Inter-Tribal Gathering of Contemporary Native Arts in Prescott, Arizona

Since the mid-1970s, I have constantly wondered if a 6x6 medium format camera was always better for street photography than 35mm rangefinder cameras. Of course I continue to use 35mm Leica rangefinder cameras from late 1930s even today. But I always carry a twin Lens Reflex medium format camera with me, just in case… My 1948 Rolleiflex or 1970s Minolta Autocord remain my favorites.

But there is one camera that has always attracted me, primarily because of one of its lenses. It is my 1976 Mamiya M645 6x4.5 camera and the Mamiya Sekor C 80mm f1.9 lens. There is a magical character to that lens when wide open. After using hundreds of portraiture lenses in all formats, I have to say that the Mamiya when open to f1.9 is the portraiture lens with the creamiest bokeh and adorable tonal range. Of course I only use B&W film, for which I think this lens is most unique.

…So, a couple of days ago there was an Inter-tribal Native Arts weekend gathering in town. Native American tribes from Arizona and surrounding states joined together for drum beat, singing, dancing and showcasing various forms of arts creations.

For a street photographer, it is heavenly when large groups of people gather!

After thinking for a short while, I decided to take the M645 and 80mm lens with me. I would not be able to take photos from a distance as the 80mm is equivalent to 50mm in 35 mm format, but I wanted to see how the lens would do under the brightest of the high desert suns. I set the shutter speed to 1/250 second and the aperture to f8.

… There were photographers each with a couple of digital cameras hanging from the harness they wore given the weight of these monstrous tools. And the lenses on them seemed they could take photos of a flea’s eyelashes from a mile away…

Next to them, my 1976 M645 looked anachronistic, diminutive, and odd.  I almost had to cover it with my hands given the looks some of the young attendants were giving me. But that ended when a man in his 80s came to me and said “Gosh, I used to have one of these in the 1970s. It still works?”

To which I replied “Sometimes it does.”

Consequently, I decided to take a few photos and test my assumption.

…The opening photo of the three dancers is about composition and privacy.  We were told not to take pictures of the dancers if they did not allow us, but it seemed too difficult to do so as they were dancing around the field and we had no opportunity to ask for permission. So I decided to take a photo without the faces of the dancers showing. Plus, it was a windy day and I had to guess when the wind would blow the head-feathers all in the same direction. Finally, I wanted the American flag to be positioned in a way that tells a story.

I chose this photo also because there is a flare on the left side, making the first dancer from the left less focused and hazier. I find that attractive because it accentuates the feel of ancient optic/old photography. But there is a purposeful reason for it:

I have a modern Besseler enlarger but often I like using my 1960s Hansa Pro simple enlarger because the enlarger lens mount is the Leica 39mm mount which means that I can use Leica (and its clones) camera lenses instead of enlarger lenses. The use of Leica 39mm screw mount on both cameras and enlargers was to allow photographers in the 1940s and 1950s to take pictures with the Leica camera, then take the lens off, mount it on the enlarger and print the negatives in the darkroom. But the camera lenses are not made the same way as an enlarger lens (they are not flat field) and there will be distortions and flare when used as an enlarger lens.

While many see distortions and flare as nefarious, I see them as unpredictable and creative!

Here is my 1960s enlarger with a 1940s Soviet/Ukrainian Industar-22 Leica 39mm screw lens. I love using this lens to take photos, but sometimes, as in the photo of the three dancers, it adds that unexpected outcome to a captured moment I print.

Ok, while every other photo-taker was incessantly clicking on their digital cameras to capture every move of the dancers, the street photographer in me was looking for a story elsewhere.

And I found it. There was a little girl under the umbrella tent next to me and the dancers were in the background. I opened the lens to f5.6 and here is the magic of the Mamiya lens – the background is delightfully smooth in bokeh. The dancers are like whirling spirits, and the trees like clouds. But  little girl is perfectly focused.

The next generation. Continuity, beauty and hope.

April 15, 2019

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2019