Another "What is that camera?"

These pictures are part of the exhibit about Albuquerque's Special Collections Library.  They are printed from a large group of negatives in the Albuquerque Museum Photo Archives.

 The relevant clues are the camera shape, the controls on the top deck, the black lens barrel and the dates in the captions and in the Albuquerque Tribune article.

What is your guess?

Arresting Beauty: Julia Margaret Cameron

 

An article in the New York Times about an exhibition of the work of Julia Margaret Cameron at the Morgan Library & Museum was a nice excuse to look again at her work.  The reviewer is Arthur Lebow, who wrote an exhaustive biography of Diane Arbus.

Cameron has always been one of my guides to good portraiture.  It seems amazing she was able to produce such outstanding images so early after the invention of photography, and with such primitive equipment and techniques.

I think that the modern day appeal of Cameron's portraits rests largely on her posing techniques in which her sitters were placed very close to the camera and dressed simply in a way that minimizes the distraction of period styles.

There is a good selection of Cameron's work in Masters of Photography by Beaumont and Nancy Newhall. I have the first edition which was published in 1958.  Looking for the book on Amazon I found that there is a new edition.  The listing includes a long statement asserting that the contents are now in the public domain, which seems rather curious.  Perhaps the original publisher just abandoned the copyright?

Wikipedia has quite a thorough biography of Cameron and her career in photography which only began around the age of 48 when her daughter gifted her a camera.

Classic

 I only watched a bit of this PBS Masterpiece episode, but the beginning was interesting.

The scene shifted around quickly and I had some difficulty identifying the camera.  When she advanced the film and cocked the shutter with that lever, though, it was clearly revealed as a Zeiss Ikon Tenax I.

From Wikipedia:

The Tenax I is a 24x24 mm fixed lens camera by Zeiss Ikon launched in 1939.

The Tenax I was actually launched after the Tenax II. Like the Tenax II, it is a 24×24mm square-format camera taking over 50 exposures on a standard 135 film (35 mm), with a rapid-advance lever next to the lens. But it is a much simpler camera, with a completely different body, no rangefinder, a simple folding viewfinder on the top plate, and a Compur leaf shutter to 1/300". Most of them are equipped with a Zeiss Novar 3.5 cm f/3.5 lens. A smaller number have a Carl Zeiss Jena 3.5 cm f/2.8 Tessar.

Production began in 1938, and it was nearly halted in 1941. There was limited production during the rest of the war.

Spring Bloom

The yearly spectacle of blooming Yerba Mansa along the Rio Grande is something I always look forward to  It came along right on schedule this year at the beginning of June following some nice Spring rains.

Last year a little patch of Yerba Mansa I planted in our yard bloomed at the same time as those in the riverside forest.  That planting is spreading and looks healthy, but this year there are no blooms, or even buds. I'm wondering now if the lack of blooms is related to the fact that the plant is genetically incapable of self pollination. Perhaps I just need to provide a companion that is not directly related to my planting

There is some doubt about the origin of the plant's common name.  Yerba Mansa literally translated means Tame Herb, but what that might refer to is not obvious. An alternate name, Dragon Tail, would seem to be derived from the conical structure which bears the tiny flowers.

Yerba Mansa was used for medicinal purposes by all the indigenous people in the plant's western habitats. It would be interesting to know what names it was known by among  those people.

Screen Shots

Are you watching the growth of the falcons at Great Spirit Bluffs?

Here they are just a month ago:

 And today:

Arbus

 There is a big new show of Arbus work in New York reported on in The Guardian.

I hope it will travel.

Diane Arbus – self-portrait with 35mm, 1959. (The Guardian)

What camera is that?

A Few More

 From the Olympus Pen-FT

I always enjoy the yearly Albuquerque Museum car show, but it is exhausting to walk up and down those long rows of closely packed cars, and the acres of chrome is blinding and often defeats my cameras.  I'm more comfortable photographing the cars in their natural curbside environment.

Shooting the Olympus Pen-FT

It took me a couple weeks to work my way through a long roll of Kentmere 100 in the Pen-FT.  I have mostly shot 400-speed film in this half-frame camera as I like the faster film's ability to handle a wide range of lighting.  However, to fully appreciate the qualities of the 38mm F.Zuiko lens one really needs to shoot a slower film.  With processing in PMK Pyro I think the results rival what can be asked of full-frame 35mm images.  

These are the results from two sessions including a stroll in the riverside forest and a walk in our side yard garden to portray Margaret's prolific artichokes.

Look Up

 I was pleased to see that Sunday's paper contained a glossy insert announcing that the Kirland AFB airshow was returning to Albuquerque after a six year absence.

Pentax Spotmatic

Looking back through my collection of aircraft photos the only one I can find from Kirtland dates back to 2011.  I recall being a bit put off by the huge crowd of people at that one.  I'm planning on getting to this upcoming one, however, as there have been many fewer such opportunities in recent years.

Everyone in my family were all aviation enthusiasts, due mostly to my Uncle Jack's military flying career which took him through three wars, including being shot down in two of them.  When he came home to recover from wounds sustained in the crash of his DC-3 in Sicily he spent some time recuperating at Fort Lewis and then was given a job ferrying planes around the country.  One of my earliest memories is seeing the whole family run outside when Jack would fly over our West Seattle home and waggle his wings at us on the way somewhere in a Black Widow or a Lockheed Lightning.

Between wars Jack often worked as a flight instructor and he gave flying lessons to my grandfather, my mother and my stepfather.  I got to spend a lot of time in the air with him as well, though without making it to a flying license.  Most of our flights together were in float planes that got us into remote Cascade lakes.  He did nearly always give me a chance to steer on those trips, including this one in an Aeronca.  I think that shot was made shortly before the Korean War where Jack flew Sabre Jets.

Jack's military career came to an end in Vietnam when the Viet Cong brought down his Medevac chopper.  As in Sicily he managed to get everyone to the ground alive, but his right leg was badly injured.  That story along with a summary of his whole flying history is nicely told on the Warhawk Museum webite.

More Photography News

Sarah McIntyre

 Eyes in the Dark

Astrophotography exhibition

The Groove Artspace

309 Gold Ave. SW, Albuquerque

10AM to 4PM, Tues through Saturday to May 30

- There is a nice long article with pictures in todays' Albuquerque Journal about this show that has been organized by photographer Sarah McIntyre.  I occasionally see photos made on film of the moon, but as in this show, astrophotographers these days mostly use very sophisticated digital cameras, long lenses and highly precise tracking hardware and software. Entry is free to the exhibit.

(Actually, there is at least one NM photographer who does both analog and digital astrophotography: Shane Ramotowsky. )

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39th Annual Car Show

Albuquerque Museum

Sunday, May 18, 10AM - 3PM

The museum website makes no mention of this event.  I would have overlooked it had not Margaret called my attention to a note in the paper.  Now, I realize that car shows like this one do not necessarily suggest a connection to photography, but for me they do.  I think the attraction for me is partly the period design aesthetic that unites my old cameras to the old cars on display.  So, for that and other issues, I have used a lot of film over the years making pictures of cars.

Photography News

 There is quite a bit of photography news at the moment in New Mexico and elsewhere, so I thought I would share some of it here as some opportunities will only be available for a few more days.

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Black & White Exhibit (New Mexico Art League)
The annual exhibit of black & white prints at the New Mexico Art League is in progress until May 17th. It includes b&w photographic prints. The gallery at 3409 Juan Tabo Blvd. is open from 10:00 to 4:00 Tuesday - Saturday. The prints can also be viewed online.

 

 

* * *

PBS Documentary on Polaroid History
Monday, May 19 on the PBS series American Experience. (8:00 PM KNME Ch.5.1) The film written and directed by Gene Tempest and produced by Amanda Pollak will stream for free simultaneously with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App. It will also be available for streaming (with closed captioning in English and Spanish) on the American Experience website.

 * * *

 Albuquerque Museum
Focus on Youth (May 3 - June 1, 2025)

Trevor Martinez, Guitar Highlights, Sandia High School, Grade 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A juried student exhibition of high school photographers and filmmakers jointly sponsored by Albuquerque Public Schools Fine Arts and Albuquerque Museum. The exhibition includes nearly 100 photographs and short films, reflecting mastery across a range of techniques including silver print, digital, and special techniques in photography, art books, and digital film. Focus on Youth brings the ideas and perspectives of Albuquerque’s next generation into the public eye and gives viewers a window into the minds of today’s young adults.

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New Mexico Film Photographers Monthly Online Meeting 

Time: May 22, 2025 07:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
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C A N C E L L E D     C A N C E L L E D     C A N C E L L E D

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Participants are mostly New Mexico film photographers, but friends of New Mexico from elsewhere are welcome. 

The moderator for these online meetings is Chip Greenberg

No speakers or special topic for this session.  Bring images, cameras, great stories or anything else you’d like to discuss.

A Plate Camera Outing

 Out for the dog's morning walk I noticed that the historic Henry Mann house was nicely lit by the low sun.  It occurred to me that it might be a scene well suited to the capacities of my Bentzin Primar plate camera. 

 

Back home I quickly checked the bellows for pinholes and then loaded a roll of Kentmere 400.  I made a couple quick shots of the Mann house. 

 

It seemed too nice a day to stop with just that. so I headed down to Old Town to see what else I might find to finish off the roll of Kentmere.

The Albuquerque Museum was built in 1979, with the design by Albuquerque architect Antoine Predock.

 

 

 

 Old Town's Plaza Vieja and San Felipe de Neri is just a block west of the Museum.

 

 

The entrance to the church is currently adorned with a big white sash honoring the new Pope.

* * *

All the plate cameras were originally designed to accommodate glass plates, film packs, or sheet film in film holders.  Soon after the cameras appeared on the market several companies started making roll-film backs which were a bit more convenient to use than the single-sheet holders.  I have a Rada Rollfilm back for use with the Bentzin Primar.

The Rada back loaded with a roll of 120 film can make eight 9x12cm or sixteen 6x4.5cm images with an adapter frame.  For the full 9x12cm size I use the odd numerals from 1 to 15  on the film's paper backing which are shown in the right-side ruby window

Back in the days when the plate cameras were originally on the market I'm sure the Rada was easy to use.  Today, however, the framing numerals  on roll film backing paper are low contrast and can be very difficult to make out through ruby windows.  Knowing that, I took along a small flashlight to help me properly advance the film.  That, however, turned out to be of little help and I only managed to get six out of the eight possible images on the roll.

Inside, under a lamp, the frame numerals are easily seen.  Outside, however, the characters are obscured by glare on the glass and plastic surfaces, and film advance becomes something of a guessing game.  The problem is further complicated for me by my old eyes which do not quickly adjust to changes in light intensity.  When I visit exhibits in the Museum, for instance, it always takes fifteen to twenty minutes before I can clearly see what is on the walls.

I need a better strategy for advancing film in the Rada.  I have considered just removing the ruby window.  I think that would not result in any light leak problems because the red color really serves no purpose with modern films, and the windowed compartment presses down quite firmly on the backing paper.  I'm reluctant to go to that extreme, however, as I hate the idea of compromising the film back's integrity.

Another possibility might be to use some kind of small hood in conjunction with the flashlight.  Just how exactly that would be configured is something I have yet to work out.

Any suggestions will be welcomed.

Easing into Film Photography

 The gift of a '90s era Nikon N8008s got me to thinking about how someone might be introduced to film photography who comes from a generation that has known only digital.  I have suggested meeting that challenge by starting off with the simplest of film cameras.  An alternative might be to work backward from the point where film cameras like the N8008s were digital in all but the recording medium.

By the start of the 1990's film camera makers were offering a lot of choices in cameras with fully automated control of focusing, film advance, speed and aperture adjustment, all under the supervision of miniaturized electronic circuits. The camera from that period I am most familiar with is the tiny fixed-lens Olympus Infinity Stylus which slipped in a pocket as easily as the bar of soap it resembled.

For photographers with bigger ambitions and pocketbooks, Nikon and others put interchangeable lenses into the mix. That came with a cost in complexity and weight.  The N8008s, for instance, requires four double-A batteries to power interchangeable lens focus operation along with the continuous digital display of all control settings. In compensation, the user could choose a fully automated point-and-shoot mode, or opt for full control over each aspect of the process, including shutter and aperture-priority, single or multiple exposures with a single button press, and a variety of metering styles. 

I test drove the N8008s with a roll of Arista 200 over two days in familiar surroundings: Old Town Albuquerque and the Rio Grande where our dog, Roxie, likes to run and splash in the river water.

The AF Nikkor 35-70mm Zoom which came attached to the camera of course was unsurprisingly excellent in image production.  While I have never really warmed to zooms, the very smooth operation of this compact lens and its easy support of frame-filling compositions makes it a real pleasure to use.

I can't justify musing further about the N8008s based on a singe roll experience, so will just suggest exploring the subject further with real Nikon experts like John Smith, aka Fogdog, and James Tocchio at Casualphotophile.