Sunday, September 16, 2018

Albuquerque Color

My bicycle is one of my best photography accessories; it lets me explore places in the city that I might not otherwise get to.  I took a couple rides in the last week through the Old Town and Downtown districts  carrying along my Retina Ia which easily fits in a pocket; it was loaded with Fuji 200.








The Ia model, produced from 1945 to 1949 is a direct descendant of the original Retina which kicked off the era of 35mm photography in the mid-1930s.  A number of variations on the first model appeared in the pre-war years, but the pace of development rapidly gained additional momentum after the war.  Enhancements incorporated into the Ia included a lever advance coupled to a Synchro-Compur shutter with speeds to 1/500, a depth of field scale on the lens mount, and a synthetic leather-like covering that precluded the development of Zeiss bumps.  My example has a sharp Xenar lens.  The Wikipedia Retina page is very helpful for sorting out the many models in the line.

Chris Sherlock has a great series on youtube about servicing the Retinas

 The little Gossen Pilot meter is a nice companion to the Model-Ia for light-weight travel.

4 comments:

Jim Grey said...

One of the things I enjoy about your color work is how you (appear from here to) still go after tone and shadow as you do in your b/w work. It gives fascinating results.

Mike said...

I had to do a little more adjusting than usual on this batch. I forgot that the Xenar has an extra unmarked aperture setting beyond f16. I just shut down the lens without looking for most of the shots on the roll and ended up underexposing a stop.

JR Smith said...

I have a little Pilot light meter. Just right!

Your first image here really appeals to me. Nice work with your Retinas!

Mike said...

The Pilot belonged to a friend's father who died some time ago. It came in its original box where it seems to have always been kept, which probably accounts for its fine working condition. I also have a Weston Master II from the same fellow that works equally as well; he really took care of his stuff.