Feb 18, 2009

Rolleiflex T (3) - 1986

...

When I started getting mad about Photography, I read everything I could find on the subject. Of course the manufacturers catalogues were no exception.

Soon I got the (wrong) idea that I needed a LOT of equipment to make some good photographs.

I very quickly assumed that if I didn't own this and that camera, this and that lens, this and that gadget, I couldn't even breath...

As a matter of fact, photographers tend to be very gear-oriented people: we touch, feel, hear and smell our equipment. We carry things around all day, we stick those things to our nose, we look through them, we fumble around with all these levers, buttons and dials.
Not seldom we frenetically use several cameras and lenses on the very same session.

Photography can be a very exhausting physical activity.

On the other hand, very often, the most effective photographs are made when we make things simple: one camera, one lens, Not loads of stuff to care and worry about! Pure concentration!

That is one of the reasons why I like so much to use a Rollei TLR: you don't need to change your lens just because you can't change your lens!

Instead you need to learn to move your feet, change your position, change your angle, use your head and make your own decisions.

If you are lucky and clever enough, you will hopefully make the right ones...




Lisbon, July 1986



Lisbon, July 1986



Lisbon, July 1986



Lisbon, July 1986



Lisbon, July 1986



Segovia, August 1986



Segovia, August 1986



Segovia, August 1986



Segovia, August 1986



El Burgo de Osma, August 1986



Jorge, Lisbon, August 1986



Jorge and Luís, Lisbon, August 1986


All the above situations were depicted using Kodak Tri-X film developed in Kodak D-76, diluted 1+1.

It's a combination I really love for street photography!




Self-portrait, Heidelberg, 6th of March 1987


Shot with Ilford FP4, developed in Kodak Microdol-X, diluted 1+3.

I was a little sad, on this particular day. I was selling my Rolleiflex T...

Yes, the one I had used to make the photographs of the last three posts. I liked it so much, that I decided to buy a Planar model. As I had already gotten my 3.5F, I thought that it wouldn't make sense to keep the T too.
I guess that I was stupid. Should have kept both...

I was waiting for the buyer to come by and I felt the urge to make some last images.
As I was the only person around, I quickly set the camera on a tripod and posed myself in front of some piece of background paper.
Light was made with a strobe pointing at an umbrella.

(My hair and beard were still dark and young...).

Farewell my little nice lady T...

Hope you are still shooting strong...

...

6 comments:

  1. Rui, this is a beautiful story. Thank you so much for sharing this. Your photos are marvellous and capture my imagination so much !
    regards
    Matthew

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you.

    I am very glad that they can do that.

    Please keep on looking...

    Cheers,

    Rui

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi There
    Just dropping you a line to say how much i like the images you shoot with your Rollei.
    I bought myself a T last summer and sent it off for a service. I love using the camera for portraits and often attach a Rolleinar Close focus lens.
    http://photo-utopia.blogspot.com/2008/06/rolleiflex-t.html
    Is a link
    Have fun
    Regards
    Mark Antony

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for share this information, i really didn't know about that, will get advantage from this,Thanks for share this.


    Term Paper

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice work. I have a similar image with the forth one, only from Cluj, Romania.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great post, wonderful photographs...

    ReplyDelete