when Ritsuko times out

It all started with this image. When I first saw it, I didn’t think much of it, I simply saved it from Konachan onto my hard drive. Bleh, meh.

Then, months later, I saw that photo again. For some reason this time, this particular illustration captivated me, much more so than the Barrett M82A1 illustration that this picture was supposed to be a reply to. I searched for the artist (you have to admit, the way he wrote LIN+ just reads “ant” to me) but I couldn’t find anything, so I asked pireze, which had found the artist months prior.

Then I went on eBay. Within two days of taking interest in this illustration, I had already become an expert on Zenit SLRs. Alfred’s Camera Page helped me a lot on that front. Zenit E, as basic as you wanna get, M42/M39 screw mount, selenium lightmeter, Zenit ES version used on the FS-3, which commands a high price on eBay because it’s fairly rare compared to later Fotosnaipers. On the 19th of July I received a FS-12 for which I had paid the paltry sum of 60EURs, with filters (mostly used only for B&W film), a Helios 2/58 lens, the Tair 3S 4.5/300 and the signature gunstock. Quite a deal if you ask me, since the Nikon D40, the world’s noisiest DSLR, costs 500EURs with kit lens. In comparison the F4 and F100 are available used from just 300EURs.

As you may have guessed, I went film because it was cheap. That, and I don’t have to worry about bit rot on my DVDs that house my photos.

Enough about the process, how about the camera?

I had to get someone with a digital camera (in this case, the guy had worked his ass off for one year to buy his D90) to get these shots. After all, images make a blog, don’t they?

Pros: Film; cheap, with huge telephoto lens; great reason to chat up the chicks (so you can photograph them); attention grabber (maybe good, maybe not); filters are uncoated so I can wash them with soap, thank lord; fully mechanical
Cons: Light meter is a black needle, can’t see in dark compositions (but in which case it’s always underexposed so I have to use B shutter setting instead); easy to forget to set ISO after loading film; Tair 3S is cumbersome and only good for shooting wildlife; included Helios 58mm is a bit too narrow for my liking; filters only work on Tair 3S

To take a photo, you first load the film, making sure the holes engage with the gears. Then you close it, and crank the film about two times so that unexposed film gets to the shutter. Decide on target, compose and get the right angle/distance. Estimate aperture/shutter speed (I need help on this area), set, manually focus (a royal PITA with those hopping birds), press shutter release. Then advance the film by turning the crank, rinse and repeat.

As you can see, it’s a pretty awesome learning platform. B&W is particularly troublesome because you need to add one step – depending on the colour of the elements in the photograph, and what you choose to emphasize, you have to add a filter to the end of the Tair in order to increase contrast. Fortunately, TTL metering with the Zenit 12 means that I don’t have to worry about how much light the extra filters absorb and thus won’t have to recalculate the exposure.

When I get good enough, I have ideas that involve a curvy, naked woman. Oh, and of course, Fujichrome Velvia.