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I was expecting this to be a 1600 or 2-litre, but I'd forgotten about the different engine sizes Capris had outside of the UK.
More photos to come from this garage - they appear to specialise in Italian cars but had a number of other older things around the place.....
While walking to class this morning I glanced up the street to see Via 70 arriving at Brantford with P42 907 on the point.
I wandered a couple blocks past campus to snap a few shots on my cell phone, no hell but not bad either!
'Expect the unexpected' is what I have learned from three of years of landscape photography, especially on Dartmoor where the weather can be so unpredictable. Today there was no obvious sign of what was about to happen and I almost wondered if I’d sacrificed my sleep yet again. However, I had my suspicions that the early sun would provide some light and colour but perhaps not quite as impressive as this. Thank you for taking a look. Mk
I wasn't expecting The Wave.
The sculpture, by artist Lucy Glendinning, weighs 17 tonnes and is 10.3m tall.
I'm expecting to receive a new fridge/freezer to the officially (taxman) 'free time residence' and more clearly said 'summer cottage'. It is an important device to store some slices of nice summer days:)
This photo was shot in/on my kitchen table studio using a single ceiling lamp and a rather long exposure time.
Expecting a fine day with clear skies, I got up early to set up a long exposure star trails photograph. Ten steps out the front door of our apartment block, I looked up, only to see almost complete cloud cover. Oh well, I'm up now so I may as well head down to the lake and see what photographic possibilities present themselves.
The NightCap Pro camera replacement app on my Phone 6s Plus has become my favorite app for taking long exposure photographs over the past few months, supplanting Slow Shutter Cam. This image was the product of using NightCap Pro in "Long Exposure" mode to stack (i.e., average) the many individual frames that were acquired with an exposure length of 1/3 seconds over a total period of 93.93 seconds. This stacking process had 3 obvious benefits when I look at this image - (1) to dramatically reduce the level of high ISO (i.e., an ISO of 5000) random speckle noise, (2) to give the water surface a satin smooth appearance, and (3) to produce a lovely sense of movement for the clouds.
I felt a deep sense of satisfaction to have overcome my initial disappointment at seeing clouds in the sky, for still heading outside, and for coming back with a shot that actually benefitted from the overcast conditions!
Barton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
iPhone 6s Plus - Photograph taken with the back-facing camera on an iPhone 6s Plus.
NightCap Pro - This camera replacement app was used in Light Trails mode, with a total exposure length of 93.93 seconds, a manual white balance of 3400K, an aperture of f2.2, a frame exposure length of 1/3 seconds, and an ISO of 5000. The output image had 4032 x 3024 pixels (12MP).
Snapseed - Cropped the image to 16:9 (panoramic) aspect ratio. Output an image with 4032 x 2268 pixels.
Photoshop Express - Applied the Sharpen filter.
ExifEditor - Transferred the EXIF data from the original photograph to the final image.
Just won an eBay dress for £0.99. Woo Hoo! That's 2 new things to try soon. A top and a dress. And another dress. No....! 3... it's 3 new things. A top and a dress and a flirty dress... and another dress. 4! 4 new things. A top, a dress, a flirty dress and a sparkly dress. And another top..... I'll come in again.
I really owe Amy a lot for this shot. She was forced to walk in front of this sign for like 20 times and I finally got, well, one quite satisfactory shot... :p She's a very professional model. And sorry, I'm a complete amateur photographer... :p
Sorry & Thank you, Amy! :****
This was a hoped for, but not expected, species in Colombia. It is both endemic and rare so just seeing one was cool. Getting some nice photos, even better. It is estimated that the population is between 600-1,700 mature birds.
Beautiful tanager restricted to Colombia’s western Andes. It is one of the country’s most sought-after endemic birds due to its unique plumage and scarcity. Yellow head crescent, mustache, and breast patch stand out conspicuously against its otherwise black, olive, and blue color pattern. Females and young birds are duller than adult males. Inhabits wet cloud forest, and sometimes joins mixed species flocks. Often perches on an exposed branch, repeatedly giving a burst of sharp notes that rises and then falls.
Photographed in Colombia on a tour guided by Neotropic Photo Tours. March 11, 2022
These children do not have much and they don't expect much. Live happily with whatever life has given them.
Ever get depressed? go nearby slum. Spend some time with the slum children's. Return home with hundred percent satisfaction in your life.
Thanks for the views, faves and comments! This encourages me to put more of alike stuff.. thank you. Have a wonderful day !
We're expecting a bit of weather. Predictions are for between 15-20 cm before morning. Maybe. I'll not hold my breath.
Here in the city, we rarely get the severe weather that is predicted. But just a few km outside and it could be havoc.
I'd gone for lunch with an old friend and as we finished the snow started. I thought it very pretty and took my time before getting on the streetcar home.
no PP expect RAW processing and copyright
All images are the property of Prabeesh Raman. Using these images without permission is in violation of international copyright laws (633/41 DPR19/78-Disg 154/97-L.248/2000)
All materials may be not copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any forms or by any means, including electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording without written/email permission of Prabeesh Raman. Every violation will be pursued penally
We can regularly expect to see two of our four US Sapsuckers up here. The other one that is regular (if not common) is the Williamson's. The Red-breasted is primarily a West Coast bird, and the Yellow-bellied is mainly an Eastern bird... although vagrants may show up anywhere in North America.
IMG_1422; Red-naped Sapsucker
+2 in comments
i'm really indecisive about these!! this is not the one i expected to put as the main.
ok i was tagged by Emma :)
so here we go.
0. GRRRRRRR i just wrote this whole thing and it deleted it!!! now i'll have to remember everything :\
1. i always like looking at photos of people's bedrooms and wardrobes and belongings, so that's what inspired this kind of photo :)
2. today is my puppy's 8 month birthday :)
3. i do wear colours other than pastels i promise :P
4. i'm going to the beach for 2 weeks on the 12th of janurary and i'm pretty damn excited.
5. yesterday it was 36 degrees celsius and today it's cold and rainy, it's crazy!!
6. i'm so behind on this project, i think i might have to upload some old ones :\
7. i'm a really fussy shopper. like really.
8. i started learning piano when i was 4
9. i fainted when i got my ears pierced becuase the gun thingy jammed while it was still in my ear :\ not a fun experience.
10. i cried when i saw toy story 3.
so there we are, ten VERY random facts. i hope you're all having an amazing day :)
took about 100 squirell photo's today just need to sort them all out this little fella didn't mind me and also a robin landed and started eating the food i had put down(photo to follow on friday)
I looked inside his shoulder bag. I never saw so much rope! I wonder if he expected my husband to be home as well.....taking another new rope he bound my arms to my body, making sure to pass some of the rope between my legs and up against my undies where it rubbed against my sex.
"HLLFPH!" He pushed me over and rolled me to the middle of the bed, kissing and playing with me, running his hands all over me......ALL over me, pushing his fingers under the ropes and rubbing me down there.......!
"Sorry bitch, I got your house to rob and if I get caught I don't want to go up for a rape, too." He left me alone and all I could do was struggle and listen as he trashed the rest of my house in search of anything valuable he could take before leaving.
I struggled like mad but only made the ropes binding me tighter! The clock said I had another two and a half hours before I would be rescued.....then the phone rang..."HLLLLFFF! HLLFPH MMM!!" Of course no one could hear me, especially my husband, who was calling and left a message to say his car broke down and wouldn't be home for another two hours more.
Wasn't expecting to see this on my way to Work today, and this vehicle had been on SouthEastern Trains Emergency Rail Replacement Standby, due to a 3rd Rail Power Supply Failure between Dover and Canterbury East this morning, according to a notice at the station, and a thank you to this vehicle's driver for the friendly wave.
And be sure to check by my other account: www.flickr.com/photos_user.gne?path=&nsid=77145939%40..., to see what else I saw Very Recently!!
So, I turn down a country road thinking I'll stop and take some photos of the setting sun and I see *this* in the very middle of the road.
While out scoping out a night shot just happened to catch CREX 1214 leading a eastbound oil can at
Steward, IL.5-10-14
Part of the balcony still hanging on at the Coyle demolition last month. It was interesting that this building was actually steel framed, I had expected to see more wood. The steel was in pretty good shape, and you can see the original markings on the beams that would have been referenced to the blueprints when erecting the building.
Sound City Files, Volume 1 - Chapter 5
---------------------------------------------------------------
< Sound City Files, Volume 1 - Chapter 4
The water poured down with a splash, sheets flowing from her body as it cleansed her body and mind. A shower. She knew the name, but this... this was far better than she expected. Not like the rain, this water made you feel clean... refreshed.
The water clicks off.
"s̷h̷o̷w̷e̷r̷ ̷c̷y̷c̷l̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷m̷p̷l̷e̷t̷e̷"
The voice startles her to jump with a verbal squeak.
"Are you okay?"
His voice calls from the other side of the door.
"I'm fine.. This... thing? just said my shower was over..."
She's standing in the shower with the unit beeping and water dripping from the shower, now off.
He lets out a hearty laugh.
"Sorry for not warning you about that, they limit us to how much water we use. Were you able to finish?"
"Mhmm"
She dries off, squeezes her hair dry, and wraps the towel around her.
"Was there anything that you found would fit me?"
"Well, yes... but... everything I own is for men... definitely not a woman your size. I still had a few things that got confiscated when I was with CorGen and I washed them, but...."
He hesitated.
"It's fine, it can't be any worse than walking around in a towel."
Her legs were covered in goosebumps, rubbing her arms to stay warm. The heat systems at this altitude weren't exactly great. She sticks her arm out the door, cracked open just enough.
"D̴͚̜͓̳͓͈̭̀̓͐͒̇͑̐͜A̴͍͚̦̘̚T̶̨̡̘̬̰̼̪̋͂̓̋̉̒̅̓͜͝A̸͉͐̆͑͊́̾̿̕͠͝ ̸͖͎͗̒ͅÇ̸̠̻̪̦͊͗͛̍̀̃͘̚͝͝Ŏ̵̡͇̻̝̝̯͖̘̌̾R̸̨̲̤͉̣̠̼̣͎͐̈́̀͌Ŗ̴̯̰̂̈̐̽̿̏̔̎̏̐Ṵ̸̪̘̘͍̦͇̜̞̮̎́̀P̵̢̡̫̗̬͍͎͠T̶̖̰̣̲͔̗̜͖͎̪͗̈́͐̎́̃͘͝ ... you didn't really think I wouldn't be expecting you... did you?"
He kicks the ground.
"You know, I didn't even go there looking for him. Nice cover, by the way. But hey, I guess it was just my lucky day right? I owed that motherfnck3r." Vinzer smiles a vicious smile filled with perfectly aligned, perfectly white, perfectly fake teeth.
The four lapdogs surrounding her are all visibly eager. She sizes each one up carefully. One to the left. One to the right. Vinzer in front, with one flanking him on each side. Prioritize close combat targets. She thinks to herself. Remeber what he taught you. Know their next three moves. Then nine. Keep going until they don't.
"Do you give them doggie treats after each mission?"
"Is this /REALLY/ all you had?"
She sighs.
He stammers.
"I... I swear. I can go to a store and find something for you right now. Just give me li-"
"No. It's... fine."
Her face feels like it's on fire. The bodysuit barely covered anything. Confiscated? Of course the confiscated box would be from a strip club. Her body can't help but react, thinking about his eyes on her.
The door opens slowly and she takes a tedious step forward. She tries to be modest, but the tiny bit of cloth covering her made that difficult.
He's sitting on the sofa, focused on the comm in his hand when he looks up to see her. The comm drops to the floor with a dull thud. He stands up slowly, almost instinctively.
The first strike is from the agent to her left. She parries with an elbow and follows it with the muzzle of her pistol right to the female agents chest.
One.
She weaves to avoid the next shot, gunfire from the agent to her right. She swings her arms over her shoulder sending two shell casings clattering as the agent slumps to the ground.
Two.
An open shot. She moves to take down Vinzer, but the slippery rat dodges behind his own teammate to use them as a shield. Good thing it was a full synthetic. Now it's about... two-thirds of one.
Three.
He walks towards her, quiet. His eyes fixed on her. Her thighs press together, as though she can feel his eyes touching everywhere he gazes.
"w-what?" Her voice is weak, why is her heart racing like this?
He just shakes his head.
"I.. you... you're beautiful."
"It's... just this outfit. You put me in something too sexy..."
Her body is aflame. It feels like fire would erupt from her every pore. Hot. Burning.
Now only inches from her, his hand reaches up and tilts her head up by the chin to meet his gaze. So tall. So strong. So... big.
She bites her lip, making it sting slightly.
He moves forward, slowly urging her back towards the wall. It's cold against her skin. Like ice, compared to how hot she feels. She slides her calf against his, wrapping her thigh around his and pressing against him.
His hands move to the straps of her bodysuit, slowly sliding them down until they go past her wrists. They're both breathing heavily, chests heaving. She musters only four words...
"Like what you see?"
A fist slams her jaw, stars dance in her head for a moment.
The last thug grabs her from behind, arm wrapped around her neck. Thunder rings in her ears. A clang. Searing pain.
"How does it feel to take a shotgun point blank? Even your suit can't stop all of the force. I should know, I helped them test the d4mn things."
Vinzer stands holding a tactical shotgun just feet away.
"ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ, ᴄʀɪᴛɪᴄᴀʟ ꜱᴜɪᴛ ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇ.
ʙɪᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇ ᴅᴇᴛᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ:
ꜰʀᴀᴄᴛᴜʀᴇꜱ ɪɴ ʀɪʙꜱ 3, 4, 6, 7, ᴀɴᴅ 12.
ʜᴀɪʀʟɪɴᴇ ꜰʀᴀᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ɪɴ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ᴛʜᴏʀᴀᴄɪᴄ ᴠᴇʀᴛᴇʙʀᴀᴇ.
ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟ ʜᴇᴍᴏʀʀʜᴀɢɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴏᴍᴀᴄʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇꜱᴏᴘʜᴀɢᴜꜱ."
The suits lecture isn't what she needed right now.
"Fnck. You."
The attack had stunned her, and now her guns were at her feet. She tugs at the thugs hold, twisting hard, and another blast roars through the streets.
The thug falls to the ground in a wet splat.
Four.
"Are you fncking serious??"
Vinzer fumes as she stumbles forward to her knees. The thug blocked most of the blast, but her back was almost numb from the pain.
She coughs. She knows now. There was never any chance of turning back. This is her judgement, and Vinzers requiem.
And not she or him could do a d4mn thing to avoid it.
Her hands slide under his shirt, the chest hair running between her fingers. His hands slide down her back, lower... lower... then lifts her up to be face to face.
She giggles softly and wraps her legs around his waist. His deep growls and firm grip send lightning through her body. His breath is warm against her chest as she runs her hands through his hair.
His scent, smooth and cool yet worn and rugged. She pulls his shirt open, buttons clatter to the floor. Feeling his bare skin against hers she leans in and bites his neck gently, letting her tongue run against his skin.
Her hands find his belt buckle and promptly release it. She moans low into his chest feeling him swell against her. He presses her hard against the wall as he drops the bodysuit to the floor.
Imposing. That's how most anyone would describe him. Few people stood taller, and her arms didn't even come close to fitting around his chest. No matter how you looked at him, he was a big man. His hands grip her hips firmly as he pulls her down until she can't go any further. She lets out a sound from her mouth she didn't even know possible. Deep, for her, and growling in ecstasy. A /very/ big man.
He lifts her to her knees by her hair. The back of his hand cracks against her mask.
"Just like good old times, right?"
His fist slams between her eyes and she falls back from the force.
Vinzer tosses a clump of blue hair to the side.
"What was it that came next? I forget... was it a kick to the stomach, or a knee to the head?"
Red mist pumps from the mask as she rolls to her back.
"Fnck it, let's go for double points." The steel toe of his shoe slams into the mask, snapping her head to the side like a whip. Silence. Darkness.
His muscles flex against her, the movements smooth, steady. Her hips roll, as his soft grunts set the rhythm. Her arms wrap under his to hold his shoulders as her legs bounce in the air.
His fingers slide along her neck, his palm pressing against her throat softly. His hand moves up, and to the back of her head while the other arm wraps her waist like a massive python. He leans back, pulling her from the wall and holds her as his arms guide her body. Faster now. She gives in completely. Her body tenses suddenly, then goes limp as she lets out a muffled moan into his neck.
Her mind races as she's filled with warmth, love. His love. Her mind reels in pleasure. Nothing ever felt more right.
She lays on the sofa relaxing, crop top and panties as usual. The door latch clicks. She checks the time.
"Welcome home!" She bounces up from the sofa and does her best to tackle the man.
"Wow. You really put the shine on her, dint ya?" Jessups voice is unmistakable.
"I did nothing of the sort." He's stern, more than usual.
When she realizes, she ducks behind a cabinet. "Hey! Why are you here??" She tries to cover herself.
"Jessup is just helping me bring up some boxes from the storeroom so I didn't have to make 2 trips." He slides the box over and stacks the one from Jessup on top. "Thanks, I'll stop by later so you can check the actuator in my knee. It's been a bit glitchy."
"Ya ya, no freebies this time." Jessup shuffles to the stairs. "Full price!"
"So what have you been up to?" He pulls her close as he shuts the cabinet door she was hiding behind.
"Well, first I went out and sold myself to EVERY guy on the block." She giggles.
"Oh really? Did you make a lot?" He squeezes her.
"Oh lots, but THEN I went and bought all of the expensive clothes I've wanted." She wiggles against him.
"Oh, then I get a fashion show?" His hands sneak lower.
"I don't need new clothes to do that for you..." She looks down and pulls the loose collar of her top off her shoulder, then looks back up to him softly biting her lips as she peers up from under her long eyelashes.
His lips press against her forehead. "So what did you really do?"
"I had an early delivery, then a commute across town to get another in the afternoon. That's about all. Also... I cleaned!" She points at the floors.
"Did said cleaning involve dancing?" He chuckles, knowing the answer.
"Duh, like I would clean and NOT dance." She slithers her body against his.
He spins her around like a ballroom dancer. "I'm glad your day was good."
"Yep! Let's celebrate!" She springs around the apartment, stopping at the sofa and leaning over the back to talk to him.
"I've been here for a month now!"
"Oh, you are absolutely correct. That most definitely /is/ reason to celebrate. So..."
The word echoes in her mind.
"Where are we going?"
They lay back on the bed, content and worn. "I'm sorry... you might need another shower..." His voice is soft from heavy breathing.
She giggles and snuggles into his chest. "Want to share one?" Her voice is seductive and low.
He pulls her close and sighs contently as a moments eternity of peace gives them a tiny taste of respite.
She lays on top of him, both sweaty and panting. "Let's leave."
"What?" He blinks, surprised by the statement, looking down into her eyes.
"Let's leave. This place. It's... rotten. Maybe if there was some order.. or even just... someone that cared. This isn't the place to start a life." She draws patterns on his chest with the tip of her finger as she lays her cheek against him.
"You know I'd go anywhere with you. Just say the word." He brushes her hair back over her ear.
"I just.... I want it to be us. Just us. No CorGen. No thugs. No more operations. What if... one day... you don't come back to me?" A tear wells in her eye and drops onto his skin.
"Ok. Fine. So..."
The word echoes in her mind.
"Where are we going?"
"... *crackle* to *krzzzzz*ie."
.
.
.
"... going to *digital noise*"
.
.
.
"You're going to DIE!"
It's warm, but cold at the same time. She's here, but everywhere also.
"... up."
.
.
.
"get*static*"
She looks where her hand should be. Nothing. Everything is white. There's nothing but... light.
"I knew you'd do something reckless." His voice comes from beside her, behind her, inside her. "You have to get up. If you don't, you're going to die."
"Am I dead?" She tries to look around but there's no left or right, up or down.
"I need you to listen. I wasn't... entirely honest with you. That place... where they kept you. It wasn't just a place to torture you. They did things. Horrible things. Vinzer was taking young girls from the streets and using implants to force them to do what he wanted. Murder, robbery, and... other things. But you... nothing they did would break you. I couldn't do it any more. Chasing you down, dragging you back to that place. Your screams..."
He looks away.
"I left his crew, and the moment I could come get you... I did."
"Why?" She wants to cry. "Why did you lie to me?"
"I didn't want to force you to remember. Any of it. It was wrong. Can you forgive me?"
His words are soft.
"I love you." Her response comes without any will of her own.
"I can't make it right, but I can help you... one more time. All of the VES suits, they're modeled after you. You were subject #000. When I worked on your suit, I linked it to your neural implant..."
His explanation makes little sense.
Her mind interrupts. "You're dead."
"Well, yes... technically. And... technically, so are you." His voice doesn't waver.
"Dead?" She questions.
"Yes. For now." He sighs. "All done. I love you. You don't have to do this. Please. Get out of there. Run. Don't look back. Forget me. Forget the city. Be free. I'll always be watching you, my love."
The white fades to gray. "I love you. My light." Her thought sends vibrations through her reality, shattering it to nothingness. Dark. Quiet.
The apartment is pitch black, the only sound the rain pattering against the windows.
Quiet. Dark.
"D̴̀̓A̴͍̚T̶̋͂A̸͐͠ ̸͗̒C̸͊͘Ŏ̵̌R̸͐̈́R̴̂̈U̸̎́P̵̢͠T̶͗͘???" She calls for him. Silence. Her eyes adjust, and she sees the apartment in shambles.
"D̴̀̓A̴͍̚T̶̋͂A̸͐͠ ̸͗̒C̸͊͘Ŏ̵̌R̸͐̈́R̴̂̈U̸̎́P̵̢͠T̶͗͘?!?!?!?!?!" She calls out again, and again... silence. She flicks the lights, nothing.
She uses the light of her comm to look around frantically. Calling his name, over and over. As she turns the corner to their bedroom she falls to her knees.
Her hands shake as she reaches for his... Cold. She screams in pain. It's so dark. So cold. She can't see his light.
She drags herself close to his still body and lays her head on his chest. "You can't go... you can't leave me..."
The door bangs open suddenly and Jessup rushes in carrying a flashlight. "Is everyone alright? I heard a screa-" He stops abruptly as he sees her. "Oh fnck..."
She turns towards Jessup, eyes cold as the oceans depths. "Jessup..." Tears stream down her face. "My light..." The words barely escape her lips.
"They took him from me."
-------------------------------------------------------
Sound City Files, Volume 1 - Chapter 6 >
😭😭😭😭😭*kicks and punches at the air* Go get em! RAWR!! lol
I love how this shot came out. I always proof my photos before I post them, andthis one was just sooo much fun. I took a backdrop, modified it for use in the city, then used it as a more elaborate backdrop. I think there's probably about 150 lights in that shot. Seriously. There's definitely thousands of particles. I know everyone I've shown previews to has been really amped up about it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did taking it!
Only a couple of chapters left.... are you ready?
EDIT: I'm sorry about the formatting. Flickr feels that they should modify what you enter. I'm not sure why... but they do. I also can't use anything to format it more properly since they ignore or remove the formatting. Please reach out if you know of a way to keep formatting when I post descriptions. Thanks! :)
❤️ Epi!
THE MOMENT WHEN NO ONE WAS EXPECTED TO BE ANYONE / CHRISTELLE GEISER BY AEON VON ZARK PORTRAIT.
There exists,
hidden between two ordinary hours,
a brief condition
during which the world
forgets to expect anything.
No courage.
No beauty.
No purpose.
No performance.
Only breathing.
She entered that interval
without noticing.
Her face rested
inside its own gravity,
untouched
by the exhausting obligation
to become recognizable.
A strand of hair crossed her lips,
not as concealment,
but as weather.
The room asked nothing of her.
The darkness requested no confession.
Even memory,
usually so impatient,
sat quietly in a corner
without trying to reconstruct a story.
Outside,
people continued introducing themselves,
defending opinions,
building identities
strong enough
to survive another day.
Inside,
none of those activities
seemed necessary.
She had become
a life
before description.
A presence
before interpretation.
A body
released,
for a few immeasurable minutes,
from the continuous labor
of being someone.
Nothing miraculous occurred.
Nothing impossible.
The universe simply remembered
an older courtesy:
that existence
does not always require
a name attached to it.
When the interval ended,
language returned.
Expectations returned.
History returned.
She rose.
The world recognized her again.
But somewhere,
beneath every future conversation,
that silent country remained;
the place
where no one
had ever needed
to become anyone.
Continuation from here
So ... the case was as I had expected. A few scuffs, lots of patina, nothing a bit of saddle soap and soft leather grease wouldn't fix.
But the camera. I expected a beat-up piece of junk. I didn't much care. I wanted the leather case and had already planned to sell on the camera to someone with a showcase collection.
But that is not what this camera is. Not at all. Some paint is gone, true. She's 85 years old, after all. But I've seen worse than this. Far worse.
So I open up the camera back, bracing for the worst. Surely the shutter, notoriously unreliable in pre-war Contaxes and especially in the first version of the Contax (1932-36), which is what I was holding in my hands, must look like some train wreck - a mashed jumble of bits and pieces.
Not at all. It looked fine.
Next test: hold it to your nose and sniff. If there is mould or must, you will smell it. Nothing.
But would it work? Therein lies the rub. Zeiss Ikon is good at making cameras that still look great externally, while all the inner workings have been worn down to junk. Just think of the Contarex ... 'nuff said,
Gingerly, I wound the shutter. That's the big knob on the front. They moved that to the top, where it belongs, with the Contax II. The mechanism offered just enough resistance to the touch to remind me that I was operating an exquisitely engineered jewel of a camera here. Not the slightest grinding.
(Thanks, previous owner, whoever you are, for not putting her away for 30 years with the shutter cocked. That's much appreciated!)
Then, I had to consult literature. it wasn't at all obvious to me how to set the exposure time. I hadn't expected ever to be operating a Contax. I do own a Contax IIa, but with that, everything is perfectly self-evident. Not so with this mystery lady.
So ... that knob not only winds the shutter, it also selects one of four groups of exposure times, and then, within each of these groups, one of three or four times that make up each group.
I decided to stay well clear of the fast times in the "Sports" group and all the slow ones. In the end, I set it to 100 and decided to leave it there. I certainly didn't want to push my luck.
Then - the big moment. I had cocked the shutter and selected the time, now would see whether the shutter actually fired.
Again the slight resistance and soft yielding that comes with massive over-engineering and unstinting dedication to quality.
Click.
A muted testimony to clockwork precision that tells the photographer that yet another picture has been committed to silver halide. A click that says: If this picture isn't good, don't blame me. Blame yourself.
As the back was still off, I had seen the shutter whir open, then close. It sure sounded and looked like 1/100 s. While I was at it, I tried 1/50 and 1/25 and they looked and felt distinctly slower.
So ... I loaded a film, which also worked with supreme ease and precision (Messrs Leitz & Cie, are you paying attention?) and closed the back. The shutter click with the back closed was a joy to hear. You only just hear it. Because you should. But no more than that.
In the meantime, I have shot the first roll of film and sent it in for developing. So I can testify to the fact that the rewind mechanism works just as smoothly as the film advance.
The focusing patch is clearly visible and yellowing. Focusing is accurate.
The collapsible Tessar could be pulled out and locked in one smooth, fluid movement. The aperture ring offered just enough resistance to ensure that it would not be knocked out of position. After 85 years .. unbelievable.
But you can see that not all is perfect ... there is quite some haze in the lens. Haze comes from lubricant that has evaporated off mechanisms inside the lens, mostly the blades of the diaphragm, and then deposited itself on the glass. I will have to see what to do about that. If there is that much haze, it is sure to affect image quality.
Then, more reading.
The serial number is V 89085 (made in 1933 or 1934).
Mine does not have a pimple in front of the focusing wheel. It has a through front plate. It has a fastest time of 1/1000. It has slow speeds. It has a 3/8" tripod mount support. The ranging window is outside of the viewfinder window (Zeiss Ikon introduced a true rangefinder only with the Contax II, but that was still 22 years before the first Leica featured one). It has infinity lock. So it should be at least the fourth iteration of the Contax design.
I have read estimates that there are only about 100 working Contax I cameras in the world. Can that be true (and how would they know)? Anyway, however few there may be, it seems I own one now ... quite unexpectedly.
Well, I won't know that for sure until I've seen the negs.
Shot with:
Canon EOS600D
Leica Bellows R (16860)
Leica 100mm f/4 Macro Elmar-R, bellows version (11230)