Fun with a TLR and 2 Soviet rangefinders!

camperbc · Jul 27, 2012

I had an interesting little adventure yesterday. It was my first real outing with my cameras since last February, due to my spinal issues. (bedridden most of the time) And my very first time shooting with either a TLR or a FSU rangefinder! I had an absolutely wonderful time, and although my spine is paying a heavy price at the moment, it was definitely worth the consequences; in fact I'm hoping to get back out again after a couple more days of bed rest.

I brought along three vintage cameras; my lovely Yashica 635, and equally flawless Zorki-4 and FED 2. Hopefully I got some nice results to show for my efforts. I was shooting Ilford Delta 100 in all three cameras. I am really excited that I am about to develop my first rolls of film in 35 years! My developing supplies arrived in yesterday's mail, so my next big project is to (attempt to) develop three rolls of film.

Using the Yashica 635 is an absolute delight! The large, clear viewfinder is like looking at a TV screen. I really enjoyed getting back to the real basics of photography; meticulously planning out each shot, calculating the correct exposure using the "sunny 16" rule, (and confirming with my "Leningrad 7" light meter) trying to remember to advance the film prior to taking another shot; though I'm sure I goofed a couple of times and made double exposures! This camera created quite a stir wherever I went. I was at Sandy Cove Beach near the historic town of Tilting, and tourists were coming up to me to see my 635, and to ask endless silly questions like "is that digital?", does it have autofocus?", "is it auto exposure?", "what did you pay for it?", "can I hold it?", is that other one a Leica?", etc, etc. One middle-aged guy actually said "Yo dude, that Yashica's totally rad, man". Yikes. I kid you not.

I kept forgetting things, but I think it will just take a bit of time to get back into the swing of film shooting. I was laying in bed at 4AM when it suddenly hit me that I had forgotten to put the lens hood on, so I'm likely going to see some flare issues. So much to think about, when I am not used to having to be so meticulous; we really have gotten spoiled with digital photography... take a gazillion shots and we're bound to get a few keepers!

So that's what I've been up to; out enjoying the gorgeous summer weather for the first time in a very long time. The next two days are looking a bit wet, so it might be a good opportunity to jump into developing the film. I don't have a completely darkened room in our house, so I will try to block off the window in the sewing room, and attempt to load the film onto the reels, possibly under a blanket or something, to play it safe. I'm a bit nervous about blindly getting the film onto the reels, but after that it should be smooth sailing. I just ordered my Epson V600 scanner, so hopefully by next week at this time I'll have some results from my beloved Yashica 635, Zorki-4 and FED 2 to post here!

Glen
www.FocusOnNewfoundland.com

Derrel · Jul 27, 2012

First off, thank you for the effort that went into this excellent write-up Glen! Even though we are on literal opposite sides of the continent, I feel a kind of "Yashica 635 kinship" with you, having myself taken the old 635 out this very summer, where the same types of things happened to me! I too had not shot film very much in recent years-- my three rolls over three years doesn't count for much film shooting I think. The Yashica 635's uncoupled shutter/film advance kind of reminds me of the old expression, "Did I turn the oven off?", or "Did I lock the house up?"...yeah...the ever-present danger of a Yashica 635 double exposure...yeah....what a feeling! I liked reading about some of the spectators and their questions about that, "weird camera". Using these older types of cameras really is different than using a 21st century digital cam.

Again, thanks so much for the write-up. I look forward to some Newfoundland shots made with the vintage cameras.