"Lucky Dawg"

[reagan]

My excitement for the day ...

Okay, I'm off to a minor league baseball game in my area last night and I gotta take a Zorki along, right? I mean, what is enjoying America's favorite pastime without a Russian RF to document the experience - can I get a witness? So I grab my black Zorki.1 w/ Orion attached and head out. Right, so it's the 6th inning, I've clicked off a few frames in the crowd here and there, shooting from the hip, shoulder and cheek, as they say, but have yet to use the VF. I’m havin’ fun. (I even got a compliment from the girl selling hot dogs – “What is that? Nice.”)

So back in the stands, I spot this row of little girls ... front row, right against the fence behind the batter's box and they're cheerin' and yackin' it up with next-to-bat players. I slip down behind 'em a few rows, get set, and think this is going to be a wide shot to get all the girls, batter's box AND home plate in view, so I better get it [as right as is possible] with the VF. It's at that moment I realize the VF eye-piece …….. is GONE! What? Yep, GONE! Missing. AWOL.

I mentioned it’s not a regular Zorki.1 eye-piece, right? No. It’s black. Since they didn’t make any, black Zorkis, where the heck am I gonna find a black Zorki VF eye-piece? I fretted a little, not a lot … no sleep was lost. But still, it griped the heck out of me to think this thing might be shelved til yet another hassle is worked out. And where could I have lost it? How could I have not missed it? At the ball park? Gone forever. In the car under a seat? Checked there. Good luck. I checked the case – nothing. The cabinet – zilch. It’s gone.

But wait! Just now I’m walking into my office and step over something on the sidewalk … what? Low and behold, a leedle, round, black thing. Yep, there it was. Layin’ out there bakin’ in the sun. How I kept from steppin’ on it, I have no idea. How the 20 other sets of feet who’ve tramped into my office today bypassed it, no clue. But I’m smilin’ like a donkey eatin’ stickers and thinkin’ to myself, “Little Black Zorki, you’re one lucky dawg.” 😀

edit: "on deck circle" not "batters box"

 

[dave lackey]

Congratulations, what luck! Now go out and buy a lottery ticket!🙂

 

[Nokton48]

I lost the rubber eyecup from my 4x5 Sinar Norma Viewfinder across Brandywine Falls up in Cleveland, I returned six months later, and there it was, lying next to a rock.

Who would figure?

 

[batterytypehah!]

Not sure why you'd need the internal 50mm VF to shoot your 28mm Orion but, hey, for the sake of a good story 😉 Glad it worked out.

Sounds like they should be nice shots, please do share. I love minor league parks.

 

[TXForester]

Cool story. Amazing how we find stuff we thought is gone forever. BTW, did you attempt the shot without the finder? You might have got lucky then.

 

[Rob-F]

I lost the red dot from my 50mm Summicron. A few months later I spotted it in the office carpet. How could that be? The cleaning girl vacuums every evening. But there it was. A little epoxy, and it's back where it belongs.

 

[KoNickon]

Something similar happened to me years ago with the eyepiece from my FM2 (which was brand new). Quiet thanks uttered under my breath to the Photo God (or is it St. Jude?).

 

[TXForester]

The cleaning girl vacuums every evening. But there it was.

Bring in a bagless vacuum cleaner the next morning and do your office carpet, then check the dust container. It might be time for a new cleaning girl. 😉

 

[rjbuzzclick]

Oooh! I got one...I was working on a Pentax K-1000 on my basement workbench, and dropped one of the specific tapered washers that are under the front screws under the leatherette. I was not able to find it. Two days later, our tub backed up (which is located one floor above the basement) and as I was cleaning up the muck I heard something metallic in the tub, and lo and behold, it was the tapered washer. Experiences like this keep me firmly rooted as an agnostic, rather than becoming a full-blown atheist. 😉

 

[gb hill]

Years ago my wife won a trip to Hilton Head. We declared it our honeymoon trip so off we went. Long story short, I left a lens cap to my AE-1 on the ledge of a lighthouse tower. After reading these amazing stories it's still gotta be there. Now my wife just needs to win another trip!🙂

 

[reagan]

Not sure why you'd need the internal 50mm VF to shoot your 28mm Orion but, hey, for the sake of a good story 😉

Its just me. I never got used to a wide accesory finder sticking up on top, but practiced just looking across the top of the empty shoe. For a little better accuracy (tho not much better) I'll try to center the normal VF in the shot I want. It works.

And yeah, I didn't hesitate to go ahead and rack off 3 frames or so glancing across the acc. shoe. Then tonite I put Lucky back in the cabinet for a TimeOut. 😱

 

[pakeha]

kewl story reagan, i`m off to a football game this w/end..that is a proper football game with the ROUND ball. I think i will check all equipment is secure.
regards

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Lucky is the best name for that Zorki. Good story too! Thanks, Reagan!

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Sounds lucky to me, Reagan.

Question is, of course, did you get the shot of the girls?!

 

[Roberto V.]

I lost the rubber eyecup from my 4x5 Sinar Norma Viewfinder across Brandywine Falls up in Cleveland, I returned six months later, and there it was, lying next to a rock.

Who would figure?

Man, I should head downtown to look for my Canon 10D's eyepiece. Although it's been more than a year 😱

 

[shadowfox]

Nice story, and one most of us can relate with.

Finding a missing (or never discovered) piece of gear has always bring a smile on my face. For example, when readying my Hassy kit to be sold, I discovered a black pouch in the box, opening it, I found an old version of Micro-Nikkor 50/3.5 lens.

 

[farlymac]

Not only have I lost photo gear, then found it again, I've lost the memory of just what the heck it was I lost! Along with a couple million neurons along the way. But that's a neat story Reagan, and we are all waiting for the photos.

PF

 

[reagan]

Here's the photo. Not as good as I had hoped, and yet special to me because of the memory of confusion / panic / nausea / taking the shot ... followed by recovering the eyepiece the next day. 🙂 Aaaand, because all of those little sweethearts go to my church and they do looooove baseball. About 35 of us had a fun time that night.

Also, Lucky will now, for at least a little while, be referred to as "Lucky the Pin-holed-light-leakin' little @&%$!!" thanks to about 4 frames like this one. This was, unfortunately, my favorite shot of the day.

I edited / repaired it via PaintBrush and uploaded it to my blog here anyway.

 

[farlymac]

Two words Reagan: Fabric Paint. Pick it up at your local crafts store, and slather (it's actually much thinner than that) on about four coats, with plenty of time to dry between coatings. Like a full day. And avoid pointing the lens into the sun, that's where the holes come from.

If you are really adventurous, you can dismantle the camera to get at the back of the shutter curtains too, and clean out any loose bits of film that might be hanging around. Just make sure to keep track of any shims behind the lens mount ring.

And are those the Potomac Nationals? For some reason I haven't made it out to a Salem Red Sox game this year, and there aren't many left. Good pictures there.

PF

 

[reagan]

Thanks farlymac. Yep, I'm considering getting the screwdrivers out ... or maybe sending it to Fedka. Haven't ever tried the fabric paint, but I've read that's a decent option.

And nope, not the Nationals, but the Naturals. They're a Northwest Arkansas team (AA of the Royals, I think) in the Texas League whose stadium is about 20 minutes from my house. Great fun.