Lomography, 35mm and Polaroids: a rising trend

Polaroid!

There is a rising trend in the last half decade of photography, interestingly we're craving less of the sharpness and pixel peeping beauty of high resolution digital cameras than in the past.  We've spent a decade climbing from low megapixel cameras ranking in 2-5mp to finding ways to make our high resolution cameras look like they took pictures from 30 years ago.

This camera was absolute garbage, a hand-me-down

With the advent of cell phone cameras (I'm currently rocking a 5mp Galaxy phone!  Soon to be an 8mp Nexus 4 [there I go, going on about the camera, rather than the picture]), we're less interested in high resolution, pocketable point and shoot cameras and more interested in getting our pictures to look like those of yesteryear.  I started shooting on 35mm point and shoots (namely a Vivitar C35r) when I was in my early teens. I lamented the softness and obvious light bleed issues inherent with such a camera.  I yearned to use a well made rangefinder or SLR.  I started shooting on a Rebel G and found that the sharp, excellent pictures were awesome, but I still wanted that old, soft feeling.

the devices I currently capture images on, sans the Polaroid One, which is in my glovebox

The digital age entered my life when I acquired a Fuji S3100 (or, rather, my father did and I used it) and I found myself chasing after sharper and sharper images.  I loved that I could take a picture and within minutes have it up on a site like photobucket and share it with the world.  These super-sharp 4MP images were all I ever wanted.  I found myself stepping away from PX125 and HP4 film quickly in favor of the the digital age. Using models like the Nikon E5400 and Canon A520 I took two semester's worth of pictures that eclipsed my film efforts during that time.  I took wonderful pictures with those cameras, but at the same time, never felt fully enabled by them.

I spent $300 on a camera in order to take pictures that look like a plastic camera 30 years ago.  All in camera.

With my last few cameras, I've noticed that I have the option to shoot pictures in "toy camera" mode or a similar setting.  They tend to oversaturate certain colors and brown out the image.  It makes for very interesting images.  I'm'a fan of the movement, I really am, but I see it as a resistance to the new school hierarchy of digital cameras and a short cut to creating "artsy" pictures.  We keep looking to the old school for advances in the new school.  It's hard to exemplify.  I own a 35mm Vivitar that I've yet to develop a picture from and am quite nervous to develop.  I'm anticipating the pictures to be soft, out of focus at times and most likely marred by light bleed.

$2 at a thrift store, about 3/4 through a roll of film.  It's a vivtar, not a tower.

Instagram and Hipstermatic have made this trend very desirable among young people, recently.  I'd be remiss to slander Instagram, since I am an avid user (Thomsbadphotos), I actually like that it has introduced people to the concept of Polaroid cameras, and probably is a boon for the Impossible Project.  At the same time, though, it seems to be creating an illusion that artistry with a camera is mostly capturing an aesthetic, rather than creating an image that tells a story.  People using these apps are more keen on the camera and app than they are on the subject and the photo, it seems.  There are definitely people posting quality pictures on there, and on Tumblr and on Flickr and everything else out there.

Lomography, to me is a mixed bag.  While I love the revival of old school methodology, equipment and styles; it seems the focus is more on the camera, than the photos.  This is a mistake that I feel like I've been making for the last couple of years, focusing more on the sharpness at the corner of the 40mm vs. the 50mm or the sensor size of the camera instead of what's in front of the lens.  I very rarely talk to someone in person who is interested in shooting old cameras that isn't talking about effects and cross processing, they mostly talk about "that look" instead of "that photo."  There are some very stunning, sharp (and not in terms of sharpness) photos shown off online taken on some of the absolutely ugliest, poorest built cameras around, and I love it.  At the same time, I browse Instagram and find myself cringing at the unwarranted use of a camera that is then soaked in "nostalgia" for a time before these people were even born.

a beautiful picture of a beautiful girl that I look at and say "look at that grain, I wish I took it on a DSLR, so it would look sharper" instead of saying "good picture!

I love the use of classic cameras; I love shooting my polaroids; I love shooting 35mm and I love shooting digital.  What I don't love?  Useless pictures.  Keeping a photo-diary is cool, taking pictures of things that interest you is great; but 20 pages of sepia toned Selfies really detracts from the photos.  I'd love to get my hands on one of the Bel Airs on Lomo and start shooting 120, but first I'm getting my new 35mm range finder in order and seeing how my own Lomo style 35mm works.

All in all, I've landed nowhere on this.  I love all of the cameras, apps and films I've mentioned, but I hate the way that cameras are used by some people and judged by others.  Ah, well, maybe I'll get me a bellows system Polaroid and some FP100c film and just go all out.

A first attempt to revive the Phoenix

The first step in the revival of the Yashica is to remove the stuck self timer.  Finding little to no information on removing the self timer, I endeavored to just rip it the hell out.  I will outline my means of tearing down the lens in detail for you all.

First step is to remove the pesky identifying ring around the lens.  I found that not spanner, screw driver nor knife would fit into those slots that look like they're designed for removing the ring.  I found a neat method on Yashica Guy's website, but I didn't have the means to create this home made tool.  I gave up on keeping the ring clean and simply forced a screw driver into one slot and forced it to turn, after about a half turn, it came out simply by turning it with my fingers.  I did mar the ring a bit, though.

Ready to fall out

The next step is to remove the adjustment ring, where you change the camera from A, B and Flash Sync and adjust the aperture.  Last night I made the mistake of taking this section apart.  I lost two screws in the process... eek!  After that mistake, I made sure to play it safe and do the repair in a well lit space without any keyboards to eat the screws.  I also used a magnet to hold the screws in place, a very smart move.  Before you can remove this part, you have to remove the front lens element, which came out easily with a spanner.  One 1/8 of a turn loosened it up enough to remove by hand.

That's the front element, easy to get out.

After removing the front lens element, there are 6 screws visible.  Don't touch them!  They are deceptive and want you to unscrew them.  It doesn't look like it, but there's a nut around the opening leading to the shutter leaves.  Use your fingers or a spanner to get this nut started and just use your fingers to work it off.  It's small and hard to lift, this is where a small set of precision pliers will work.

once it's completely unscrewed, it doesn't sit high enough for your hands to remove

After this, you just lift the entire front of the lens gently.  Make sure not to lift to hard, far or fast as there are ancient wires attached to it.  You don't want to splay, fray or short these cables; a rewire of this camera would be hell.

The self timer is spotted in the upper section of this picture, the shutter mechanism (I think) in the lower.

I hadn't found any reliable guides to removing the self timer, just a guide to unlocking it if it were stuck.  This did not work for me.  The shutter still didn't open and my first attempt didn't work.  I kept at it and decided "let's just rip that sucker out.  If I ruin the camera, I can probably e-bay it for parts" and took to the jewelers tools to remove the self timer.  It took, maybe, 2 minutes to remove.  After that, I found that the shutter at least "shuddered" when I released it, but still didn't open.  This was one step closer to working.

So empty, now.  Let me know if I missed something.

I know that these old shutters sometimes gum up and get stuck, so I used another trick I had found through perilous online searching: naphta and a tooth pick.  I would lightly soak the tip of a toothpick in naphta (zippo fluid) and work the fluid around the blades of the shutter.  After a couple of passes, they seemed loosened a little, but still not firing.  There was one more thing I wanted to try tonight.  The baseplate.  I had read that if the return rod of the shutter button was incorrectly spaced, it wouldn't allow the camera to fire, so I popped off the baseplate and found everything in well order.  

Well, that's fine.

So, I have a Yashica with the timer removed a cleaned up shutter and a properly calibrated baseplate.  I didn't find any debris in the baseplate, being evidence of a worn out pad (the dreaded Pad Of Death).  I can't help but think that the camera is suffering from a POD.  That may well be my next endeavor.

I also found that the camera did not power up with the use of a 123a (3v) battery and a CR1 3N battery in the compartments.  I'm hoping it's a simple battery short or corroded spring and nothing more nefarious in the electrical system.  But, I am a little closer to having my first rangefinder.

In Defense of the Phoenix

The Yashica Electro 35 is a very underrated, and the the same time overrated, camera.  From all my readings, I've found the camera to be very popular in certain circles, while fairly reviled in others.  The cameras are said to be robust, well built cameras that take beautiful pictures, meter well and last for ages.  On the other side of the fence, I've read about the camera being poorly built, designed, made out of poor materials and clunky.  I've got a few things to say about the camera.

For those of us who are part of the meager working class, Leicas are unobtainable dreams.  Cameras like the Canonet and Fed 3 offer affordable alternatives to the Leica, but the Yashica has an underdog approach to it.  It's a company that isn't around anymore and one that didn't blatantly copy a more famous camera.  It is, for all intents and purposes, a well made camera.  The biggest failings being more about its era of manufacture than its actual manufacture.  The Electro seems to suffer more from failures due to material failure than anything else, deteriorating plastic and rubber, shutters becoming stuck by grime and electrical connection corroded by viscus batteries. This is an interesting youtube video about the pitfalls of the Yashica.

It's true that a camera made in Germany or even Russia with fewer electrical components to go wrong in them will probably last longer and require less work, but the Yashica has ease of use on its side.  While some photographers will scoff at the idea of an automatic rangefinder, shooting in aperture value mode still allows control over depth of field.  Shooting without being able to control exposure value and shutter speed may outrage some, but for a photographer like me who shoots in Av mode 90% of the time, this camera seems like a good idea.

I was able to shoot according to the "Sunny 16" rule without metering, but lost that ability with the use of digital cameras.  Using an Av rangefinder to ease back into using film will probably help with the transition back to film.

I feel that the biggest pitfall of the camera is the large size and heavy weight.  The camera is roughly the size of my 60D with a Canon 40mm STM lens, and nearly the weight.  It's amazing.  I was expecting a much smaller camera.  Considering my 60D is almost always at my side, I don't see a problem with that.

I think this is bigger than my last DSLR

The lens is repeatedly praised by many for how sharp it is.  This is possibly due to the simplicity of the lens.  The camera is surprisingly simple and easy to repair, there are several sources for information on repairing the camera.  This is a boon to the robust nature of the camera.

I'm happy to have it, look forward to working on it and can't wait to see how my pictures turn out.  I can't afford a nicer camera, and a fun project for the summer seems like a good idea.

The Finding of the Phoenix' body.

I've always loved the idea of a rangefinder camera.  Eyeing, closely, the sales of Canonets, Feds and Yashicas on Ebay.  Always spotting that odd rangefinder popping up at camera shops for $200 or the Arguses showing up at antique stores for almost no money, but with almost 100% frozen controls.  I had spent years trotting the world with a Canon Rebel 35mm and Polaroid, finding inspiration everywhere.  Hurricanes, concerts, Irish landscapes, urban city-scapes, those cameras took me on grand adventures.  When graduating to digital, I found myself whipping through cameras models on a nearly yearly basis and finding less and less inspiration in the world and using my film cameras less and less.

taken on a Samsung Captivate, proving it isn't the camera that matters

XTi to T3 to 60D; A520 to W150 to ZS19 to S100.  The cameras came and went and the passion waned.  I feel more in tune with the cameras than I do the pictures.  I thought that if I got a new rangefinder camera, it would come back; that I would have a passion for photos the way that I used to.  I've recently gotten more into Polaroid shooting, as well, but found the endeavor to be cost prohibitive.  35mm is a much more attractive way to shoot.

What a pretty Sun 600

Two days ago I walked into a Savers and saw a beautiful Polaroid Sun 600 camera for $4; I had to have it.  I just had to.  It was beautiful.  No marks in the plastic, clean viewfinder and a clean film pack compartment.  I continued the day of thrifting and stumbled upon a beautiful Yashica Electro 35 GSN model at a Goodwill.  The camera was in immaculate condition, but the shutter didn't fire.  The self-timer was stuck about halfway, which I took to mean that the timer was the problem.  I thought about it over dinner and decided to go back and get it.  I was now the fine owner of a range finder.  Two glorious finds in one day!

there is the Phoenix, right there, ready for it's first night of repair (notice I got the first ring out of the lens already).

Maybe with a couple of quick fixes, I could be shooting my way into the hearts of Americans like Elliot Erwitt or W. Eugene Smith.  We'll see how this Phoenix rises from the ashes of a thrift store shelf and into the hands of this poor photographer.

Websites used, extensively, to research issues with this camera before jumping in:
Matt's Classic Cameras
Yashica Guy


See my photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tcbadphotos/