Crisis Of Faith

Penguin #41 (The Voyage Of The Discovery) Surveys The Future

Morning folks - that sounds a bit melodramatic and (as they say around these parts) up himself, but to be honest, it's not so much a crisis but more of an affirmation of intent.

I think the time has come for me and 35mm photogaphy to part company (almost).

Y'see, the thing is whilst I appreciate the convenience and portability of the medium, I've never really been a 36 or 24 frame snapper.
Yeah I could load my own cassettes and take say 12 or 15 at a time, but really, what would be the point in that?
For more ease, I could just fit a 645 back on the Hasselblad, or use the Rollei T's 16-on kit. And for all that there's some remarkably good 645 cameras still out there, you really would be hard-pressed to beat the Rollei for compact quality. 

And anyway, I find myself quite happy with 12 frames of 6x6.

And when I think about what I have just said, I have started to wonder why I actually need:

1 x Nikon F

1 x Nikon F 2

1 x Nikon F 3

1 x Original Nikomat

1 x Leica M2

1 x Olympus Trip (sorry Steve - you can have it back if you want)

1 x Olympus XA 2 (ditto to Bruce!)

1 x Nikon AF600 (legendary cult camera with outstanding 28mm lens)

1 x Olympus OM 10

1 x Pentax PC35AF (world's first autofocus compact camera)

And that's before we get started on lenses:

Nikkor 300mm f 4.5 (pre-Ai)

Nikkor 80-200mm Zoom (pre-Ai)

Nikkor 105mm (pre-Ai)
Nikkor 55mm Macro (pre-Ai - Self Compensating Type)

Nikkor 50mm f1.4 (pre-Ai)

Nikkor 50mm f1.8 (Ai)

Nikkor 35mm f2 'O' (pre-Ai)

Nikkor 35mm f3.5 (pre-Ai - K-Series)
Nikkor 28mm f3.5 (pre-Ai - K-Series)

Nikkor 28mm f2.8 (Ai-S - second version)

Nikkor 24mm f2.8 (pre-Ai)

Leitz 35mm f3.5 Summaron (M3 'specs' version)

Leitz 50mm f3.5 Elmar (made in 1932)

Leitz 90mm f4 Elmar (M version)

Canon Rangefinder 50mm f1.8 

Canon Rangefinder 28mm f3.5

Zuiko 50mm f1.8 

And then there's the accessories - lens hoods, filters, cases, bags etc etc etc.

See what I mean - along the way, things have got totally out of hand, and seeing as it is rare these days to lift a 35mm camera, let alone take a picture, something has to give.

The really sad thing is, I won't say it hasn't been Fun acquiring all this stuff!
There's nothing like the excitement of getting a real bargain of a lens (most recent was the Ai-S 28mm f2.8 Nikkor [late model] for £100) - given the prices on these things these days, I just couldn't resist.
But, at the end of the day, does it not just distract from the most important thing?

Er, which is Sheepy???

Image Making.

It's like in musical terms:
2 weeks to make an album or 2 years to make an album?
You get distracted along the way and at the end of it, for all the extra stuff that has gone into making that album, does it have the sense of immediacy and urgency that makes a great album truly great? Having more of everything thrown at something, doesn't necessarily mean it is going to be any better than a bare bones approach.

In image making terms, for me, I have a solid and versatile Medium Format collection.
I still can't do it justice, and even my long daliance with Large Format (in the form of hundreds of 5x4" negatives and TWO 5x4 cameras [!!!!!!!]) has not really equalled (to my eyes) the images I have made with that kit (be it 'professional' Hasselblad or 'amateur' Rolleiflex T).

So when I throw 35mm into that mix, I am way off the mark of where I want to be.
Not only that, I am dedicating time to making 35mm images, that to be totally honest, I would rather be making on 120 film.

So is this the last 35mm film ever from me?
Well no, simply because I can't ditch it all.
As Steve said to me with regard to collecting anything, you always have to ask yourself:

"Do They Make Them Anymore?"

And in the case of film cameras the answer is pretty much a resounding NO.

Certainly ditching the lot would be foolhardy should I wish to go back further down the line, but for the moment, how do I thin the herd?
Well, my Nikons I will keep forever - emotional and ergonomic attachment, ease of use and that 100% viewfinder - but the lenses?
Well as you can see, there's a ton of those, but for me in practical terms the longer ones can go.
Not the 105mm - it has, unusually for a Nikkor, separation, but strangely still takes an ultra-sharp, ultra-smooth photograph.
On the wide front I actually like them all, but how many wide-angle lenses does a man need?
So, I think maybe the 35mm f3.5 and the 28mm f3.5 should go.
They're both fine - the 35mm is a K-Series (basically the last iteration of a pre-Ai Nikkor . . . very highly regarded and apparently the wide if you like digital IR photography).
The 28mm f3.5 is fine too, but I am hoping the 28mm f2.8 (CRC, late Ai-S version) is better.

So, here's some pics from a film that has sat in the camera for a good few months - that just shows how inspired I am to shoot 35mm these days.
The first 2 were made with the 24mm f2.8 (pre-Ai) - it is an utterly superb lens.
The final 4 were made with the 28mm f3.5 (the lens that McCullin shot Vietnam with) - certainly no slouch either.

The Selling Of Myth

A Warm Spring Day At A Quiet Place

Penguin #3 (Mr. Sofishsticated) Fans

Penguin #3 (Mr. Sofishsticated) Alone (for once)

Penguin #57 (Touchy) Post Vandalism

Penguin #7 (Sid The Penguin)

"Yes, we know all this sheepy, where does that leave the Leica?"

Well, y'know, whilst I have enjoyed and often actually loved using that camera, it needs to be used more.

Mine saw a proper professional life before it reached me - ever seen brassing in a film chamber? Yeah, exactly. It still works like a total dream though - smooth as silk - but to be honest I've never truly clicked with the rangefinder as I find the 100% view I get through the Nikon's viewfinders suits me more. 

Leica's are wonderfully quiet in use, they really are - everyone should try one at some point (though you could experience the same with any of the great old rangefinders tbh -try a Canon or Nikon) . . . 

But here's the thing with Leicas . . . 

OK, this is a big one, because, contrary to popular belief:

OWNING A LEICA DOES NOT MAKE YOU A BETTER PHOTOGRAPHER.

Yes, they are wonderful, intuitive, image making machines, but no more so than say a Nikon F from the same period.

And the thing with Leicas, is that you are sort of are inducted into a club, where it often seems that keeping up with the Jones' is the only thing you can do:

"You what? You've ONLY got a 35 f3.5 Summaron? . . Oh you poor boy! Well you'd better go and get a Summicron hadn't you!"

It is mad actually, quite MAD. 

The madness has been cemented in my mind by the new Leica M10-P - no doubt a wonderful camera, but £7000 for just a camera body. I'm sorry, but even if you do go and buy it, it won't make you a better photographer. You could have the road trip of a lifetime (with a Rollei) for that money and come back with arguably better photographs.

So, and I find it hard to be typing this, because I thought I never would . . . the M2 will be going.

What will I keep from my Leica 'system'?

Well . . . strangely the humble Table Top Tripod and ballhead, simply because they are arguably one of the most wonderfully useful photographic accessories ever made.

So, that's a big chunk of aspiration and dreaming cut away. 

And the rest of the 35mm stuff will go too, or else just get filed away somewhere.

I'll put a full stop on this now before I say too much, but I'll leave my last 35mm image to the one below.

It was made, as were the rest of the ones on this post, with a Nikon - in this case, my old F with a 24mm Nikkor. The film was Tri-X rated at 200 EI and it was developed in Pyrocat-HD.

There's something about the look of this that reminds me of some Japanese horror films of the 60's . . maybe it's the lens  -I doubt I could have achieved anything better with any amount of expensive Leitz glass . . .

Seed Heads, Fife

Oh, nearly forgot . . . the Penguins? 

Maggie's Penguin Parade (plenty of info here) - a huge piece of public art in Dundee and Angus, encompassing 80 Penguins, all decorated differently, and all in aid of Maggie's Cancer Centres. 

It is probably the best, most engaging thing I have seen for a long time - there's always people collecting 'photos' of them . . . young, old, doesn't matter, they're all walking away with a smile on their face. 

It really is quite something.

Over and oot the noo.

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