Purma Special — Camera Go Camera

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

I decided to look for another 127 camera seeing as I had the FCK127 when up popped this blog post on Casual Photophile. Then this post appeared up on another blog I read. That was it, I wanted Purma Special and luckily I am in England so they are fairly cheap. I put a minimum […]
Purma Special — Camera Go Camera

Great post! Please take the time to check it out. It’s amazing what Peggy can do with cameras and film from another time and place. Chris

Friday Fotos! – Cocoa Beach FD

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021Chris and Carol 1 Comment

For a short time in the Spring of 1972 I was a volunteer firefighter trainee with the Cocoa Beach Fire Department – a professional department that was kind enough to take on a young college student and give me full access to their facilities and training. Here’s a few pics I shot with my new Yashica TL Electro-X 35mm SLR on Kodak Plus-X film that I developed and printed myself (for a school project).

I don’t have his name but he was a friendly firefighter that was more than happy to help with my training (as were all the others in the department).

It looks ancient now but completely open cabs were common back then. Engine 4 getting re-stowed after a run.

One of their newer engines in 1972 which featured a new to them semi-enclosed cab.

Me with my favorite truck. I’m just back from a very long and very hot purpose set fire for training.

Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris.

Yashica Pentamatic II – The Phantom

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021Chris and Carol 2 Comments

The Yashica Pentamatic II is without a doubt the hardest camera to find in any condition in Yashica’s lineup. If you do find one, buy it at least for its standard lens. You won’t be disappointed.

Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris

A new Pentamatic joins the family – this one was made in September of 1960.

DSCF7800 Seldom seen in the wild, Yashica’s “Phantom” camera – the P2

The Pentamatic II was fitted with a limited production lens made by Zunow Optical – a 5.8cm f1.7 Auto Yashinon with 10 aperture blades. It’s a massive camera with a ton (1,028 grams) of brass and glass.

It’s a distinctive design – very modern but classic at the same time. A clean pentaprism without the cold shoe mounted on it – in fact, the cold shoe (accessory shoe) is mounted on the camera’s left shoulder just above the hidden rewind knob.

DSCF7802

The serial number (NO. 96000944) indicates the “when” of this camera. The “9” is for September and the next digits, “60” is for 1960. The last 5 digits are the sequence number or production number. This one is the 944th made since production…

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bending unreal reality – altered states

June 3, 2021June 3, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

NO. 39

June 3, 2021June 3, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Fort Clinch State Park. Located on the extreme northern tip of Amelia Island, Florida.

U.S. Civil War era fort. Untested in battle as it was obsolete by the time it was built. That’s Cumberland Island, Georgia off in the distance.

To discover more about the park and Amelia Island check out this site https://www.floridastateparks.org/fortclinch

Camera – Sony Cyber-shot DSC-170

More turtle pics!

June 3, 2021June 3, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Camera – Fujifilm FinePix S9900W (both pics)

My “front yard turtle” is back at it again – aimlessly digging in dry cypress mulch with her back legs. I hope she’s not ill as it appears to be odd behavior when my back yard is a wetlands. Her shell is also rather odd (see below). This gal appears healthy except for the odd shell. She moves quickly and doesn’t appear sick or have an injury.

I don’t believe I’ve seen this type of turtle with a flaking shell. Camera – Samsung Galaxy S8+

Here’s a recent post about a virus that is killing some of Florida’s freshwater turtles – https://myfwc.com/news/all-news/turtle-disease-220/

Yashica Heavyweights – 1960s glass & brass

June 2, 2021June 2, 2021Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Here is a fun visual comparison between three early Yashica cameras.

Yashica’s first 35mm SLR released in early 1960. The Pentamatic 35 with its fast f/1.8 lens was a neck breaker to be sure.

Yashica’s first modern 35mm SLR released shortly after the end of the Pentamatic series in 1962.

First released in 1964, the Yashica Mat EM (Exposure Meter) was and still is a very popular TLR (twin-lens reflex) 120 roll film camera. It features a built-in exposure meter powered by selenium cells. The meter on mine is still working and is accurate when shooting negative films.

What’s the heaviest camera in your collection? Not pictured here I’d say my fully decked out Canon F-1 with a motor drive and big f/1.2 lens is crazy heavy. I’ll have to dig it out and post the results here soon.

tuesday turtle

June 1, 2021June 1, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

I spotted this beautiful turtle (Florida river cooter) trying to find a good place to maybe lay her eggs. My backyard is a natural habitat with a bog, small pond, and stream and one would think is the perfect wetlands for raising young (which it is). In addition to being a great environment for all sorts of creatures you’d think it would also be the perfect spot for a turtle to make a nest and lay her eggs. My front yard is a suburban yard with only a small patch of grass but lots of mulched areas under the big trees. I often see these turtles wandering around in the neighborhood crossing the streets and digging in lawn grasses in failed attempts at nest building.

Here this gal is trying to dig in the cypress mulch without much success.

Beautiful shell which looks like it’s shedding off an older layer. She’s not doing a great job of blending in with her surroundings though.

I got this one close-up and then let her be. I checked the spot she was digging in latter in the day and there were no eggs.

More info can be found at https://srelherp.uga.edu/turtles/pseflo.htm

Not how you want the box with your new laptop in it to look!

May 31, 2021May 31, 2021Chris and Carol 4 Comments

Looks like Ace Ventura had a hand in this delivery!

The computer arrived safely no thanks to the “excellent” handling by FedEx and the suspect packing by B&H.

My town Fernandina Beach – an odd mix of pics

May 31, 2021May 31, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Florida – located between the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Amelia River to the west, that’s why we’re an island.