Using the Agfa Isolette camera

Carrying on from a previous post on the Agfa Isolette The opportunity to use the camera was provided by a break in the weather - it cleared enough not to be soaked as soon as you leave the house.

The flip out film holder makes it easy to load a new roll of film. There are in built springs that provide friction, so the film is kept tort, keeping it as flat as possible at the focal plane reducing distortion. The film back clicks shut with a reassuring clunk. It also has a little red window in the back with a sliding cover in which to view the film numbers as you wind on. The film is advanced with a knob on the top right hand side of the camera that has a built in reminder to wind on after each exposure otherwise the shutter will not set.

To reveal the lens you press a button on the top left hand side. In this case the lens followed by the bellows leaps forward from the front of the camera with an enthusiasm that can knock it out of your hands if you are not prepared for such athleticism. Once the front is open you are presented with the five main controls: lens focus, a full set of apertures from F4.5 all the way up to F32. A limited number of shutter speeds: B, 25^th, 50^th, 100^th and 200^th A self timer and most importantly a lever that primes the shutter for release. The only other thing present is a connection for flash.

On the top of the camera is the shutter release that allows a remote cable to be fitted, a cold shoe for a range finder or other accessories and another knob that has four settings marked Col NK, NT, K and T. (I do not have a clue as to what they represent.) As far as I can tell it has had no affect on my negatives. It has a viewer and a tripod mount.

After I got used to the idea of guessing what the distance should be set to and then remembering to alter it for different views, I found myself taking shots quickly almost like an automatic. I did take light readings to start with but it became clear that the light levels were stable enough not to need checking for each shot.

It became clear that there was a problem once the negatives had been developed. Some how light was getting into the camera. Having checked it carefully before hand I should have carried on and cut a piece of light sensitive paper to fit the camera and left it for a minute to make sure. Once the paper had been developed in the normal way it would have shown that light was leaking in from the bottom right corner of the exposure chamber indicating a problem with the bellows.

I'm a little disappointed with myself for not doing this check in the first place. If I had followed through with the test, I wouldn't have had a duff set of negs'!. It would have made an interesting set of prints as the gremlin's face in the tree roots shows.

Public art?

To be honest I have not really been that interested in graffiti until the Tate modern had that extraordinary exhibition on the outside of the building. At well over a hundred feet high you couldn't really miss them. Before that, like most people, I was blind to it to a certain extent as I walked the streets of towns and cities across the country. What I did notice after viewing these wonderful drawings is the proliferation of tagging which in my view is a blight on the built up environment. If you are going to do it make it interesting otherwise save the paint.

The other day I had my arm gently twisted to purchase a copy of Wall and Piece by Banksy forcing my interest in graffiti to another level. His book is more a picture book than a read. One of the things I picked up from the photo's in the book apart from his sense of humour, is that we still walk around with our eyes wide shut even though picture taking is at epidemic proportions. On a subsequent visit to another book shop I checked out the art section to see if there were any other books on graffiti and there are quite a few. Leafing through some of them they also depict some wonderful public art. I know! a lot of people think it degrades the neighbourhood, but done well I think it lifts it, maybe it is time to make spaces where it is legal for anybody to post.

What's this got to do with photography? Quite a lot. It is about keeping your eyes open to picture opportunity even if you walk the same streets every day. It has happened to me on a number of occasions where a set of circumstances falls into place, opening my eyes to a composition that I have been blind to in the past. It is a strange sensation to think I have walked this way over the years and this is the first time I have really seen this view. I suspect this happens to all of us from time to time.

Graffiti what are your thoughts?

The Catier Bresson influence.

I have been studying Henri Catier Bresson's work for some time among others. Which brings me to a new acquisition Published by Thames and Hudson about  Cartier Bresson. It has been a joy to read and is a pocket sized which accounts for it doing a lot of travelling with me being read at those odd times when I'm having coffee, waiting for an appointment or in a quite moments snatched between jobs. It is a thin volume that  has surprisingly taken quite a time to finish – which is  a good thing as it is one of those books I will be sad to see the back of.

It was not until recently that I noticed that all this reading about Henri and his methods, has influenced the way I have taken a number of pictures. All be it at a subconscious level. It is true to say HBC was a bit of a snapper, an opportunist when taking a number of his most well known pictures. His method in a number of cases was to wait at a location that interested him pictorially and watch life unfold in front of it. Some  favorites that illustrate this are: The stairway down to the street with the cyclist rushing by and the man jumping the puddle.

 

The picture of the lady walking her dogs along the sea front is a Bresson inspired image although at the time I did not realize this. My intention was to take an empty picture depicting the lamp post and line of the wall for a project that has been coming together over the years as an odd shot here and there. I was about to take the picture when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a group  were about to walk into shot or what I thought were people only to be present in the view finder as dogs. The next thing I know I had taken the shot with that little voice in your head saying that's a better shot. Having printed the picture it is not as good as when I took it. The day is depicted a lot duller than I remember but I do recall how brass monkey the weather was.

Do you find this happening to you when you have been reading about other photographers?

An Agfa Isolette has laneded

Recently a package arrive from a friend that was giving away a number of Agfa  Isolette cameras. I put my name down for one, not quite expecting to have my name pulled out of the hat. As it turned out not that many people were interested. The cameras were advertised as not tried and tested so you could end up with one that may not be in proper working order. However they are easy to repair if there is a problem.

 As it turns out, the one I have does not have any faults that I can find apart from needing a major clean. It has the dustiest insides I have seen in a long time with the bellows being full of fluff.  I have carefully cleaned it out using compressed air and a damp cotton bud. Having first earthed myself to reduce the static in my body. The lens was slightly dirty which has been gently cleansed with lens fluid on a cotton bud.

 

The Agfa Isolette was introduced in the 1950. It produces a 6x6 negative making it a member of the 120 medium format family. The camera pictured is an Isolette 2 With the press of a button the front flips open to reveal an 85 mm Apotar 1.4,5 lens that shuts down to F22 and has a shutter speed range from B to 200 hundredths of a second.  For a completely manual camera it is well designed and sophisticated, even by today’s standards. It has a number of features that shows its quality, firstly with a film holder that flips out of the camera back to allow the easy installation of a new roll. A shutter lock on the winding mechanism that can only be removed by advancing the film, helping to prevent double exposures. Although the lens has a focus ring it is not a range finder and therefore distances have to be guestimated. A range finder device was produced as an extra that clipped into the shoe on the top. It's compact size makes it just right to slip into the pocket of a gentleman's jacket, although the all metal construction makes it a little bit heavy for comfort.

With all the cleaning and checking done, all that remains is some good weather so the camera can be put through its paces.