Since I am done with my exams and have less on mind, I have a confession to make.(I know you people are already salivating at the sound of a juicy gossip.)
I have got myself a mistress and she is beautiful. End of story.
I would very much like to end the post here but my "Wife" interrogate me further for fear that she would be replaced. I assured her of her place in my heart and here are the details:
Firstly, she is beautiful. A classic beauty I got to say. She is also vintage.(An alternative for calling a lady old in which I might be kicked in the groin.) She look like those who had stood the test of time but still emerged looking great. But best of all, she makes me think.
Whenever I was with her, she induced my brain which was seldom used, to think. She makes me think of stuffs like photons, trigonometry and second derivative test for finding curvatures. She is unlike those in Hollywood whose heads we can make percussion music out of. Then after all the work, she rewards with a feast for my eyes. Sadly, they are only for the eyes.
Some say she is rare and delicate enough to be put in museums for all to admire. Others say its a miracle itself that she is still going strong after all this years. But all I know she is called Konica S2.
Yes, she is a camera. A Rangefinder cam to be exact. It uses a system that is very different from the SLR system that many of you are used to. For those who are clueless on what I am talking about, I will now attempt to educate you on it.
A Rangefinder is actually a device which is used to measure the distance of the subject via triangulation. Here's when trigonometry comes into play. Assume that we have a semi-transparent mirror M1 and a reflecting mirror M2. The user will see a rectangle patch of yellow with two images on it. One from the reflecting mirror M2 and the other from the semi-transparent one M2. When the lens is being focused, M1 is rotated such that the angle L will change. The image will be focused when the two images coincident with each other and angle A will be a right angle. At that point in time, the focal range can be calculated using simple trigonometry,
D = B cot L,
where D is the focal range & B is the distance between the 2 mirrors
A is a right angle; L = convergence angle at target T.">
This simple mechanism when well designed in a camera is far more superior in accuracy than the manual focusing in a camera. In an SLR, we relie on our eyes to distinguish sharp from unsharp, the Rangefinder is more "Binary". Its either in or its out, there is no grey area.
However, her real beauty is not its technical superiority. In fact, she would be pwned by many in terms of specs. What I really like about her is that she is a fixed focal length, fixed lens film simple camera and these really makes her deep which is what excites me.
With a fixed focal length, the only zooms are your legs, and they are the best zooms in fact. Framing shots requires you to move around after which you might find better shots. Getting close also allow you to connect to your subject better and this could be another long post on its own which I don't intend to write now. Even Robert Capa, a war photographer once said:"If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough."
Using a film camera, you have no LCD screen to look at after each shot. You will only know the results when you developed them and if you miss it, then try again next time. Every frame is money and the developing of the films will cost you too, unless you develop yourself. (You can ask Eunice or Kingston about it, they have been shooting film for sometime.) You got to make every shot count.Therefore, you got to think before you squeeze the shutter. (not abt the cost of the shot though -,-)
Am I using the correct aperture ? Are there better angles to shoot from ? Is that the right moment to trigger off the shutter ? Does that frame really show what I want to show ? You should be asking these questions whenever you want to take a shot. If you do not give your shots some thoughts before you shoot it, you are going to end up with tons of pics but you are not improving. Thats because you would not learn anything and will continue shooting like the way you would which makes your level of photography very stagnant. Hence, in every good pictures, its the thoughts thats really counts.
Since all of you are having your breaks now, I pose to you a challenge. Take any camera, go out and shoot and limit yourself to only 36 frames. But every time after you take a shot, turn off the LCD screen. Only review them back home on your com. Then criticize your own shots and see what could be done better. After which,go back and shoot bearing in mind all the things you have thought of. I am sure after sometime, you will improve on your shots and develop a style of your own.
Well for now, I leave you to have fun with the challenge if you are up to it. I will go and savor the time spent with my "wife" and my "mistress".
& in case u wonder, they both get along very well ;) and I still love digital !
Oh and remember to come for the cohesion and where's my club T-shirt Elliot !
