Read??

The latest reading tests of school children, performed in our country, indicate that analphabetism is spreading again. It is a good thing that mans best friend is improving and is first in the morning at the library.

Year 2060

Leica M6 with 50mm f/1.0

The mind lives in one day in a span of many hundred years. I had a “coffee latte” in a small coffee shop near the University park today. Outside the door a group man dogged a deep whole in the road, probably for a new heat pipe or broad band. The big machine, from Japan, had dug down about two meter. Coming out from the shop I could see one of the workers picking up a piece of a skeleton. Yes, some one, living in our more than 1000 year old town, came up to light again. He or she must have lived here many hundred years ago. At that time, one did not had to worry much about the same problems we have today, like global air pollution, a theme spread by the news the same day. The oil reserves are most likely reaching a peak 2031, and according to the experts, it all will be out of the ground year 2060. The picture above than illustrate the future and the past. Back to the use of wood?!

Lens history ?!!

In the south-west corner of the streets Aobadori Avenues and Haigashi Ichibanciodori Avenues, in Sendai, Japan, there was, and it may be still is, a small photo shop. It was selling new, but most of all used cameras and lenses. In the opposite corner there was a bakery selling Danish pastry, yeas it is true -- in Japan. The pastry smelled wonderfully and reminded me of south Scandinavia, where I live. I stopped at both the shops many times, on my way to work at the university, and admired the show of old cameras and the taste of the Danish.

The photo shop was small and simple, but exhibited advanced Japanese and European cameras. At that time I was interested in the rangefinder camera Canon 7 and the shop had several. I talked to the owner of the shop many times, yeas he spoke good English. I asked finally if it was possible to find the CANON 50mm f/0.95 lens in good shape. He promised to find me one. He told me he was especially proud of that lens, because he was part of its construction. At that time, in the 50-ties, he was engineer at Canon and constructed the mechanism of equal distance between the aperture stops 0.9--1,4--2--2,4-- . It was the first lens of Canon with that property, according to the man in the shop; I do not know his name. Take a look at some of the older lenses at the Canon museum; like the Serenar 35mm f/2.8 I from 1951, and you can see that it is not equal distance between the f-stops.

After more than a year, I was told through a friend, that the lens, and a Canon 7s II (only 4000 were manufactured 1967-68) to go with it, was ready for delivery. How much?? – about $1000 for it all.

I have always wondered why there has been no tests (probably the only one missed), on the net, of all the 1.0 lenses (three out there? -- two Canon and one Leitz).

Focus, so what?

Sharp photos, is that what makes a great shot? As we all know there are endless comments on what makes a sharp photo, all over the net, and almost all tests are about more pixels and the perfect lens. Looking for a site focused on the content and interpretation of images--- I wish there are some. Please let me know.

At least I can be happy about an image -- even if it is a none sharp one. Just take a look at photo, by the world famous Henri Cartier-Bresson, published in the book by Aperture 1976 (ISBN 0-89381-000-2) on page 25, there is a photo titled --Arena at Valencia, Spain, 1933--.


It is obviously a none focued photo, but so open for symmetry and thoughts. Just look for the circles!

In most situations of there is limited time for recording the moment you see and sometime you shot from the hip as in the situation below. A sunny day at Grand Canaria, on the way back to the hotel, I got the eyes on a situation giving a chance to thoughts. The camera, Leica M2, had a normal lens and I did not focused before shooting. It is not sharp!! But may be worth sharing??

When shit hits the fan!

The first post will be a photo from a safari in Tanzania, October 2005. It represents one type of photos you will find at this photoblog. But my main interest, beside nature and travel, is documentary photography.

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