35mm

If you have been reading my blog recently, you’ll know that I spotted a mint condition Minolta on eBay after searching for almost 2 weeks for a cheap semi-automated rangefinder. It was listed for $65 plus $10 for postage. I asked the few usual questions from the seller regarding light leaks, lens fungus or dirt, rangefinder, shutter and light meter accuracy, and was told that “it seems to be working fine but since this camera hasn’t been film tested, I cannot say for sure. However, I can offer you a 2 week trial period in which you can test the camera out as much as you want and if there are any issues – full refund.” Sold.

Since the camera was located in Melbourne, I asked the seller if I could pick it up instead. He agreed and the very next morning I was at his place doing a final inspection. It wasn’t cleaned and had a bit of mould on the leather and around the areas one would normally grip it and the focus ring was extremely stiff (I had to hold it like a bottle top to make it move!). Using these non-issues, I thought I would haggle a bit and see where it gets me. I started at $30. He said $60. I said $35. He said $50. I said $40. He said “done”. Just like that, it was mine.

Giddy with excitement, I left his home and went straight to a camera store and bought a Kodak 400CN (I usually set my ISO at 400 when street shooting with my D90 so figured that would be a good starting point for me) black and white film ($13 – same film on eBay: $3-$5). Loaded it and hoped on the train to the CBD (see what I was on about in the previous post about me not being patient). I kept fiddling with the focus ring and slowly it did become a tad bit loose but not loose enough to be used for fast paced street shooting (the lubricant in the focus ring was all sticky due to lack of use). Also, I was a bit uncertain about the selenium light meter and it’s accuracy. Then again, this was supposed to be a test run for the camera to see if everything worked the way it’s supposed to.

On the train, I really started to inspect it and see what controls I had at my disposal. There were two switches on the lens marked ‘X’ and ‘M’. And another marked ‘V’, which I soon figured out, was for the self-timer. The ‘X’ and the ‘M’ switch…no idea whatsoever! There is a flash guide table on the back of the camera that sort of explained what I had to do with that switch. Don’t know what I derived from that table but I switched it from ‘X’ to ‘M’ and left it there. Then there was the issue of the aperture ring (as this is an Aperture Priority camera, there are no dials available for shutter speed adjustments). There is a ring that controlled the exposure (I know that because it moved a needle in the light meter), but it doesn’t have any aperture values. Instead, it has a ‘B’ (‘Bulb’ mode obviously) and then numbers from 6 to 18 in normal succession. I figured these were the EV values instead of f-stops (my hunch was right since I finally found some info on the camera which confirmed it). With this unconfirmed understanding of the camera, I got out the train and immediately started shooting.

Focusing was a pain because of the stiff focus ring and, tiny as it may be, there is quite a bit of viewfinder blockage because of the 45mm prime lens. I know all RF cameras have this problem, but this was the first time I was shooting with it so it felt distracting. Along with that, I kept forgetting to check the light meter that is situated on the top of camera instead of the ‘in-viewfinder’ info I’m used to. It is quite a heavy camera for it’s size and it’s built like a tank – solid metal. Not a single bit made out of plastic. So without a wrist strap, it was proving to be a challenge to handle. The ergonomics are decent – it was the weight without a proper grip that was the issue.

As you can probably tell, it wasn’t exactly a good experience. All that uncertainty and the newness of film didn’t leave me in a comfortable situation. I know it was a test run, but I still wanted some assurance that I’ll get at least one half decent photograph! And to top it all off, I kept looking at the back of the camera to look at the result (bad habits die hard)! After taking a few shots, I just put it back in my bag and went to the State Library and sulked for a bit. Disappointed at myself for buying something without doing much research into the subject the camera addressed – film photography.

After spending 15 – 20 minutes in the same corner, I saw a guy in the library with an old Olympus OM film SLR dangling around his neck. I followed him with the intention of catching up to him and having a chat about film photography thinking maybe he could give me an idea about what I was doing wrong (he seemed to carry it with confidence which led me to believe that he may be experienced in the film area). But before I could catch up to him, he went straight into the ‘Arts’ section which was a silent area. I followed him and instantly saw a whole sea of book shelves on photography immediately towards my right. Weirdly enough, I had never been to this part of the library before (all I’ve ever done in the library before this was study for my exams). I looked through the countless amazing books on everything from glamour, to fine art, to commercial, to portrait, to this, to that photography. It felt like heaven! Thankfully, I realised I was drooling before it overflowed.

As much as I wanted to read all the books in those shelves, I grabbed the two that attracted me the most. A biography on Ansel Adams and another one that was published by Magnum Photos. Even though that Magnum Photos book was more related to the style I wanted to peruse, I couldn’t pass reading on the absolute genius that was the great Ansel Adams. I read and I read. Before I knew it, I had spent nearly 5 hours in the library. A small pile of books had formed on my table, all related to film photography.

After reading all those books, I realised I was looking at film photography all wrong. I was still in my overshooting digital mindset i.e. not emotionally involved in the process of capturing the photographs; not feeling the composition; there was no soul in my photographs. Film photography is an art form and black and white gives it character.

I left all my frustration with those amazing books in the library and headed back out. I kept telling myself to be patient. Wait for the shot to come to you. But it never did and I went back home without taking a single shot.

The next day my wife and I had to go watch a cricket match with a few friends and instead of taking my (comparatively) big D90, I thought I would take the Minolta with me. I didn’t have any intention of taking any pictures of the cricket match so I figured just the Minolta would do me fine.

Still getting used to the field of view. It would have looked a lot better if I was closer.

I had all the things I had read about in the books and on the blogs circling in my mind and was determined not to get impatient and ruin my chances of getting a good shot this time. Surprisingly, my wife didn’t mind this time when I kept pausing and waiting whenever I saw an interesting composition while we were walking from the train station to the stadium (she usually snatches the camera away from me when I do this with my D90). I was having trouble framing since the frame lines in the viewfinder aren’t that bright and I hadn’t, as yet, gotten used to the field of view I get with the 45mm f2.8 Rokkor. Even with all this waiting, I couldn’t get a decent shot (in my head at least). It came down to the point that my wife and I found a bench in front of a multilevel walkway just outside the stadium that made up a nice composition. And then we waited. She played games on her iPhone and I preset my focus and exposure. We waited around 10 minutes when I finally got what I wanted and I quickly took the shot. As soon as I pressed the shutter release, I felt strangely satisfied and I knew this was the one. With a smile on my face, I looked at the exposure counter. That was the last one.

I was so excited to see that picture that I went to the closest 1 hour photo lab at around 9 am and dropped off the film for developing and rushed off to do my other chores for the day as quickly as possible. 9:42 and I was free. The last 18 minutes were torturous (partly because the excitement was killing me and partly because I spent those 18 minutes looking at the clock on the dashboard of my car). I couldn’t take it any longer. It was exactly 10 am and I still hadn’t received the call letting me know that I could pick up the prints. I walked into the photo lab and they tell me they’re just printing them and it’ll take another minute or so. I can swear I heard the ticking of seconds in my head.

The minute passed and I finally had the prints from my first roll of film in my hands. I paid them and rushed back into the car and ripped open the bag. Crap…crap…crap…crap…not bad…meh…*17 prints later*…..

(just a big ass smile)

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