The new year started with frigid temperatures and snow in the High Desert of Arizona. It makes for lovely walks with my dog that seems to slowly go through the 9 months of sunshine and warmth to get his energy burst in winter.
It was snowing gently this morning so I decided to take a camera with me to experience the Prescott downtown before sunrise, and without others yet walking their dogs out.
I did not want the snow to damage my more cherished vintage cameras, so opted for a 1950s Soviet Fed 2 rangefinder which can take “harsh weather.” I have used this camera quite often, so I made a shade for the Industar-10 lens to minimize flare. Today it would be also helpful to keep the front lens dry from the snow.
I also wanted to test a new 35mm film I recently bought. Since I roll my films myself, the 33 meter rolls are perfect for deciding if I wanted to roll 5 frames or 15 frames. From a photojournalistic point of view, these are the best number of frames to have while telling a story – 26 frames are a waste of film!
The new film is made in the Czech Republic and uses an old 1950s formula regarding the content of silver on the surface of the pellicule. As such the photos do come out with a touch of nostalgia.
I asked my dog to stop when I saw the right angle of view and depth of field to capture two of the downtown statues. To my surprise he did obey giving me a few seconds to take my gloves off, focus, press the shutter, rewind, change the aperture to 5.6 and take a second shot.
I had, hopefully, 3 more frames left…
I came closer to take one more shot. At this point two ravens came down the trees and teased my dog by walking toward him in the snow.
That was the end of my photo session for this morning!
Of course I could have experimented more with shutter speeds and lens aperture, but for almost the “point and shoot” method I was able to use, I do like the feel of this Czech –made 35mm film.
And I have to admit that I am always amazed that a 70 year old Soviet camera and lens can still do what they were designed to do – street photography.
January 3, 2023
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2023
