A Small Kiev Story (Written Before The Big Cash)

[ruben]

The Kievs are many things for me, but among the things they aren't - they are not compact rangefinders, like an Oly RC or a Konica Auto S-3, etc, with which you can swim unnoticed across the people, better than a secret agent.

It doesn't help if you are walking by night, like me, or if you have black painted top and bottom plates to accomodate those inspiring black front plates Alex photo goods is selling for nothing.

People are looking and looking at my camera, unless far or very bussy with something. So this night, when I ended my Crazy Thursday at 8:30 PM, I mounted a compact flash on my color film Kiev, and nothing happened untill I took the bus home.

The bus was half empty, meaning a single person per pair of seats, and as many times I do it, I kept standing in the middle, in front of the middle exit door. Two meters away from me there were sitting a young soldier and a young woman, perhaps his girlfriend.

Yet the guy was somewhat smiling, looked at my Kiev+flash and made a small commentary to the young woman. I followed him with my eyes, and his smiling eyes upon meeting mine, commanded his mouth. "Picture Me" he told me both in English and Hebrew.

As the scene took place at the middle of the bus, the girl went more red than red can possibly be.

At the time same time the bus was waiting for the red light turning green and before making the photo, I asked the boy if the girl is his girlfriend. He immediately understood and placed his head near hers.

I took my hat off to accomodate my flashed Kiev, lowered myself, focused and clicked before the bus started traveling again. Everything else was already pre-set.

A Kiev story. Isn't it ?

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[Keith]

Forget the photography ... that was beautifully written Ruben! I felt like I was there on that bus seeing that scene. Sometimes your rather unusual phrasing due to English not being your native tongue ... makes the things you write rather poignant.

Cheers ... Keith. 🙂

I would like to see the photo too actually!

 

[sweathog]

That was a wonderfully crafted insight into your world Ruben. Thanks for sharing that. Like Keith I too would rather like to see the photograph.

 

[giovatony]

Very nice Ruben. A lot more interesting than reading what`s better, a Zorki or Fed?
John

 

[Ducky]

Agreed, a lovely story.

 

[ruben]

I think two issues are related to this story.

One, of great value, is that there are some happy folks out there on the streets. Or to say it better, people in a happy state of mind. When you meet them with your camera, their response is usually positive.

The other point is related to the "Death of Photography". Do you remember that thread about that lunatic Newsweek article? Of course photography is not dead, nor agonizing. Nevertheless, the article may represent some mood, or state of mind.

The technological advance has very much achieved that old dream of the photographic camera manufacturers, to produce the perfect stupid camera producing the highest results by a single click. Well, those photos obtained by our cell phones, or cheapy digitals, hardly can be held as producing "the highest results".

But ceirtanly the broadening popularization in the capacity of everyone to click and have something of an image, may be producing a feeling of "cheapening" the value of an image, as a digital facility. Hence that I suspect people looking at a nice film camera from the old and good times, they may feel this is a real camera making a real photograph.

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[robert blu]

I thank you for this nice and sweet story.
robert

 

[peterm1]

Ruben, you are a poet!

The day before yesterday I was on a bus. Not with a manual camera but with a modern digital - OK sometimes you just have to! In front of me perhaps 25 feet away was an old guy with a face that was made to take pictures of. Full of character and years of experience. Although I was using a digital camera I had an old Pentax SMC Takumar 105mm lens mounted so I took a few moments to set the aperture and focus. I got off one shot before he noticed me. As I set up for another shot his eye caught mine and the moment was gone. But one was all it took. Not much maybe. An old guy immersed in his thoughts and in his own world. Now I know what "the decisive moment" means.

EDIT: On re reading what I wrote, it sounds like Raymond Chandler - the old detective story writer. I should now add something like: "Then I lit a cigarette, and drew deeply on its hot sweet smoke. I screwed the top from a bottle of Bourbon and poured a generous slug before downing it in a single gulp. I turned and there she was, my babe. I took her in my arms and kissed her deeply." :^) (Gotta laugh!)

 

[ruben]

Here it is:

 

[Spider67]

And there it is....the magic moment...when couples nearly invite you to photograph them then they manage to share their happiness with you.
Because some people are really hurt when couples show their affection, thus reminding them of their solitude.

But thanks Ruben! Nice to read the story and see the result!