May the first this year, it was “International Commie Camera Day”. The idea? Simply to take photos of anything (I think) using “Made in the Communist state of” type cameras.
Perfect excuse to try out a camera, methinks.
Recall if you will, a couple of years ago I was offered a bargain Kiev 4. Its year of manufacture is 1975. Not quite vintage, and possibly susceptible to light leaks. During the times of camera collecting, I also bought a Kiev 2… 195sumat. the Kiev 2 came with a 1959 Jupiter-8 lens.
The J8 lens has the tell-tale pi-like symbol on the front, indicating it’s a coated lens. Shame really, but never mind. The Kiev 2 also developed a shutter problem. Shame really… no, it is a shame.
I’ve been meaning to stick a film through the 1975 Kiev 4, but there’s always been something else going on. So, when ICCD 2009 came around, it was the perfect opportunity to use the camera. As well as that, I was also planning to use the 1959 J8 lens. My only concern was the film-loading. See, these Kiev rangefinders don’t have a fixed take-up spool; they were designed with two metal cassettes in mind… one acting as a take-up spool, so as to not hamper the user with having to wind film back into a cannister. But, the Kievs do still have a film rewind button.
So, loading the film..? The film leader was unceremoniously sellotaped to a take-up spool, so as to not upset the machines in the local 2-hour film developing shop. That worked surprisingly well, the tape held and behaved as was hoped.
It was also a nice sunny day. So, no need for a lightmter. Just remember the “Sunny-16″ rule, but adjusting to take into account a shutter speed of 1/500th. Away I went.
The film was used up and developed. The results were a touch on the dark side, but there were still some photos to scan in. So, here’s my favourites of the day…
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