Tag Canon F-1

Marseille to Sisteron & Gap by Train – 1986

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As part of my ship’s port visit to Cannes, France, I was able to take an all too short trip to Marseille from Cannes and then on to Sisteron. Not quite the full French Alps but close. A charming little town with some nice views of the mountains. Unfortunately I had to be on the next train heading back south so I at best had only an hour to walk about.

The quality of the scans are not the best as satin paper does not scan well at any resolution. All images were taken with my Canon F-1 (1978 Version) on Kodak Kodacolor negative film.

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Marseille train station?

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Pretty sure that this was at the train station in Sisteron. Although I could have made it all the way to Gap.

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I didn’t take notes as I shot these images – 31 years later I can’t recall exactly where they were in Sisteron or were they in Gap?

All the best and thanks for your visit! Oh by the way, if you recognize any of the scenes please let me know where they are. Thanks

Chris

Monaco – Monte-Carlo 1986

Chris and Carol 3 Comments

Some recently found images from a short stop in Monaco and the French Riviera in September 1986. Original images are from my Canon F-1 on Kodacolor film – scanned with a Canon CanoScan 9000F Mark II. The prints are on satin finish paper which does not scan well – at all!

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Casino de Monte-Carlo.

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Monaco police caught in casual mode.

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Monaco

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The TVG that I did not take from Marseille to Paris!

At the casino, I was invited for a change of clothing as my casual American attire was too casual for the likes of the casino. Nice clothes – and they were happy to store my camera gear for me and watched us US Navy Sailors like hawks!

Wonderful port visit overall – we were anchored out off the coast of Cannes along the French Riviera and travelled to Nice and Monte Carlo.

Thanks for your visit!

Chris

 

Springtime in Naka-ku, Yokohama

Chris and Carol 3 Comments

Remembering back to our time living in Japan in the late 1970s. We lived in a small area of southern Yokohama near Sankei-en (gardens). The Naka Ward was home to a large US Navy family housing area and the ever popular Navy Exchange and Commissary. Avenue D, pictured below, was the main highway from Yokohama to the Navy base at Yokosuka. In our part of the housing area, these Sakura (below) had been planted as a joint project with the military families and the local community. After the long and dreary winter we looked forward to the blossoms and warmth that signaled Spring.

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Sakura along Avenue D in the Naka Ward. Base housing to the left.

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Sankei-en in Spring. A short bicycle ride from our home so we visited often.

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Carol spending her 100 yen wisely on a visit to Sankei-en.

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More views in Sankei-en.

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Photography blossoms in the Spring.

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We were lucky to live in such a nice area of Yokohama – everything was a short bike ride away. Spring was way too short and the Summers on the Kanto Plain were way too long!

Thanks for your visit! Enjoy your Spring!

Camera: Canon F-1

Film: Kodak Kodachrome 25

Chris

East China Sea Sunrise

Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Sunrise and showers as viewed from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41) while conducting flight ops in the East China Sea in late 1979. Sometimes, the loneliness of life at sea can be rewarded – however briefly. Standing there in the predawn hours waiting for the tropical night to end – a dissipating rain shower on the horizon adds a bit of drama to the sunrise and the photographers night is done.

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The sun touches the clouds and the tropical shower has all but dissipated. A distant ship (part of our Task Group) can be seen on the horizon’s center.

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Flight Deck personnel clean their aircraft for the days activities. US Navy Sea King helicopter (on the right) from HC-1 and a F-4J Phantom jet awaits its next sortie.

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The cumulonimbus cloud drops its precipitation into the warm sea.

Camera: Canon F-1 (1978 version) with Canon FD 24mm f2.8 lens on Kodak Kodachrome.

Thanks for your visit.

Chris

Fireproof

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Rescue crewman’s fireproof helmet. USS Midway (CV-41), underway from Yokosuka, Japan in the South China Sea. 1978

No post production. As captured and composed.

Camera: Canon F-1 (1978 version)  Kodak Kodachrome 25  Canon FD 80-200mm f4 @ 4 sec

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

My friend Jim… Hong Kong 1979

Chris and Carol 3 Comments

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