The Photography of Neil KestersonPhotos, comments, information, and anything to do with photographySoviet Cameras
I bought a Fed 3b, a 1970's-era Soviet-made camera. It's a Leica rangefinder copy, meaning they styled it after the famous German-made cameras that were being made before and during WWII. After the Soviets took over the Eastern European block countries that Germany had captured during WWII, they also took over camera manufacturing plants within those boundaries...and the people who designed and built the cameras. So naturally, the famed Leica-style camera would live on under a new name, but with Soviet sensibility. I'm guessing moral and job satisfaction were at the lowest possible level, because most of these cameras are built like a box of overwound springs and pulleys waiting to be sprung free. Reliability isn't an issue, it's non-existent. From all accounts, 1 in 10 cameras are perfect. 4 out of 10 cameras will have an average life, and 1 or 2 out of 10 will not even work when new. Now of those few that will have average lives, they can be masterpieces. The lenses (when working) suffer the same odds, but are mostly above average in optical quality in most manufactured. In fact, there are some that are highly coveted and used on digital cameras even today. I think the pictures below illustrate that fact. One last note on camera construction, my 1970's era camera is basically 1930's technology. For instance, if you don't first advance the film BEFORE you set the shutter speed,, you'll break the camera. Wha??!!!?? Yep. Camera makers soon figured out a way around this. "But no! We're Soviets! We build them, you buy them!" Whenever I snap a photo with this camera, there's a little voice in my head with a heavy Russian accent that says, "You not complain about great Soviet workmanship...or you'll be taking pictures in Siberia!"
Spring in the Arborteum
Spring and Fall are my favorite times in the UK Arboretum. Here are two reasons why.
(Nikon F4s, Kodak Ektar 100) (Nikon F4s, Kodak Ektar 100) Trees and Fence"Trees and Fence." Woodford County, Kentucky. (Bronica ETRS, Kodak Ektar 100) Gray's Arch
From a recent trip the Red River Gorge. I hadn't been to Gray's Arch in quite a while. I approached from a different side this time and found they had built steps. My dog Daisy had quite a time getting back up the long run of them, as she hates stairs. I've got some black-and-white shots of the arch coming in a few weeks, so stay tuned.
"Gray Swirls." Gray's Arch, Red River Gorge, Kentucky. (Bronica ETRS, Kodak Ektar 100) "Waterfall." Gray's Arch, Red River Gorge, Kentucky. (Bronica ETRS, Kodak Ektar 100) "Moss." Gray's Arch, Red River Gorge, Kentucky. (Bronica ETRS, Kodak Ektar 100) Waveland Gardens
On a recent trip to Waveland Shrine, Lexington, KY. All shot on medium format 6 x 4.5 film, Bronica ETRS. Not crazy about the exposure on the cabin shot, as it was underexposed. But, as a testament to film vs. digital, I never could have pulled anything out of a badly underexposed digital shot like this.
"Children's Cabin." Waveland Shrine, Lexington. (Bronica ETRS, Kodak Ektar 100) "Sundial." Waveland Shrine, Lexington. (Bronica ETRS, Kodak Ektar 100) "Three Reds." Waveland Shrine, Lexington. (Bronica ETRS, Kodak Ektar 100) Half Frame Pictures
This set is from a half-frame camera. The Olympus Pen-EEs uses 35mm film, but shoots pictures using half of the normal frame. So if a roll of film normally has 36 pictures, you get 72 on this type of camera. The half frame was very popular in the 1960's as a travel camera when film was costly to buy and develop (like today after the digital revolution). They were small and easily pocketable, and the best (like the Olympus) had extremely sharp lenses. When holding the camera normally (horizontally), the viewfinder and picture will be a vertical. You must turn the camera vertically to obtain a horizontal format. Not a great downer for me, since I like to shoot verticals. A vertical creates a more dynamic photo since our vision is basically horizontal. Motion picture film is oriented the same way on film. That's why the sprockets are on the sides of the horizontal frame (running vertically), and you see the Mickey Mouse Ears film magazine on the top of movie cameras. Wondering about the quality? Well, I wouldn't blow up past 8 x 10, and that's even pushing it. They're perfect for 3 x 5's or 4 x 6's, the typical photo album size. Re ember that motion picture film is blown up to a full size theatre screen, so you can get decent quality out of this format. By the way, Olympus' expertise in creating extremely sharp lenses for these cameras may be one of the reasons why they decided to go with the Four Third format for their line of DSLRs. This format is basically the size of a half-frame APS-H (Canon) sensor, and smaller than typical APS-sized DSLRs. Too small for my taste in digital, as much as I love Olympus, though.
"N&W 675." Bluegrass Railroad Museum, Versailles, KY. (Olympus Pen EEs, Plus-X) "Trans Port Ation." Bluegrass Railroad Museum, Versailles, KY. (Olympus Pen EEs, Plus-X) "A Photographer and his Dog, Part II." Bluegrass Railroad Museum, Versailles, KY. (Olympus Pen EEs, Plus-X) "Two Engines." Bluegrass Railroad Museum, Versailles, KY. (Olympus Pen EEs, Plus-X) "Three Box Cars." Bluegrass Railroad Museum, Versailles, KY. (Olympus Pen EEs, Plus-X) "Water." Bluegrass Railroad Museum, Versailles, KY. (Olympus Pen EEs, Plus-X) "Stopped Stop Lights." Bluegrass Railroad Museum, Versailles, KY. (Olympus Pen EEs, Plus-X) "I Want to Drive." Bluegrass Railroad Museum, Versailles, KY. (Olympus Pen EEs, Plus-X) Sweet Ray Laurel Session #2Sweet Ray Laurel Drum Recording SessionObjects in Mirror...are closer than they appear. Barn SideReally cool barn in Woodford County. (Nikon F4s, 200mm Nikkor Q, PLus-X, toned in Photoshop) |
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