MY VARIOUS CAMERAS
Cameras come in an incredible variety of shapes and styles from behemoths that require a bus to move, to sub-miniature spy cameras for clandestine affairs.The cameras that I make use of are mostly old and almost always fully mechanical which simplifies each model and which allows me to carry an external, reliable light meter for calculating exposure times.
Along with the cameras come a variety of lenses from macro to wide angle to super telephoto although in some cases (such as my twin lens reflex Rolleiflex) the cameras have a fixed lens. I generally carry one to two lenses while out working to minimize weight as well as to force me to compose by moving around my subject rather than just planting my feet and changing lenses!
My favourite lenses tend to be close to "normal" such as the 50mm in 135 format, 75mm in 120 format and 125mm in 4x5 large format. Lens choice determines so much of the final feel of each photograph that I am very mindful of whichever lens I decide to mount before I even look through the viewfinder or on the ground glass of my view cameras.
Film is another critical choice when making a photograph. It affects the grain, tonality, contrast, detail and sharpness of the final image. Black and white is my preference for analog photography and I prefer older, outdated Agfa emulsions especially. The old, expired films are much less predictable than new film but they also have their own unique character depending on their age, how they were stored and how they were processed. Oftentimes the films produce unusable results but more often than not they produce precisely the results I am looking for with my various subjects and themes.
Leica M3 cameras from 1955 and 1956 respectively with a variety of lenses. These are considered by many to be the best 35mm ever made.
The Nikon F2 photomic model from 1975. A favourite among journalists for many years and one of the best 35mm SLR cameras ever produced.
My Horseman Woodman 45 view camera made in Japan in 1994. A lightweight field camera that is a joy to use.
My Horseman VH camera from 1975. It accepts interchangeable backs which allow me to make 6x7cm and 6x9cm negatives on many different films
One of my twin lens reflex cameras, the Rolleiflex k4c from 1957 with a Zeiss Planar 75mm lens
The Pentax 6x7 is a medium format SLR that allows me to make large negatives (6x7cm) using an interchangeable lens system with a large variety of focal lengths.
Out working with one of my Rolleiflex TLR cameras
photo credit: Barbara Levy