Shooting With A Found Camera, Flares And Light Leaks (this may be wordy)

 Although I shoot mostly digital, I also love film. Film can be more experimental and less predictable. One feature, and also a drawback, of digital is that you always know what you are getting. Looking through the EVF viewfinder, or previewing on the screen, pretty much guarantees your results. With film it is another matter, whether incorrect exposure, light leaks, or flares, or worse case scenario forgetting to remove the lens caps, your results may not be what was anticipated.

That brings us to film. Why the title? Besides shooting with my Hasselblad, or film Leicas, I have always enjoyed vintage cameras. The variables are even greater. For my last trip to East Asia, I decided rather than bringing a film camera (in addition to my Leica M10 & Sony a7c), I would buy an old 6x6 camera in Tokyo. Well easier said than done. Although eBay is loaded with vintage cameras for sale … apparently they are all warehoused. I scoured almost every camera store in Shinjuku, until I finally found a Mamiya 6. Shutter seemed to work, camera a little rough. However it fit the criteria of being ‘a found camera’. The Mamiya 6 is heavy, consequently only shot about 6 rolls. Didn’t bring it to China with me, simply left it in the one suitcase I left behind in Japan. Not only was I concerned about shutter accuracy, but also flares lacking a lens hood. Upon returning home, I found my worries were unfounded. Shutter was fine, and since I took care by blocking the sun with a card. No flares.

Decided I needed a lens hood, simply to facilitate shooting. Bought a odd one on eBay. Modified it to fit the lens. Decided to test it in very bright sunlight. Not wanting to waste a good roll of film, I used my last remaining roll of Fomapan 200. Fomapan 200 is by far my least favorite film. Seems all midtones, lacks contrast. Perfect for a test to see if the hood interferes with the image. Processed in Rodinal. The results were surprising. The hood did not interfere with the image however there were flares galore. 

Here are 2 images of the camera, and 3 results.

Originally the 3 images below were flat and lifeless, thanks to Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom, and Nik SilverEfex, I was able to rescue them. 

As alway, all images are copyright ©PeterPolitanoff, and may not be reproduced without explicit consent. You are more than welcome to point to, or,  link to this page.