Socially Distant with a Zorki 4

It's a beautiful, warm, sunny day in Chattanooga as I write this, a perfect day for a walk with my camera. But walks like those have been much fewer lately, as we have been ordered to stay inside unless absolutely necessary. I have no problems with that, as we all have to do what we can to win this war against COVID-19, so if Debbie and I go out for a walk, we will be wearing the face masks that Debbie fashioned and staying well away from others.

However, two weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon, I took a walk through an almost deserted downtown Chattanooga with my recently acquired Zorki 4 loaded with some Kodak Tri-X 400. This was my first time using the Zorki 4 since I found it in a local Facebook Marketplace listing. The camera was clean and functional and included a Jupiter 8 50mm lens and an original ever-ready leather case. I had been keeping an eye open for one since my chance to shoot a Leica M2 convinced my that, while I liked the compact 35mm rangefinder form factor of the M2, I was not ready to drop the cash on one, thank you. Something less expensive would do just fine, and you can't get much less expensive than a Zorki 4. I certainly did not pay much for this one.

Let's get some background. Zorki is a brand of camera manufactured by first by FED and later by KMZ, two camera makers located in the former Soviet Union. These Soviet cameras were intended to be Leica copies but in no way approach the level of quality the German-made Leica cameras exhibited. The first Zorki cameras appeared in 1948 and were somewhat crude copies of the Leica 2. As the Leica cameras evolved into the Leica M form factor, the Zorki evolved as well with features like a integrated rangefinder and viewfinder window, a diopter adjacent, and a self timer. By the time the Zorki 4 appeared in 1956, it looked somewhat less like an actual Leica camera except from a distance. All the shutter speeds are controlled by one dial on the top of the camera, but you still turned a knob to wind on the film and cock the shutter. The camera was produced until 1973, and 1.7 million were made during its thirteen year run, most of which were intended for export to the West. KMZ gave the camera a film advance lever in place of the winding knob in 1972 and changed its name to the Zorki 4. It ceased production in 1980 after over half a million units were made. If you want to do more research on Soviet cameras, I highly recommend the SovietCams.com website.

If you get your hands on a Zorki 4 (or most any of the Soviet cameras made by FED and KMZ), please know this:  Do not change the shutter speed unless the shutter has been cocked by turning the film advance knob. If you are not careful, you will damage the shutter. In fact, many examples of this camera have shutter problems like non-functioning slow shutter speeds or the shutter dial being stuck in one place. You've been warned . . .

My Zorki 4, like most of the cameras manufactured under the Zorki name, is a mechanical camera with no electronics and no meter. The Good:  You don't need batteries.  The Bad:  You have to use an external meter or know how to judge light yourself. In my opinion, that's not a Bad thing. Photography is writing with light, and the more you understand light, the better your photography will be. Meters can help, however, so a handheld meter or a light meter smartphone app can come in handy. I have a Minolta Autometer IIIf, which I will use in a pinch, but mostly I try to practice my Sunny f16 skills.

Loading a Zorki 4, while much easier and less complicated that loading my Zorki 1 (which requires that the film leader be trimmed), still takes a few minutes to figure out (YouTube was a great help to me). The camera is opened by turning the two locks on the bottom plate and sliding the bottom plate and back off. The take-up spool has a niche with a hook on it, and the film leader goes there so that the film's sprocket hole hooks onto the spool's hook. This is done before you actually put the film cassette in the camera. When the film leader is hooked onto the spool, both the cassette and the spool are placed in the camera. Note that the take-up spool is oriented so that the film winds onto it with the emulsion side out, unlike most cameras I have used. Once the film is securely placed in the camera, fire the shutter once and advance the film, making sure that it is being wound on. Then the camera back is put back on the the two locks turned. Once the camera is securely closed, the shutter should be fired and the film advanced twice. Now the film counting dial can be set to "0," and your are ready to shoot.

If you have experience shooting a mechanical camera, especially a rangefinder type, then using a Zorki 4 is nothing new (if not, once again YouTube is an excellent resource). I do have some observations, though. First, my Zorki 4, which likely was made between 1967 and 1973, does not have strap lugs (most older one do). This means that I must either use the ever-ready case or just hold it in my hand. I don't really trust the leather strap on the case to not snap. I actually had that happen to me with a Kodak Retina Reflex iii, and the camera dropped and landed hard on a concrete sidewalk. I will use a small bag and try to be very careful when holding my Zorki 4.

Second, the Zorki 4 has no frame lines in the viewfinder. In fact, you don't really see a rectangular frame at all; it actually looks round. Of course, there will be parallax issues if your subject is closer than six feet as well. It's going to take some practice in order to know exactly what is actually getting on film.

Third, the Zorki 4 is an all-metal camera, which means it has some heft to it. However, I will say that it fit my hand well. It helps to use the "classic" camera-holding technique by putting your right hand on the right side of the camera where you can have your finger on the shutter and also can wind on the film, and by supporting the camera from the bottom with your left hand, using your thumb and fingers to focus and change the aperture on the lens.

Speaking of holding a camera, my photographs from this roll (and others I have been shooting lately) suggest to me that I need to work on my leveling technique. Apparently, I get lax about holding the camera level when I shoot.

When the roll is shot, it's time to rewind the film back into the cassette. First, turn the ring around the shutter button clockwise, noticing that it screws downward. This releases the sprocket gear and allows the film to be rewound. Then pull up the rewind knob on the top left of the camera and turn clockwise (with the arrow) to rewind the film. Don't go too fast and risk tearing the film. When you feel the leader "release" from the take-up spool, you can stop. Remove the bottom plate and take out the film cassette. You must turn the ring around the shutter button counterclockwise until it is back to its raised position. You will notice that the shutter button itself is knurled. Make sure that the shutter button itself is turned clockwise as far as it can go, otherwise turning the film advance knob may not cock the shutter. This happened to me, causing me to think that I had broken the camera. Scary.

The Jupiter 8 lens that came with my Zorki 4 is based on a Carl Zeiss design and looked super clean when I got it. The photographs from my first roll show that the lens is quite sharp. However, on shots where I was shooting in the direction of the sun or even to the side, I got some lens flare. Looks like I might need this lens hood.

Here are some of the photographs I made with my Zorki 4. I am looking forward to using this camera a lot this year and really getting to know it.

UJC Podcast #22: How to Load ‘Em - How to Hold ‘Em

The Shutter Brothers are back with a brand new show!!! Kelley talks about his favorite camera of all, the Nikon F3HP, while Kevin exudes the joys of darkroom printing. And to paraphrase the late great singer (and photographer) Kenny Rogers, "you gotta know how to load 'em, know how to hold 'em:"  a tutorial on film camera basic from Kelley. Then, Kevin has a review of a great book, Walker Evans Polaroids. Lots of fun for everyone!

You can listen to our podcast on your favorite podcast provider, or you can click here :  https://unclejonesyscameras.libsyn.com/rss

We'd love to hear from you, so please send your listener comments, questions, and stories to our email address:  unclejonesyscameras@gmail.com. You can record voice memos with your smartphone and send them there as well. Check out our Facebook page and Instagram account, both of which are @UJCPodcast.

Need some guitar work or a new handmade acoustic guitar? Check out Kelley's guitar shop page here:  https://www.kelleylaneguitars.com

Check out Kevin's Etsy Store for his handmade analog photography here:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChattalogPhotography

Finally, thank you so much for listening. Happy Shooting!

UJC Podcast #21: Let's Go On a Photowalk!

Uncle Jonesy's Cameras and Safelight Community Darkroom are coming together to co-sponsor our first photowalk on Saturday, March 21, at the Laurel-Snow State Natural Area near Dayton, Tennessee. Our photowalk will be led by tremendous photographer/artist and Friend-of-the-Show Wayne Setser, who has photographed many times in this location. Wayne is a master of large format photography, so if that is something you have been interested in pursuing at some point, then this is your chance to get your questions answered. You can see some of his Laurel-Snow photography here. We will meet in the parking lot at 8:30 am EDT, and Wayne will lead us on a trail that once was the path of a narrow gauge railroad that served mining operations in the area. Along with abundant trees, rock, and water features along Richmond Creek, remains from the mining operations are visible from the trail and will create great opportunities for photography. After our morning of photography, we will gather at the Monkey Town Brewing Company in Dayton for lunch, drinks and conversation.

This event is free, but we would like you to let us know that you are coming. You can do that by going to our Facebook event page for this photowalk.

We understand the importance of taking precautions during this time of health crisis, so if you are not feeling well, we suggest that you stay home. If you are coming (and we hope you are), then let's all respect each other's personal space and enjoy a healthy walk in nature. Bring any kind of camera you like so that you can go home with some souvenirs of the day.

Here are directions to Laurel-Snow State Natural Area:

Laurel-Snow is located north of Dayton and is accessible via Highway 27/29. From the north turn right, and from the south turn left, onto Walnut Grove Road north of Dayton (new Eckerd Drug on corner). Proceed 3/4 of a mile to Back Valley Road (pass La-Z-Boy factory) and turn left. On Back Valley Road, proceed 0.7 miles to an unmarked gravel road/Richland Creek Road (small white church on the left) and turn right. Proceed about 1 mile to the parking area at the end of Richland Creek Road.

Let's Hope for good weather on Saturday. Happy Shooting!

The Silver (Gelatin) Lining

When I was a boy, possibly around when I was in fourth grade, Uncle Jonesy gave Kelley and me an unusual but highly treasured Christmas present:  a Yankee 18 Piece Developing and Printing Kit. Inside the box was everything needed to make photographs at home, such as a film tank with a plastic reel, three developing trays, tongs, squeegee, graduated pitcher, a Kodak Tri-Chem Pack, thermometer, photo paper, and a 4"x5" light box for contact printing. What a Christmas that was! As soon as we could, we commandeered our family's old Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash camera and loaded it with a roll a film that Jonesy also had provided. It didn't take us long to shoot the twelve frames, remove the film from the camera, and head straight to the bathroom to mix the powdered chemistry from the Tri-Chem Pack. Later that night when it was dark, we made the bathroom as light tight as we could, loaded the film onto the reel, place the reel in the tank and close the lid. After carefully following the enclosed instructions, we pulled the film from the reel and rejoiced over seeing real negative images on it. "Wow!," we thought "We're becoming real photographers!"

We probably had to wait until the next night for the next step in the process:  printing. Once again, we hung towels in from of the door and windowsand turned the lights off, then we poured our developer, stop bath, and fixer into the three trays. The contact printer had it's own safelight, so we could see what we were doing. To use the contact printer, you opened up both both the left and right lid of the contact printer and place your negative on the glass emulsion side up. Next, you put a sheet of photo paper on top of the negative, emulsion side down. To hold the two in alignment, you closed the left lid first, then you closed the right lid and pressed down, which would turn on the lamp beneath the glass. There was no timer. so you had to count your seconds yourself. Exposure times were complete estimates, and we probably wasted a lot of paper. After exposure, you placed the paper in the developing tray, then the stop bath tray, then the fixer tray, all according to directions. Finally the print had to be washed for thirty minutes! However, I will never forget the thrill of seeing a positive image slowly appear in the developing tray. "Wow!," we thought, "We were real photographers. I distinctly remember thinking, "Who else in our school is doing this?!"

In the early 1980's I attended a small Bible college in the Atlanta area and learned that they needed a yearbook photographer. I happily signed on and was shown how to use the darkroom. The professor told me that, as long as I supplied the yearbook with lots of photos, I could use the darkroom as much as I wanted for my own photographs. Needless to say, I spent many happy hours there. But there were frustrating times, too, as I no formal training and made lots of mistakes. My professor never made test prints, simply using his own experience for exposure. Once again, I wasted lots of paper. However, I made some prints I was proud of and still have today.

A few years later I left that school, and I did not see the inside of a darkroom again for over thirty years. Meanwhile, I shot nothing but Kodachrome slides, documenting my life and family over that time. When I made the decision to return to film photography in a big way almost three years ago, I made the adjust to the hybrid analog/digital workflow that so many of my fellow film photographers use. However, I soon harbored hopes of being able to make darkroom prints someday. And thanks to some enterprising young Chattanoogans, I am happy to announce that this has happened!

Safelight District opened its doors on February 22, 2019. Kelley and I recorded a podcast show with the founders, Tori Fyfe and Jet Smith, and I wrote a blog post as well. Since then, Tori has found a new business partner in Mike Wann, and the community darkroom is alive and well. Since my move the the downtown area, I have been able to work in the darkroom several times, and the experience has been a game changer for me. Here is some of what I have learned:

1.  I still have much to learn about contrast filters and techniques like dodging, burning, and split-grade printing.

2. I can never fully trust my scanner again.

3. The "fun" factor cannot be fully calculated.

4. I am completely and totally hooked.

Inside Safelight District Community Darkroom

My first print!

I now have a backlog of negatives waiting to get the darkroom printing treatment, and going forward, darkroom printing will be my main method of printing my work. I recently pledged to print at least one photograph from ever roll I shoot, but now it won't be my inkjet printer doing the job.

I have to conclude this post by saying that I have relied heavily on information gathered from YouTube videos and by questions answered by online friends in the film photography community. Their collective advice has been quite helpful.

Happy Shooting (and Happy Printing!)

Three Films - One Monobath

I recently blogged about my first experience with Cinestill's Df96 Monobath (you can read that post here). In case you do not know, a monobath is a processing chemistry that combines developer, stop bath, and fixer into a single liquid. Such a processing workflow is important for me when I want to process black and white negatives at home in my small condo, where storage for chemistry and tools is limited. However, I didn't want to sacrifice image quality, so it also was important for me to find out which of the black and white films I shoot the most work best with monobath processing. To that end, I now have tested three emulsions and am ready to share some observations.

The three films I have tested with Cinestill Df96 Monobath are (in order of use):

1.  Ultrafine Extreme 100
2.  Kodak Tri-X 400
3.  Fomapan 100

All three were shot at box speed. The first two rolls were processed per Cinestill's instructions at 70ºF (sis minutes with "minimal" agitation). The Fomapan 100 was processed at 75ºF for four minutes with "intermittent" agitation. Now, you probably are thinking, "Wait a minute. Why didn't you process all three rolls the same way to get a true "controlled" experiment?" The reason I changed the workflow will be given below, but I must say that it was never my purpose to conduct a proper scientific experiment. Rather, I was striving to end up with good images, and after the first two rolls, I was ready to make a change.

Now to the results.

Ultrafine Extreme 100

I was very pleased generally with the results I got with the Ultrafine Extreme 100, but I was a bi surprised at the higher amount of contrast. I also go more grain than I usually get with this film and Kodak D-76 1:1. Nevertheless less, it was a start, and I now knew that the monobath had big possibilities for use in small living spaces.

Kodak Tri-X 400

Since returning to film photography in the spring of 2017, I probably have shot more Tri-X 400 than any other black and white film. I think that Tri-X 400 and D-76 1:1 are a match made in heaven. Of course, you always will get a little grain with Tri-X, but that's one of the reasons I shoot film. It's that look. The film just glows with light. So, I was anxious to see what it would look like in the monobath. The answer? No bad at all. Quite good, actually. I got several "keepers from this roll. Again, there was a bit more grain than with D-76 1:1, and the contrast was high as well. But negatives looked great and the scans were very exciting to me. I made a number of prints from this roll and sent them out with my Christmas cards.

Fomapan 100

Before I processed this third roll, I sought some advice from an online friend who had posted some photographs he had processed with the Cinestill monobath that had impressed me very much. He had processed his film at 75ºF, the middle of the three recommended temperatures (the highest being 80ºF), so I gave that a try with this roll of Fomapan 100. As stated above, Cinestill recommends 4 minutes with "intermittent" agitation for 75ºF. The results? While I can't claim scientific certainty because I didn't keep the workflow the same as the first two rolls, the scans looked really good - less contrast and almost no grain. In fact, this roll of Fomapan 100 looked better than any I had done previously in D-76.

Conclusions

The first takeaway for me (as stated in my previous post) is the Cinestill Df96 Monobath is a legitimate option for film developing and remains the perfect small living space chemistry when developing black and white film shot at box speed. I do not have any experience in pushing or pulling with Df96, but I will be testing this in the future. Nevertheless, if you have hesitated in trying out a monobath developer thinking that you might be sacrificing quality, I would urge you to give it a try. Simply put, it works great for me.

A second takeaway is that, from now on, I will be using Df96 at 75ºF for four minutes. Although I haven't tried the highest recommended temperature (80ºF) yet and probably shouldn't draw conclusions until I do, I really liked the results I got with the Fomapan 100 at 75ºF.

In fact, my third takeaway is that, thanks to Df96, Fomapan 100 may now be my favorite medium speed black and white film. Previously, I have used Ultrafine Extreme 100 because it is quite inexpensive and looks pretty good. But the Fomapan 100 in Df96 looked great, as least to my eyes. Moreover, I have in my refrigerator several rolls of Kosmo Foto Mono 100, which is rebranded Fomapan 100 from Stephen Dowling in the UK. I like what he is doing with the packaging and marketing, and his efforts (I think) have helped increase the interest in shooting film. Thanks to Df96, there is going to be a lot more of this film in my cameras this year.

Lastly, I still have a lot of testing to do. First, the Ultrafine Extreme 100 and the Tri-X 400 have to be tested at 75ºF. Next, I will try pushing film - something I like to do with Tri-X particularly. Finally, I will see just how far I can take a single liter bottle of Df96 before the quality begins to decline. After that, I am planning to give the FPP Super Monobath from the Film Photography Store a try. It comes as a pre-mixed liquid, so you don't have to mix it up yourself (Cinestill also sells their Df96 Monobath in pre-mixed liquid form).

Happy Shooting!

UJC Podcast #19: We're Baaaaaaack!

Well, it took us long enough, but the Shutter Brothers (Kelley and Kevin Lane) are back with a brand new Uncle Jonesy's Cameras Podcast episode (#19), and we really had fun making it. We love to talk about our adventures in film photography, and we hope you listeners enjoy the show when you hear it. You are why there is a podcast in the first place!

Kevin is up first with an update regarding the Woodstation Photography Club, which is his effort to engage and excite elementary school students in the art, craft, and fun of shooting and developing film. Thanks to some very nice and generous listeners, the club has a number of cameras for the students to use. However, the students need a supply of film and developing tools. Kevin created a DonorsChoose project for this, and once again our listeners came through big time. A growing number of students are being issued a camera and a roll of film, and soon they will get to see there results. Kevin is hoping to put on a show with the students' work in the spring, so stay tuned for updates.

Next, Kelley discusses his favorite lens focal lengths and why he prefers to use wide angle lenses most of the time. Of course, he brought a collection of lenses the show to discuss why he likes each one and why you might as well.

Then Kevin comes back with a review of the Cinestill Df96 Monobath. In case you don't know, a monobath is a chemistry that combines developer, stop bath, and fixer into a single easy to use and store one liter bottle. Why would Kevin need a monobath these days? The answer is that he recently has moved into a small (685 square feet) condo in downtown Chattanooga (he loves it, by the way!) Storage space is very limited, so a monobath may by the perfect B&W chemistry for anyone who lives in an apartment or other small space. And the results were quite nice!

The Shutter Brothers wrap the show up with a couple of listener letters (which we love to get!) If you would like to be a part of a future show, you can send us an email or even a voice memo to unclejonesyscamers@gmail.com. You also can go to our Facebook page and post your comments, questions, and stories there. Once again, you are the reason we make this show, so let us know what you want to hear on future shows.

In the meantime, let us say to listeners out there how thankful we are for each and every one of you. We wish you peace, love, and the happiest of Thanksgiving Days. And don't forget to load your camera with film and capture those fleeting moments with family and friends. You won't regret it.

Happy Shooting!

Monobath: The Perfect Condo Developer

My wife, Debbie, and I are into our second month of downtown Chattanooga condo life and enjoying every minute of it. Gone are the responsibilities and worries of maintaining an older home, yard work, cleaning unused parts of a large house, and owning endless amounts of needless stuff. We have streamlined our possessions to what we really need and value, and now they fit into 685 square feet of living space. With all of the city just outside our door, we have endless possibilities for walking (one of our favorite pastimes), and I have endless possibilities for photography. I couldn't be happier.

As we anticipated our move, I give much thought about how I would continue to develop film in our new place. Previously in our old house, I developed my film in the upstairs bathroom that was largely unused. I kept film tanks, beakers, funnels, various tools, and all the chemistry for B&W, C-41, and E-6 in the cabinet below the sink. I was careful to keep the room clean so as to not annoy my wife. Nevertheless, I still managed to drip some E-6 chemistry on the cabinet doors, and the resulting stains had to be repainted.

Since I shoot mostly B&W film these day, I decided that I would not use C-41 and E-6 chemistry in my new condo. They just get too messy and smelly. I I really want to develop color film here, I probably could do it in the first floor dog spa room, where there are large steel sinks and running water. The other issue I have with having color chemistry here is that storage space for multiple bottles is very limited. And it is this that led me to my decision to give a B&W monobath a try.

In case you don't know, a monobath is a single liquid chemistry that contains developer, stop bath, and fixer all in one bottle. Several online retailers sell a monobath, and for my first try I chose the Cinestill Df96 monobath, primarily because it ships as a powder that you mix at home (less shipping cost). The package contains two powders that you mix together in 600 ml of distilled water and top off with more distilled water to make one liter. According to the well-written and very useful instructions that come with the package, one liter of Df96 can process 16+ rolls of film.

Anyone who has ever developed B&W film and stressed about getting the right developer, the right developing time, the right developing temperature, and the right agitation will be surprised at the simplicity of the monobath process. For most films, you simply follow the developing time and agitation directions according to what temperature your monobath is, and the three different temperature levels used in the directions are all considered "room temperatures."

70º F (21ºC) - 6 minutes - Minimal Agitation

75ºF (24ºC) - 4 minutes - Intermittent Agitation

80ºF (27ºC) - 3 nimbuses - Constant Agitation

The instructions make clear what is considered "minimal, intermittent, and constant" agitation. They also state that some films  (such at T-grain films like Kodak Tmax films) require longer (2X) times to ensure full clearing. It also is possible to develop films that have been pushed or pulled one or two stops. The directions include a list of thirty films with possible EI numbers to guide your choice of developing times. I would say that the folks at Cinestill have done a lot of work behind the scenes to help users of their monobath get the best results possible, and I commend them for this.

So, recently one evening I loaded my tank with a roll of Ultrafine Extreme 100, which I had shot at box speed in my Minolta X-700, and set about developing film in my new kitchen. My temperature was 70º F (21ºC), my time was 6 minutes, and my agitation was minimal (ten seconds gentle agitation, then five seconds every minute). When the developing time was up, I opened the tank and began washing with running water. Here the instructions are a bit unclear. They clearly state that "no more than five minutes is needed for a wash to archival standards." However, the next sentence states that "a longer final rinse and rinse aid will help ensure archival negatives." So which is it? I decided that, since space allows me to keep a small bottle of Kodak Hypo-Clear, and I would follow my normal procedure of :30 rinse, 2:00 Hypo-Clear, and 5:00 rinse.

So what were my results? I would say that I was quite impressed with my negatives. They were fully developed and fully cleared. If anything, their were a little on the contrasty side with maybe a little more grain that I usually get with Ultrafine Extreme 100. I would call the experiment a success, but when this bottle is exhausted, I may try the monobath from the Film Photography Store just for the sake of comparison.

At any rate, my home developing workflow is back in business. Now it's time to go for a walk and look for some "pitchas!"

Happy Shooting!

Looking down from the Walnut Street Bridge to Coolidge Park
on the North Shore of Chattanooga

Looking at the Market Street and Walnut Steel Bridges
from the Tennessee Riverwalk

Reproductions of the Niña and the Pinta docked in Chattanooga
for Columbus Day/Indigenous People Day

A part of the Passages monument to honor the indigenous
Cherokee nation,who sadly were forced to begin their
"Trail of Tears" journey from this spot

Lovers Leap, Rock City Gardens, atop Lookout
Mountain near Chattanooga

Oktoberfest dancers, Rock City Gardens, Lookout Mountain

Sculpture, Chattanooga Public Library