Passers-by: How to Capture Their Surprise with a 70 Years Old Ukrainian Camera

I use my cameras not only for taking photos, but to match and fit the mood I am in. It may sound strange, but the temperature, the intensity of the light and the number of people in the streets make me decide which camera to take.

Of course, it is important to get the planned shots. But sometimes, the “partnership” between the camera and me almost enjoys the surprises I get out of old mechanical cameras with questionable shutter speed and uncoated lenses from the 40s and 50s. I think there is a certain pleasure in using tools that are older that the user!

So, at an art fair, I decided to take my 1950s Ukrainian FED-2 rangefinder camera to the art fair. A couple of decades ago I bought three identical FED -2 cameras and neither was functional. As I have done with many other mechanical cameras, I “borrowed” springs, screws and a shutter cloth from each camera to build one that is fully functional. I suppose it is the equivalent to organ transplant.

The FED-2 cameras are a Former Soviet Union (FSU) design. They are not copies of German cameras of the era such as Leica and Contax. In fact they are a metamorphosis of these cameras when the best aspects of these are taken and incorporated into a new design. In short, the cameras are simple but very functional.

The lenses on these cameras, however, all Leica 39mm screw mount clones, are notoriously unreliable. But they too are a simple construct, and after ruining a few, I have learned how to disassemble, clean and adjust these lenses. However they come with no shade given the awkward aperture ring on the front of the lens, and since they are uncoated lenses (there was no coating in the 1950s) these are practically impossible to use in full sun – the glare from the reflection ruins practically every shot.

So, I learned to build lens shades for lenses that are not made to take shades. And the results are quite lovely. The serial number indicates that this lens was made in 1950 or perhaps earlier.

Here is a shot with the lens set to f8, the speed to 1/125 second using Ilford 100 ASA B&W film. I did some dodging while printing to let the violin player, the woman next to him and his sleeping dog get prominence.

And now a split second trigger depressing to get this composition. I wanted the passing-by man (or was it a woman?) exhibit the movement while the woman under the wall was immobile. I used slower speed (not sure what it was as I changed it without looking…) and the two subjects were captured exactly where I wanted them in the frame.

So, I was as pleased with the shots as I was with the camera and hooded lens. Somehow I think old lenses have a nostalgic outlook upon what we see. Or maybe it is my 1940s enlarger that prints these photos with memories of darkroom hours past!

May 15, 2018

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018