Olympus 35RC Rangefinder Camera

Being a fan of rangefinder type cameras and old usable classic cameras it all came together recently with an e-bay purchase of the pictured Olympus 35RC for £18.

I am yet to put a film in it as I need to replace the light seals around the door. Like many older cameras these dense foam strips turn black and gummy over the years. A quick browse on the internet told me where to buy new sealshttp://www.cam-spares.com/page5.htm so I have ordered some. Removal of the old gummy stuff can be done with some alcohol and q-tips.

This is a really clever little camera, in auto mode you set the shutter and the camera sets the aperture (shutter priority). Viewfinder information shows the shutter and aperture being used. In manual you have full control but no light meter.

The "flashmatic" setting is really cool - use a small manual flash like the Olympus PS200 and set the flash guide number on the camera barrel and the RC automatically sets the correct aperture for the distance you have focused - how cool is that.

I can''t wait to start taking some pictures with it and I'll post some on the blog.

Violins, Venice August 2008

Towards the end of our 4 day beak in Venice last Summer we were taking a rest in one of the many shady squares (piazzas?) to rest our Venice-weary feet.

The Venice film festival was being advertised and some of the square was being set aside for some outdoor showings.

A small band of musicians were nearby taking a cigarette break and one had placed his violin against the wall.

So, what to do in this situation? - it looked like a good monochrome image and I could visualise the way I wanted it to look in the final print.

In the end I used sign language and asked the players if I could photograph the violin, another violin was quickly produced and propped up against the wall.

I had my Voigtlander R3a with me and made a few exposures.

Inevitably they asked for some money soI gave them 2 Euros.

I have a framed 12X16 fibre print on my wall and it looks great.