This lens which will be used for portrait photography, in a large format studio camera.  It is a lens that comes for sale once in a lifetime, so you can imagine my husbands delight!  Mirrored only by my own delight of actually being able to purchase it for him for his Christmas gift.

Buying the cart before the horse, we are currently negotiating the price for a camera large enough to support this amazing monster of a lens.  Yes people…it is THAT big.

On the Geek side, the lens specs are approximately are:

Focal length- 19″

F-stop – 6

Weight – 9lbs

Another amazing feature included with this lens was one of the original waterhouse stops, (early version of a manual iris), making it possible to have others fabricated exactly for this lens.

We met many great people while wandering the event one of which we will discuss in our next blog.  I hope you will take some time to view the slideshow of Our Nugget of Gold.

“This antique brass lens was made in France about 90-110 years ago and is a Hermagis 250mm/f4. It is a Petzval design and makes for an incredible portrait lens. The aperture is fixed at roughly f4 and has no waterhouse stops or an internal aperture. The shots were taken at 4-5 seconds in length, taking into account the bellows extension and the film reciprocity for the Efke PL25 M film.”   See, I knew I should let him to the Technical Talk.

Well, not much to report accept it was great fun and we hope the images speak for themselves.

Next adventure, the antique camera show in the Netherlands….keep your eye fix to this page to hear more!

She was a patient little model, sitting still and giving me various adorable expressions while I set the exposure for the changing light.  SNAP, went the old camera….whir whir whir, I cranked the handle advancing the film.  Off she jumped and came running…”SHOW ME, SHOW ME”.  I had to giggle, there I was trying to explain to this inquisitive little person that there was no TV on the back of this camera.  It was too old for that.  She looked at me  eye brows furrowed and a face that simply said….”So sad…what good is a broken camera”.

With that she ran off down the grassy hill to play with the other much more interesting kids.

©bostonthekimagery.com

Sitting here trying to form my thoughts into creative words, I am breathing deep the soft scent of the bouquet of Lilies of the Valley in the vase next to me.

I have been having a difficult time getting my head back into the blogging rhythm after two weeks in the Netherlands.  How can I in short verse bring to you a “taste” of my experiences and the beauty that surrounded me.  Perhaps if I write you several smaller blogs about the different moments that stood out the most in my mind on my travels.

Through this exercise, I hope  I will regain my focus and find away to bring to life through words and images…Life in Holland in early Spring.  Of course as usual, I traveled with my 3 favorite camera and my two favorite companions…my husband and my dog Clover.  It is my wish that our wanders in this amazing land will inspire you to add Holland to your dream travel list.  Here is a little teaser from my trip…enjoy!

This part of Germany is referred to as the Tuscany of Germany, which once you have seen it’s beautiful landscape you would agree.  Each year I mark my calendar to try and make the
Gimmeldingen Mandelblütenfest (Almond Blossom Festival)…the date of which can only be made weeks before to make sure the blooms are at their best.   This year it will be held on the 4th and 5th of April (09)…if you are in the area it is so worth the trip.

The word festival gives the impression of a more party atmosphere then I  experienced..it is more low key.  A quiet event, with people wandering along the many paths which all have wonderful views….wine is sipped, coffee and cake of course…I discovered the most amazing small sugar cookies representing the tiny blooms and iced in almond blossom pink icing.  Just perfection right down to the amazing packaging.  Many people were dressed in clothes to match the blooming trees and all were wearing smiles.

I can’t say enough about this sweet festival…to read more on the event and the beautiful village of Gimmeldingen, go to:

http://www.videokultours.de/gimmeldingen-erw.html.en

http://www.neustadt.eu/output/La2/1441.26/1441.303.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Wine_Route

I am not known to be an incredibly patient person, after all I am from New Jersey, that is why I believe digital photography appealed to me so…the instant gratification aspect.  In this day and age when a person can snap a photo and immediately “ape” at the results in the viewfinder on their camera, what is attractive about film to instant gratification girl? ( I guess I should explain this very technical term of “Ape-ing”.  The word was created in this digital age to describe the noise people make when previewing images on their camera…”OOO OOO OOO”)

Over the holidays I received a gift of a Rolleiflex camera…a FILM camera…ME the impatient digital girl who shoots hundreds of images a day….a FILM camera??!!  Of course I did not exclaim these facts out loud to my husband as he handed me this camera with a face full of anticipation.  He being a gadget guy, with the patience of an angel, only wishing to share his love of film photography with me.

I smiled politely and set out quietly in my studio to figure out how I could perhaps make a device to shoot with my digital camera THROUGH the view finder of the analogue Rollei and never ACTUALLY put film in it.  I mean, how would I ever have the patience needed to wait for someone else to process my images.  What if they were damaged or lost….how could I trust my work to someone else.  (yes, I know…serious trust and control issues).  HOW could “Instant Gratification Laura” work with this new tool handed to her and be gracious about it.

Several weeks later and after several failed TTV (through the view finder) attempts, my husband patiently loaded FILM into the camera and placed it into my impatient hands.  It even frustrated me that I couldn’t even load my own camera….how was this ever going to work.  How could I make this little funny box of a camera bend to my will.  Perhaps he will be happy if I just used it a few times and went back to my Canon DIGITAL camera.

Deep into a forest we frequent, traveled slowly, Clover dog, my husband, myself and my new frustrating friend…Rollei.  I just kept telling myself to at least attempt something new.  Who knows, if I would just be open to this new thing, this change…what might I learn from the experience.

It just all felt so foreign.  I look where?? I turn what??!!  UGH, just when I would get everything in order and get that little green light meaning all was OK to  go…my breath steady…I depress the shutter button..NOTHING….UGH, ##)#@#$…and even more expletives would come forth from my mouth when I realized I had forgotten to wind the camera to the next frame!  Somewhere down the path I would hear a low giggle as my husband chuckled at my frustration.

By the days end and 4 rolls of film,  12 frames each roll of black and white film…literally in the can.  We hopped back into the car, there I sat with the camera in my lap…itching for the ability to “ape” at the days images.  HOW could I ever learn to like waiting.  Later, in the bathroom/ homemade dark room, I listened and learned as my husband explained the times and the chemicals.  Inside all the while asking myself…WHY would I turn back the clock like this on photography…isn’t THIS whole mess the reason the craft had moved to a more modern age?  What was I hoping to learn from all this?

Opening the stainless steel can and unspooling the rolled film was like unwrapping a precious gift….was this the precious gift of patience that I was to learn with this funny little camera?  Like two kids, faces full of excitement we held the freshly developed film up to the light…THERE we both yelled….IT WORKED!  Like an etching, soft little lines of shadow and light…all the precious things we captured on the days walk of discovery.

It did take 3 days to discover just what my Rollei wanted to shoot, how to gingerly coax her to speak with me about what was her best subjects.  We also learned much about our developing and processing which of course will continue to grow and develop as time passes and we keep shooting.

Rollei was a wedding anniversary gift…and a successful one at that.  It bought together two very different people, much like a marriage does.  One with patience, and one who needed to learn this skill.  One who freely created with one who loved the technical side.

Well, I started this blog to tell you basically about my journey to patience through this simple camera, but as is my way…I took it a bit on a tangent.  This brings me to a point, I seem to be having a bit of a personality conflict for this blog.  Should it be about photography, my crazy rambling philosophy, wandering….people have suggested more about how I take photos, of the antics I go through to get an image.  So, I thought I would throw it out to you all.  What are you more interested in?  If you wouldn’t mind sending me a quick note telling me what you think, I would most appreciate it.

So, get out and do something that frustrates and challenges you today…I hope it teaches you something as this camera has taught me.

“Baby it’s cold outside”, it sure is….seems like the world is feeling the big chill.  For many, it is a great excuse to stay inside, but not for me and my intrepid Terrier.  We greet each blustery Winter daybreak  with the excitement of a child on Christmas morning.

As I layer on my many protective pieces of clothing…like a soft suit of armor…my dog paces.  From pack, to camera, to keys to door.  It seems though, no matter how early I wake, I am never the first foot steps in the new fallen snow.  It is this wanderlust feeling that I share with the German people…or perhaps it is they who have given this gift to me.   Even on the most darkly lit of mornings, I am rarely really alone on my wander.

Clover, my dog and I have enjoyed the arctic temperatures and the mystical affect they have had on the world around us.  It is fun to see how the simplest things change when touched by Winter’s kiss.  The babbling brook we love to soak our feet in during the warmer months, now it’s waters frozen in shapes one would only imagine seeing at the very edge of the world.

People ask me why do I love to bundle up and get out in what most would call, “worst weather” so I posed the question to myself.  What I decided the answer to be is simply…you have to embrace what life gives you, there is no way to change it, so why fight it.  EMBRACE change and find something that inspires you in the worst situations…and they quickly become the best situations.

So, I will close here…as Clover has begun his dance…pack…camera…keys

May your day be filled with light…and if not…make your own light!