Photography Remembered
After reading recent enthusiastic posts from SteveW I felt those photographic urges stirring from another age.
Well, even another life.
Most of my 'dabbling' with photography started many years ago.
The very first camera I actually bought and owned was a box camera called 'Rex'.
This is not my actual camera, but I do still have the original.
It cost me 3d in old money (3p?) in 1962 and I bought it at one of the village Jumble Sales.
These were a kind of forerunner to car boot sales.
I later also acquired a Coronet Flashmaster (complete with its own flashgun). Again from the Jumble Sale and again just about all my savings got used up on that plus the cost of feeding it with film.
Not forgetting the costs of actually getting hold of the results. I think in those days if I dropped off my film on a Monday at my local chemist, I could get them back Thursday or Friday of the same week.
I think I paid 2 shillings (20p) in 1963
I'm sure I still have the camera but cannot find it anywhere.
It took some good photo's and it wasn't long before I became hooked. Photography became the major reason for embarking on some adventurous 'bike-rides' and camping trips.
It also managed to somehow help me find an increased success at my fishing, which was was my other great love.
By 1969 I'd 'gone through' quite few different camera's. Mostly all bought cheap in a local shop called Hawkins. He sold camera's binoculars and telescopes and all kinds of gadgets.
I've a feeling he's still in town. Amazing.
The camera that really 'nailed it' for me however was the ubiquitous Russian Zenit B SLR with 58mm
f2 Helios lens. Cost me £25 in 1970 I think.
BTW I do still have this camera also.
The Zenit-B was a purely mechanical 35mm SLR similar to the Zenith E but without the light meter.
Like the E, it had no automatic diaphragm, the lens had to be stopped down manually after focusing. There were also no focusing aids apart from the plain ground-glass screen. It had a focal plane shutter with speeds 1/30-1/500s, plus B.
My version was the chrome-topped design, there were also some all-black models.
I stayed with this camera for many years and gradually built up quite an extensive range of accessories.
At one time I even managed to get hold of a mint condition second hand photosniper outfit.
This exciting arrangement had a Zenit-ES body (a modified Zenit-E with a second shutter release on the baseplate), and came with a Helios-44 58mm f/2 and a Tair-3AS 300mm f/4.5. The ES body from the Photosniper outfit had a kind of 'lug/spiggot' on the bottom which included the shutter linkage so that you could 'fire' a shot using the pistol grip trigger.
I also acquired a couple of the MTO mirror lenses (500mm and 1100mm ).
Here's the Photosniper kit:-
Actually the Zenits were all pretty much at the bottom of the SLR market, and mostly acquired as the first step up from a regular camera....every school boy's dream really.
I always felt the quality of the photos taken by my 'cheapo' rough and ready kit was pretty good in terms of definition, luminance, and color quality.
My very first enlarger was also a Russian Zenit (UPA5). Cost about £50 in mid 1970's
It all packed away neatly in it's own case. (The case was also the enlarger base)
Well, although times have changed and photography has changed dramatically. It's still great fun.
I'll be back up in that loft soon. Who knows what other delights will emerge.
I must have a couple of antique Weston light meters somewhere.........
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