Vince Lupo
Whatever
I'm almost done my first roll of 127 film (for the moment I'm using Rerapan 400). You'll have to forgive me as due to my time this week I've only had a chance to shoot close to home. No cat photos though 
This roll will hopefully tell me what the lens is doing, how the shutter is doing, whether I have any crazy light leaks anywhere, and whether I'm any good at zone focusing with a lens that's marked in meters.
This roll will hopefully tell me what the lens is doing, how the shutter is doing, whether I have any crazy light leaks anywhere, and whether I'm any good at zone focusing with a lens that's marked in meters.
drmatthes
Zeiss Addict
This hit center, right on target for me. Salomon had Aristide Briand on cam, the colleague and friend of Gustav Stresemann, and he also photographed Julius Curtius, German foreign minister, both a party friend and right-wing opponent to Stresemann. However, all these men struggled to prevent another war. Ten days after Stresemann's death in 1929, the unrecognized prelude to the ultimate catastrophy for Europe, my mother was born to a rich family. Three years later, my father, of poor, most probably half-Jewish descent that he managed to disguise, joined the Nazi party for reasons of sheer nationalism. He and his father hat fought for Germany in WW1. Meanwhile, mother's father, who had also fought for Germany, left conservative thinking and joined the secret resistance against the Nazi regime which just very nearly cost him his life in 1944. Then, after WW2, mother and father met, and they fell in love, the result of which is typing this right now. - Yes, sounds absolutely crazy and chaotic, and yes, it is. And yes, it lead to the murder of Erich Salomon and Yva, and to the exile of Eisenstaedt, Jacobi, and Helmut Newton, too. All of them Ermanox users at some stage of their photography careers, too.
We are also here to tell and preserve these stories, for the sake of understanding, freedom, and peace.
And, I will have to leave it at that, too. Thank you!
Last edited:
Vince Lupo
Whatever
I just loaded up a dozen glass plate holders and am ready to give them a go on Tuesday with some environmental portraits. In the meantime, I think I figured out an easy way to develop them -- I took some extra 4"x5" Kodak film/plate developing hangers, drilled a couple of holes in each, placed a length of stainless steel to either side of the hangers, and then bolted them together with all stainless hardware. This way I should - should! - be able to develop two plates per hanger in my daylight developing tank. I made enough of these hangers to do 20 plates at a time, so fingers crossed that these modified hangers will work.
4.5 x 6cm Plate Hanger by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
4.5 x 6cm Plate Hanger by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Vince Lupo
Whatever
First shot...
First Ermanox Shot by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
I developed the first roll a little while ago - Rerapan 400, D76 1:1 for 14 minutes (next time I think I'll back off by about 15% as the highlights were a bit hotter than I like). This was the 'best' shot -- I've never shot with Rerapan before, so I don't know what kind of 'look' it's supposed to deliver. This image was shot at 1/40th @ f/2.
A couple of observations: First, the camera is a complete joy to shoot with, so no regrets whatsoever. Second, I need to get a bit better with a) my scale focusing and b) my parallax correction (whoops forgot about that!). A few times I managed to get pretty close with guesstimating how many meters something (or my wife!) was from me, but I have to get a bit better at it. I can certainly use the ground glass for focusing if I like, but I’d really like to get more used to shooting without that safety net. And yeah that parallax thing -- I cut off my wife's head in one way or another more often than not. I completely didn't even think about it — toopid Vinny.
The other thing I found was a small light leak -- I think I have it figured out that it was from one of the red windows in the roll film back, and I think I may have fixed it. The next roll will let me know if my suspicions were correct and my ‘fix’ worked, but of course I have to bear in mind that I was shooting with 400 speed film, and this back was made when the fastest film was probably about 25 or 50, so I may be expecting too much from this back. We'll see.
Finally, I have to figure out a better method to keep the neg flat when scanning it. Right now I have a Skier Copybox, but as far as I know they don't offer a 127 mask. So the photo above was sandwiched between two pieces of AN glass, which I really don't like doing. So I have to come up with something better. The neg was scanned with my Hasselblad 907x digital back on a 500cm body, 120/4 Makro Planar CF and a copy stand, which usually gives a nice-quality scan.
Overall I'm pleased that anything came out at all, but clearly the term 'needs improvement' applies here. I'll try to shoot another roll this weekend, and I'm planning on shooting glass plates on Tuesday. I'll keep you posted!
First Ermanox Shot by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
I developed the first roll a little while ago - Rerapan 400, D76 1:1 for 14 minutes (next time I think I'll back off by about 15% as the highlights were a bit hotter than I like). This was the 'best' shot -- I've never shot with Rerapan before, so I don't know what kind of 'look' it's supposed to deliver. This image was shot at 1/40th @ f/2.
A couple of observations: First, the camera is a complete joy to shoot with, so no regrets whatsoever. Second, I need to get a bit better with a) my scale focusing and b) my parallax correction (whoops forgot about that!). A few times I managed to get pretty close with guesstimating how many meters something (or my wife!) was from me, but I have to get a bit better at it. I can certainly use the ground glass for focusing if I like, but I’d really like to get more used to shooting without that safety net. And yeah that parallax thing -- I cut off my wife's head in one way or another more often than not. I completely didn't even think about it — toopid Vinny.
The other thing I found was a small light leak -- I think I have it figured out that it was from one of the red windows in the roll film back, and I think I may have fixed it. The next roll will let me know if my suspicions were correct and my ‘fix’ worked, but of course I have to bear in mind that I was shooting with 400 speed film, and this back was made when the fastest film was probably about 25 or 50, so I may be expecting too much from this back. We'll see.
Finally, I have to figure out a better method to keep the neg flat when scanning it. Right now I have a Skier Copybox, but as far as I know they don't offer a 127 mask. So the photo above was sandwiched between two pieces of AN glass, which I really don't like doing. So I have to come up with something better. The neg was scanned with my Hasselblad 907x digital back on a 500cm body, 120/4 Makro Planar CF and a copy stand, which usually gives a nice-quality scan.
Overall I'm pleased that anything came out at all, but clearly the term 'needs improvement' applies here. I'll try to shoot another roll this weekend, and I'm planning on shooting glass plates on Tuesday. I'll keep you posted!
DougK
This space left blank
Nice work, Vince! Lovely tones in that photo.
markjwyatt
Well-known
This is a very special camera. I have seen yours on Flickr, and am interested to see some more shots. Good first shot! In the spirit of available light, fast lens journalism.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Very nice, Vince! Looking forward to more photos with the Ermanox.
I looked to see what they sell for ... and have to admit they're a little out of my "buy for fun" range. I've got to get off my instant film jag and start shooting with the Hasselblad 907x again. LOL!
G
I looked to see what they sell for ... and have to admit they're a little out of my "buy for fun" range. I've got to get off my instant film jag and start shooting with the Hasselblad 907x again. LOL!
G
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Many thanks Doug - as I say, this is the first effort out of the gate, so I know I’m going to need to make some adjustments (as well as maybe see what a different film and the glass plates produce). We’ll get there - I hope!
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Thanks Mark. This is the thing - I’m hoping to be able to work in a Salomonesque way, but I know its going to be a tough road ahead. I have the luxury of being able to use fast roll films - I cant even put my head around how he was able to get the photos he got with much slower glass plates, shooting at like 1/4 of a second or even slower. Just amazes me.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Yes they are pricey little puppies! And the best part is that not only are they expensive, but you’re invariably paying for one that’s broken! Look on eBay and 99.9% of them need some kind of shutter service. So then you have to find someone who will work on them and who knows how much they’ll charge to revive it. I’m either very dedicated, a glutton for punishment, or really stupid. Hmm…best not tell me which one I am, though I think I already know the answer!
Vince Lupo
Whatever
I managed to find a 1931 copy from a book seller in California for $90, ‘good’ condition, no dust jacket. We’ll see how it looks when it arrives!
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Great picture! This one looks well focused.
If you have problems focusing, just use a Leitz Fodis.
Erik.
If you have problems focusing, just use a Leitz Fodis.
Erik.
lynnb
Veteran
Congrats Vince, for a first shot that's a ripper. Very nice indeed.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Many thanks Lynn - a bit Salomonesque, but I know I have to get much, much better at it.
I’m thinking about how Salomon must have focused and gotten his images relatively sharp — I wonder if he perhaps pre-focused his lens to say, two meters, and then as he walked around an event he just paid attention to people who were two meters from himself, so he didn’t have to keep checking his focus. Attendees knew he was there at the event and he used a tripod, so he wasn’t inconspicuous at some of these celebrity/political events (though of course he was inconspicuous at many other events where cameras weren’t allowed), and he was using glass plates so I’m sure he wasn’t constantly checking focus on his ground glass. Plus the glass plates may have had an ISO of like 25 if he was lucky, maybe shooting at 1/4 second or even slower depending on the interior lighting situation, and with the Ermanox that involves putting the shutter on ‘B’ (as the slowest timed shutter speed on the camera is 1/20th), so that involves a bit of dexterity with the cable release. I also read that sometimes he mounted a Compur shutter on the front of his lens to cut down on shutter noise.
Dunno - what do you think? What’s been your experience with scale focusing?
Erik van Straten
Veteran
I have several Leica Ia cameras (they have no rangefinder) that I always use with a Fodis. It is much easier than you think.
I guess Salomon used rangefinders too.
In WW1 rangefinders were widely used by the artillery. So their principles were widely known in this period.
gelatine silver print (elmar 50mm f3.5) leica 1a + fodis (1928)
Erik.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
I guess that would work, of course it would be a separate thing I’d have to carry around, as there’s no provision to have it on the camera itself, unless I’d want to rig up something on the left-side tripod socket, which I suppose is possible. What I am more wondering about is for subjects and situations in which people are moving about - for a static subject such as a portrait (where the person is sitting, waiting for you), I can see the value of a rangefinder (but I suppose I could also use the ground glass), but maybe not necessarily so much for an event. Dunno.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
With a camera like the Ermanox snapshots of moving subjects are very difficult to make I think; but I've read somewere that Salomon used Leicas too. The early pictures of Cartier-Bresson are also made with a Leica 1a without a rangefinder. He was nevertheless a specialist in photographing moving subjects with that camera.
Maybe the famous picture of Salomon of the sleeping politicians was made with the Ermanox, that would be a great subject for such a camera.
Erik.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
I’ll keep my eye out for those sleeping politicians!
lynnb
Veteran
I've mostly estimated focus distance - rather than use the rangefinder - out on the street with rangefinder cameras, or using scale focus cameras like Rollei 35S and Bessa Vito 1a or Adox Start. I learnt to estimate distances from 2-8m accurately enough as long as I used an aperture f/8-f/16 to give a bit of dof leeway. I started by measuring out the distances to people using a rangefinder or even pacing it out to train my eye what each distance looked like. Every now and then I double-check with static objects using the rangefinder.
One useful technique is to find a static object the same distance as your subject in another direction and focus on that using a rangefinder. Then recompose on your subject. Sometimes I'll take the actual shot with the camera at waist or chest height - it's not that difficult to guess the composition, especially if you use a wider than normal lens. But it's still possible with a 50mm fov with a bit of practice.
One useful technique is to find a static object the same distance as your subject in another direction and focus on that using a rangefinder. Then recompose on your subject. Sometimes I'll take the actual shot with the camera at waist or chest height - it's not that difficult to guess the composition, especially if you use a wider than normal lens. But it's still possible with a 50mm fov with a bit of practice.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Portly statesmen have long gathered to weigh the fate of nations, cigars and brandy at the ready. But they were always sequestered far from prying eyes. The German photojournalist Erich Salomon changed all that, slipping into those smoke-filled back rooms with a small Leica camera built to shoot in low light. Nowhere was his skill on greater display than during a 1930 meeting in the Hague over German World War I reparations. There, at 2 a.m., Salomon candidly shot exhausted Foreign Ministers after a long day of negotiations. The picture created a sensation when it was published in the London Graphic. For the first time, the public could look through the doors of power and see world leaders with their guard down. Salomon, who died in Auschwitz 12 years later, had created backstage political photojournalism.
I only could find a small picture of his most famous photograph!
His cameras.
Erik.