My analogue photo experience continues. After running a few rolls of film to discover I have two working cameras and one that needs a washer; I decided to spend yesterday afternoon being a little more scientific in my evaluation.

I borrowed a couple of she who must be obeyed’s posing dolls as subject matter, and placed them next to a card on which was written the name of the camera, the lens, and the exposure settings. I then spent a couple of hours taking multiple shots with each of the three available lenses on each camera with varying exposure settings; whilst all the time squinting down the rangefinder to focus on an eye of one of my models.

The objective of all this is to make sure both cameras are focusing correctly, have similar shutter values, and to identify the best lens. None of this would have been necessary had the Germans had the foresight to develop digital camera technology and LCD screens before the second world war. Still, if they had I would probably be writing this in German.

A local bookshop ran an “ultimate book sale” last month with 40% off all titles and I picked up a couple of books. Annoying, because this month they are running a “super-ultimate books sale” with 60% off all books; so I had to buy another. It is called “Fine Art Flower Photography” and it has a load of good ideas (and stunning photos) for a super-ultimate price of 384 baht.

Many of the example shots required totally blurred out backgrounds; and I can do no better for that than my Canon 300mm lens. But the lens does not focus very close, so I rummaged around in my store of bits and discovered an extension tube which allows much closer focusing.

She who must be obeyed’s dolls were still posing on the table and so they were used again; this time to see how close I could focus.

Note: I realise that my regular readership is already heartily sick of my foray into old cameras. If you are so afflicted; please leave now. Thank you.

She who must be obeyed went into raised eyebrow mode when my second Kiev camera arrived a few days ago. So imagine her reaction when yet another box arrived from the Ukraine yesterday.

What’s that? Men’s toiletries. Really? No, not really, it’s another camera. What!!! Yes, but it’s the last one. For now (muttered inaudibly, I am not a complete fool). And this one is the best.

And it is, but to explain why I need to reiterate a little of the story previously told; and expand it because I have learned more about these (to me) intriguing cameras.

When the Russians took over the Contax camera factory in Dresden after the second world war, the production line had been substantially destroyed. As a precursor to moving everything to Russia, everything was moved to a factory near Jena in East Germany. Three production lines were set up. One of these was intended to continue the production of the Contax in Germany; and other two were for the production of the same camera for Russia, initially to be called the Volga and then finally the Kiev. In the event; all the production lines were moved to Kiev and the Germans had to start up Contax production at a later time elsewhere.

In the post ware period of 1947-1949, small batches of cameras were produced in Jena. Some were called Contax, some were called Kiev. Some had Contax front plates which were overwritten with “Kiev”. Parts left over from Dresden were mixed with parts produced in Jena (collectors can identify which bit is which) and the differences can be as subtle as the design as the arrow on the rewind knob. But the cameras were essentially the same machine; high-end expensive precision cameras that cost more than a Rolex watch at the time.

If you can find a 47-49 Contax or Kiev then you will be paying big money for a collector’s piece as only a few hundred were made.

Production of the Kiev (camera) in Kiev (place) finally started in 1950; and if you can find a model from this year you are getting something very close to the original Contax, produced at a time when German engineers were on site overseeing production. Quality stayed high till the mid-fifties and then started to decline as tooling was simplified and production targets became more important than quality control. So I was very happy to acquire a 1950 Kiev II.

My 1950 Kiev II

Pattaya has a deserved reputation for sleaze and vice. But if you actually live here, and have no interest and sleaze and vice other than as a spectator sport; Pattaya can be a reasonably civilised place place to live (and of course, if you have a pathological interest in sleaze and vice; you will be very happy here).

But try telling that to someone from Phuket. Oh no, Phuket is the place to be. With massively expensive housing and a better class of tourist, people in Phuket see their island as a much more desirable destination. But it’s not going so well at the moment.

With film loaded into my latest Kiev, I set out to try and capture at least one photo, made with an antiquated concept called “film”.

The day before I had wasted my time taking shots with a stuck film. I had also wasted time dragging a digital camera around to use as an exposure meter. A bit of research and I had downloaded Pocket Light Meter onto my iPhone.

Point your iPhone towards your subject. Set the ISO and either the aperture or the shutter speed, and the app will give you the missing value.

This afternoon I went out to finish the roll of film in my newly acquired Kiev.

I have no idea how well the camera is functioning, so I decided to record the details of each photo as I took it. First I would choose a location and then out would come my GF1 with a similar length of lens to take an exposure reading. Put the GF1 back in the bag and set the aperture on the Kiev and change the shutter speed after first ensuring that the shutter had been cocked. Point the camera and move the focusing wheel till the two rangefinder images were aligned and then take the shot. Put the camera back in the bag and bring out a notepad and pen to record the details. Long-winded but rather relaxing and fun. Having the GF1 with me enabled me to capture a couple of shots of the Kiev on its outing.

I love my Mac Pro. Bought for not a lot of money last year, it has whizzed along without a hiccup; until this morning.

Turned it on and it started up; but then presented me with a white screen. Bugger. Seemed to be disk related and after some investigation I discovered that my eleven month old SSD boot drive has died. I bought it from the respected OWC on-line store and it has a three year guarantee, so it will be going back; or so I thought until I discovered that the serial number on the SSD bears no relation to the serial number on the invoice; which may make it a little more difficult…

Bought a film for my rangefinder camera this morning and, after a few false starts, loaded it into the camera.

Took the silver beast down the beach this afternoon and it is not to be hurried. First in the absence of a light metre I had to use another camera to get a reading. Then set the Kiev to infinity focus before changing the aperture (don’t ask), and then make sure that the film had been advanced before changing the shutter speed otherwise the thing would explode. Then put camera to face and wiggle the focus wheel to align the rangefinder images.

There’s nothing like a flash of boobs to get the Thai authorities hot under the collar. Topless girls dancing at Songkran; shock horror national scandal. Young ladies appearing in print with minimal or no clothing; flee the country and don’t come back, we don’t do things like this here (well we do, but you are not supposed to flaunt it).

So imagine the outcry when the Thailand’s Got Talent TV show featured a young lady whose only talent was pouring paint over her nipples and then smearing same against some paper.

Took my Kiev rangefinder to visit my neighbour Nik today, and he was so grateful that I allowed him to hold it for a couple of minutes (provided he washed his hands first, you never know where his hands have been), that he suggested we pay an afternoon visit to Nong Nuch courtesy of his car.

Not the best of trips because the weather was mainly shit and Sunday afternoon brings too many visitors, and they get in the way of serious people trying to take photos (us).

But we found a patch of flowers which, thanks to my encyclopedic knowledge of flora, I was able to identify as “orange”. Nik reckoned they were marigolds, but he was just showing off. Anyway, at the close of day they were adopting a most pleasing shape and we spent a while shooting them. Once home, I spent all of fifteen minutes pushing some of the shots through Topaz, et voilà, Marigold Madness! (Or Originally Orange Madness if it turns out they are not marigolds).