles of use.

Welcome

I had a blog on Wordpress for a little over a year. It got to be a hungry beast which I was having a difficult time feeding--I don't always have interesting things to say.  After a technical problem I couldn't solve, I decided to pull it down. I still wanted a place to tack up my photos and write some things every now and then, so here I am.

I'll post the photographs I take that I think are worth sharing and write from time to time. Thank you for stopping by and for looking. If you care to comment, please pull up a chair. Love to hear from you.