Monday, July 7, 2025

The 2025 Annual 4th of July Parade Through the Viewfinder of a 1968 Nikon F and the Eyes of Two Vintage Nikkor Lenses

 



Past Saturday was the annual 4th of July parade in Prescott, when thousands of residents crowded a few blocks of the historic downtown under the warm and sunny high desert sky. I like being there to capture a few frames of the moment, and often use a vintage camera that has been sitting in await on my shelve.

This time, it was the turn of a 1968 Nikon F with its original Nikkor-H Auto f2 50mm lens.

This Nikon has a history. I bought it decades ago in Maryland from a war photographer who was selling some of his gear. At first look, it was just an early model with an inoperable meter. However, the seller told me that it was his back up camera and that the other Nikon F he had, a 1969 model, had never failed him on assignment.

And to make the point, he also gave me a film canister holder that made it impossible for me to not want the camera.

Here is the camera, its original lens, and the film canister (an aluminum one with a twist cap). The disintegrating leather holder reads “Vietnam – Saigon”!

 





 

I bought the camera for its history and used it once using my Nikkor-S Auto f1.4 which is a better lens than the older Nikkor-H it which came with the camera. After all, the “H” configuration was designed in 1935 for the Canon Hansa rangefinder camera. The design, 6 elements in 4 groups Gauss, remained unchanged when Nikon introduced it as Nikkor-H Auto in 1964 as the first 50mm lens for Nikon F. Thus, this almost century old lens is not regarded as a true competitor to the Nikkor-S f1.4 or any Nikon 50mm lens built after 1970.

And I thought it was time for me to test the lens after decades of using the Nikkor-S around the world.

To make the experience more tempting, I took with me an old Nikkor 105mm, f2.5 Non-AI that had been later AI-d upgraded. This lens also has its own “war story” as someone had dropped it and seriously bent the lip, making it impossible to use a filter or a shade. Here is the lens:

 

A.    Photos with the 50mm Nikkor-H Auto f2

The photo atop the page is both about the parade and a typical street photography of people. I do love the rendition of this old lens – compared to later Nikkor lenses, it does indeed have that vintage charm, as well as the sharpness to enhance details that make or break some photos.

Who was this young lady? Or, does it really matter when she stands out in her posture and head crown from the brouhaha of the people around her?

 

Ok, I know, I have to show at least one photo from the parade. So, here are the majestic Budweiser Clydesdales.

 


This was a natural set up for a test. There were three horses on two different focal distances, the sun was unevenly shining on each of the horses, I did not have a working light meter so I used the Sunny 16 heuristic guess rule (f11 and 1/250th second speed), and I was not using a lens shade. It was time to see how a 1930s Gauss design lens would perform at the center of the frame and in the corners.

 The test was successful – there is light fall out at the corners, the center is sharp, and the uncoated lens without a shade did not do well with the desert sun at its zenith. But, the lens seems to take us back in time, and the corner fall out can be used for creative photos, like the one atop this essay.

 

This third photo shows a synthesis of the previous two shots. The sun was straight on the face of the rider on the left, while the second rider had her cowgirl hat shading her face. The lens is both sharp and dreamy. I do like the feel of this shot.

 


 

B.     Photos with the Nikkor 105mm f2.5

My 1960s lens is well respected for dreamy portraiture shots, but I wanted to see how it would do as a short telephoto. I do have another 105mm Nikkor made in 1971 and equipped with a retractable shade that was the first modification of this lens from Gauss to Sonnar design. It is much sharper and brighter, but sometimes not as dreamy as the old one made for the Nikon F.

This photo was printed using an old darkroom technique I learned from a photographer in Central Europe. He used to move his hands under the enlarger light while printing, producing the blurry wind movement in parts of the print he wanted to minimize in prominence. Pure and lost art! And, sometimes he used to light up a rolled cigarette and blow the smoke under the light… It made staying in the darkroom with him quite a health challenge, although some of his photos taken with a Ukrainian medium format Kiev camera were more creative (and each unique!) than any digitally manipulated prints I have seem.

So, I saw a woman cross the street in a hurry as the farm machines were in the parade. I did not have much time to focus but the old darkroom technique came in handy to selectively blur and add movement to the ill-focused shot.

 


 

The next photo shows that the 105mm Nikkor is better for portraiture than it is as a short telephoto. I shot this one at f16 and 1/125th second speed, but the tonal range is not pleasant. Still, it is a good moment of Arizona’s frontier days’ reenactment. 

 


This final photo is a testimony for how a portraiture lens can perform fully open at f2.5. It is a crowded frame but I wanted to isolate brightness of the boots while dodging the print to respect the privacy of those in the shot.

 


Final thoughts

As in many of my street photography outings, I enjoyed “playing” with a vintage camera and lenses. After decades of pursuing my passion of the challenges vintage instruments present at every turn, I do admit that the photos remain secondary to the joy of using old photographic instruments. Perhaps it is the oneness and partnership required from the photographer to use these instruments, repair them when they broke down, and use them again. Or perhaps, it is the feeling of being in a time capsule, looking at the present world through an optic of wander, wonder and nostalgia.

No matter what it is, it sure is different from using tools where AI, hiding in a plastic housing and staying alive through the feed from a wonder battery’s electric flow, is more than an equal partner.

 

July 7, 2025

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2025