Author Chris and Carol

Enjoying the day together –

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I realized that we haven’t posted an image of the two of us (from this century anyway), so we picked this one. We don’t normally run around taking selfies (nothing against them) so we don’t have a large image pool to draw from. We like this one the best. Attending a spring training game for the New York Mets in St. Lucie West (Florida). They have an awesome field and outstanding facilities there. If you get the chance to catch a spring training game then do so. You’re always close to the action and get to see pretty much everyone on the team. The Mets play at Tradition Field.

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Canon F-1

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First version Canon F-1 with its gorgeous chrome nosed FD 50mm f/ 1.4 lens.

Canon F-1 from April 1972. This was the first version of the F-1 and it sports a rather low serial number. We’ve held this one back all these years with just occasional use (mainly in the studio). Our field tested F-1 (not pictured) was acquired new in 1978 (2nd version F-1) and it’s the one that’s traveled the world – getting seriously wet in Hong Kong, Japan and the US- dropped in a photographic safari bus in Kenya – slid off a train seat in Tokyo – and was briefly “lost” in Diego Garcia!

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All original stuff from 1972.

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Note that this super early FD lens does not have the SC or SSC markings on the lens ring.

I started 35mm SLR photography with a Nikonos II and then purchased my first Yashica (TL Electro-X) and then into Canon we went. We need to find some time to take this one out and put that classic glass to good use! Nothing like holding an old friend again.

Thanks for stopping by!

Chris

Custom Presentation Box for the Tower Type-3… 1953

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1953 Tower (Nicca Camera Co.) Type-3 35mm Rangefinder with custom box.

This custom designed box is based on original Tower (Nicca) designed presentation boxes of the early to mid 1950s. The leather case, which is the original from 1953 was reconditioned – the leather was gently cleaned with saddle soap, some loose stitches were properly glued to prevent further separation and the felt interior of the case was also gently cleaned and refreshed. The case hinged flap had become separated so another piece of leather was attached and it’s as good as new. The entire case was conditioned to bring out the vintage patina.

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The 64 year old leather looking great with a wonderful brown color.

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Looking fine after six decades.

As collectors, Carol and I enjoy restoring vintage cameras and when necessary, reconditioning the often neglected leather cases. We love camera sets that include the original boxes, but when they’re not available we like designing custom boxes based on original designs and colors.

Thanks for your visit! We love comments so feel free to share yours!

Chris and Carol

My friend Jim… Hong Kong 1979

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I’ve wanted to share these images for quite some time now here on this blog. They’ve been posted to my flickr page in an album titled ‘Liberty Call Hong Kong’- so time to move some of them over and provide a bit of a backstory.

I don’t consider myself a portrait photographer, in fact I’m highly critical of most of my attempts at portraiture over the years. It’s not that I don’t like it, I’m not good at it. I enjoy big vistas and wide open spaces way too much to be trapped in a studio taking pictures of people. Taking pictures of things (cameras, lenses, stuff) in the studio I do enjoy.

Other than portraits of my family, the image below not only means a lot to me but I think it’s one of my better people pics. It’s an image of my friend Jim while we were travelling north out of Hong Kong to the Chinese border by train in January 1979. It was a difficult shot – low light (and I was using Kodachrome 64), hand holding a Canon FD 80-200mm zoom lens and all while the train was moving. The sky was overcast so the light was at least uniformly dim.

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North out of Hong Kong… 1979

My friend Jim was not only a US Navy Sailor like myself, he was also a very accomplished professional photographer and the most outgoing person I had ever met. Jim was a Nikon guy when shooting 35mm – Bronica and Mamiya medium format in the studio. I’m a Canon guy and that was always a source of friendly ribbing between us. Since Jim was a pro, he wasn’t the easiest to trap into having his picture taken. I remember he was saying that this shot will never turn out well because the Canon F-1 had a crummy exposure meter and used crummy (not his real word) glass in their lenses. I don’t think he ever saw this image come to think of it. He may have liked it. I still think the image has problems – shallow depth of field means I missed nailing the focus and the exterior of the train is a tad over exposed. I don’t have fancy post production software so for the most part this scan is exactly what appears on the original slide. Here again I’m being hard on myself and it’s likely the reason I don’t try more portraits.

Another photographer that I met here on WordPress is an outstanding photographer and blogger- her portraits are amazing and always so creative. She said I give her a bit of confidence with my positive comments on the quality of her portfolio, but in reality it’s me who has been given a little nudge to go out and try some portrait photography again.

This was my second port visit to Hong Kong and both times Jim and I were out shooting together from sunrise to well after sunset. Here are but a few of the many that I like the most…

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Image by Jim. Me negotiating a better deal with this sweet vendor. She was funny and a pleasure to deal with. I bought a fan for my wife Carol.

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Jim negotiating a good deal with some nice ladies in Aberdeen, Hong Kong. We had a great boat ride around the harbor. Canon F-1 on Kodachrome 64.

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Cute little girl waiting (with grandma) for the train out of Hong Kong.

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Star Ferry sailor catching up on the morning’s news. Canon F-1 on Kodachrome 64.

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Busy day on the docks of Aberdeen, Hong Kong. Canon F-1 on Kodachrome 64.

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Very difficult shot. Canon F-1 with FD 80-200mm f4 zoom lens on Kodachrome 64 hand held while on a moving boat! 

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Hong Kong night life… 1979.

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Bar hostess… Hong Kong. Canon F-1 on Kodachrome 64. Shutter set at 1 second f1.4

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Not exactly Mickey. Watchful man and dog (lower left) couldn’t figure out why two photographers would be interested in his Mickey.

Jim and I were great friends – my wife Carol was great friends with his wife and children. As US Navy Sailors, Jim and I got to visit many interesting ports while stationed on our ship which was home ported in Yokosuka, Japan. He taught me a lot about photography and to be more outgoing while photographing people. Jim returned to the States before me and his professional studio really took off and was a great success through the 1980s and 1990s.

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Jim doing what he liked best – making people smile and taking pictures! Late 1980s in his studio in Florida.

This is the last photo I have of Jim. It was taken by his wife who was his assistant (you can see why she was)… Jim and his lovely wife died in 2001 in a terrible plane crash. Not the ones in September of that year, but theirs were just before Christmas 2001. A horrible situation for his two grown children and all who knew them.

Every December I remember Jim and all the good times we had. I can still hear him tell me that my F-1 stinks! And I remember all the tips he shared with me on taking people pics.

Thanks Jim!

Chris

 

Pentamatic in ‘Explore’

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This simple studio shot made it to Flickr’s ‘Explore’ group recently. It may be the first and only Pentamatic in ‘Explore’.

Natural window light on an overcast Florida afternoon. Camera used? Samsung Galaxy 4S. No post production by me but the Galaxy may have been on HDR. Sometimes simple is better.

Yashica Pentamatic 35mm single-lens reflex from early 1960.

Chris

Hit the Road 2016! Hello 2017!

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Thank goodness 2016 is almost history! I’ve heard from friends in Australia that 2017 is going well (so far). Let’s not muck it up!

On a positive note – here on our blog, we’ve seen a significant increase in activity over last year (2015). Visitors to the site and views are through the roof! We (Carol and I) are thrilled that what started out as a repository of bits and tidbits of Yashima-Yashica information would gain the traction that it’s had. We thank you!

We enjoy the feedback we get and I can say that I’ve learned more than a few things from it. We’ve met some super talented people – photographers and bloggers that are out of this world amazing! We hope our readers got a little something special in return too. That was the goal of the ‘Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic’ -a sharing of knowledge about a silly camera that Yashica invented in 1959 that most people have never heard of.

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This year’s favorite.

In looking through the hundreds of film and digital images that we shot in 2016, this one turns out to be our favorite. We believe that every vintage camera is worth preserving (in some way or another) – we think of cameras as holding the heartbeats of all who may have gazed through its lenses, pressed its buttons and then anxiously awaited the results. We can imagine the thousands of faces and smiles that were captured and the thousands of important events in people’s lives that were saved for the future. Classic cameras do that for us.

Don’t get us wrong… we love the  world of digital photography but we also embrace the beautiful, often awkward analog machines of our past. We hope that photographers in the future will remember (every now and then) to pick up a classic camera, load some film into it and then set out to capture images with a camera older than yourself. Enjoy!

Happy New Year… we wish only the best for all!

Chris and Carol ^.^

 

(Nicca) Tower Type-3 35 mm Rangefinder Camera… 1953

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Nice little Tower Type-3 (or Type III) 35 mm rangefinder film camera from the early 1950s – made by Nicca Camera for the Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog. The build quality of the Tower branded cameras are no different from the quality of the Nicca camera as best as we can tell. It appears that Sears didn’t ask Nicca to lessen the quality like one might imagine – Sears was known for good value but not necessarily the best quality in our opinion.

By the way, these images were taken with our Sony Cyber-shot  (model DSC-W170) from 2008. It’s a basic point and shoot but sports a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens and 10.1 megapixels. It adds a nice “softness” to our studio shots especially of vintage gear and it’s fun (and simple) to use.

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The Tower Type-3 (made by Nicca) is one of the best of the Japanese made Leica copies.

This camera appears to have been made in around 1953 – the serial number places it as a mid production model and the fact that the open-shut latch simply has ‘Made in Japan’ vice ‘Made in Occupied Japan’ engraved on it. The occupation of Japan ended with the adoption of the Peace Treaty signed in April 1952.

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Open shut latch.

This camera works perfectly – the shutter appears to be spot on and the rangefinder-viewfinder is clear and accurate. We hope to be able to run a roll of film through it soon.

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Super clean and free of significant signs of past use. A gem!

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Designed to take the L39 screw-in lenses made by any number of lens manufacturers of the period.

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Actually it’s an interesting logo – quite detailed and almost a retro look to it even for the early 1950s. 

As we’ve stated before, if you’re looking for a nice camera to experience the joy of using a vintage 35 mm rangefinder, then the Nicca and Tower cameras fit the bill nicely. Excellent fit and finish and they’re built like a tanks. You should be able to find well preserved models on various online auction sites for reasonable prices. If you see signs of corrosion or missing leatherette… run! Avoid these and buy the best you can afford. You’ll be happy you did.

Chris

Yashima Yashicaflex A-II… 1955 – A restoration like no other!

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Restoration challenge! Six decades of dirt, grime, soot and corrosion have taken their toll on this once beautiful Yashicaflex. There isn’t a part that escaped the corrosion – except the workings. The glass is just fine, shutter works, aperture blades are problem free – film advance works as does the focus. 

I’m finally on the home stretch of this year plus project. My desire to re-imagine this camera into the modern age has been the biggest holdup. Actually I’m calling it an “interpretative restoration” – that allows the artist and designer in me to reconcile with the fussy photographer that I am.

Watch the blog over the next two weeks or so as I bring it all together for the final reveal.

Thanks – Chris