Pig Sty Avenue

A few weeks ago, because it was raining, I decided to take a taxi.  Of course, all the other fair-weather cyclists had the same idea, so I hung around ages waiting for one, and got to work late, stressed, soaking wet and breakfastless.  Never again.  So a couple of times this week , I've had to deploy the rain cape.  Yesterday in particular was a real subtropical downpour.  It was fine, though.  Less bikes than usual, and everyone was being slower and more careful.  I've realised, though, that the rain cape is a bit too small for me, and why does it have sleeves in it? 

He just opens his mouth, and stuff comes out .  Whose law of thermodynamics? 

Tuk - Tuk , originally uploaded by g!ft . But look at this one! Velvia 50, no flash, hardly a red to be seen. Wonder what time of day it was?

B68848_12 , originally uploaded by nadangergeo . I've had an evening of it, trying to get the flash to work on the Holga, it's an FN, mind. It's not going to happen. So I've gone mad and paid over the odds for a 120N online. See, I've got a 1970s flash gathering dust in the cupboard, and I want to use the three rolls of Fuji Velvia that have been in various fridges across the world. This nadangergeo is using a 120N with flash but with Provia xproed.  Be interesting to try double x-ing a white person with dark hair and clothes, to see what occurs with Velvia.  More redness, probably, but let's see.

holga st weird shit happened here , originally uploaded by Pig Sty Avenue . The flash hasn't been working either. I've just read this thread on flickr. Tin foil and tape it looks like. It's a weak wee flash I know, but it should be enough to illuminate faces a bit in daylight.

Holga Modification - do it yourself how to , a set by The Daily Ornellas on Flickr. Seeing as it's the only game in town, I'm learning to love the Holga. This is a great set on Flickr with the mods. I didn't even know about this thing with the aperture until tonight.

All that gobshiting about the Agfa, and I went and left it hanging from a chair in Saltcoats.   No good crying over spilt milk.  I'll get it in due course, and learn to love the Holga again meanwhile.  Speaking of which, its weak flash might just be enough to illuminate faces in daylight in the street.  

The camera would appear to be unusual, in being an Isolette II with a Solinar lens and a Prontor-SV shutter, (with a 1/300 top speed ) .  I gather from the references online that the lens is high-end, but not the shutter.  Considering its age, it's in remarkable  condition. I've already had 7 rolls of black and white film through it, (EFKE and HP5) and the quality's consistent.   My mate Cliff sent me a roll of Fujichrome Velvia a while back, and I've loaded that.  I've got another three rolls of the same in the fridge in Shanghai.  I've used Velvia before, and was disappointed with the dominant red hues, but I'm going to try overexposing and/or using flash. This will be THE camera, until further notice.

One big advantage of the FED2 is that it's 35mm, which means I can get it dev'd in Dock Head St, or ASDA, or wtf, when I'm home. But mostly, we're in Shanghai, and I've not noticed anywhere doing cheap hassle free 35mm dev'ing. And I've been looking at the old photos on Flickr: the ones I like best are the Agfa Isolette II: sharp enough, and the flash works. The thing is with the Agfa, it ain't no point-and-shoot: there's the door to open, the film to wind on, the shutter to cock, the flash to put in the shoe and plug in, the distance to estimate... The FED2, on the other hand, can be used much more quickly and casually. But I'm developing a notion to get into a situation with a good background, and see what Shanghai throws into the foreground: in other words, to wait for the subjects to come to me. In which case, it's more appropriate to take one's time. The Visible Photographer and all that. Also, I don't think I'll tak...

This was about the best of a bad roll. Fuji Superia, 400iso. Very grainy. KB6 filter, which I found in a drawer, and used just because it was there. I took a few shots of the highly photogenic Melbourne Cafe, but none of them made it past photoshop. I've got the f-stop/shutter-speed/iso automaticity back with the FED2, but not I'm not able yet to compensate for the inaccuracy of the frame size you get through the diopter - the frame is actually bigger that what you see. I've just done a quick search , and it would appear that I've forgotten that the FED2's flash isn't synching. Bugger. Looks like I'm going to have to take it apart after all. Heigh ho. It ought to be worth the effort: a Soviet camera in Communist China's bizarrely capitalist and biggest city. And I've still got a couple of rolls of Tito era EFKE somewhere. If that can't get the photo-mojo back, nothing can.