My late Fathers Super Ikonta.

Scotland.

Scotland.

Not sure of the date or camera used but it is old, probably 1937. My Fathers family and my then young Mother. All dead now but not a bad image.
 
Just had walking boots Hobnailed.

Just had walking boots Hobnailed.

Well this is me, age seven 1964. Just had my walking boots re hobnailed in a town called Grasmere in the Cubrian Lake's. Yes, I used to wear a tie when we climbed the mountains, well sometimes. I even had to wear one when I went fishing, I used to take a lot of stick for that as well as for having huge ears. Thank the Lord, when I got older my ears kept the same size.
 
how do you remember almost everything? I cant remember what I was doing yesterday
again, this is gold!
 
Handling negatives gives a sense of continuity that browsing through files on a memory card will never give. The camera also gives continuity and I seriously doubt that anyone will be able to send out a digital camera for repairs 50 years after it is made. I have enjoyed the pictures very much and will be looking forward to seeing your own from the camera when it is back from the shop.
 
Why I know the dates.

Why I know the dates.

The old man after developing and drying the film, would cut the negs in single form, then place them in an envelope. On the front of the envelope was written the year and months and the the place and who was in the image.
The glass plates are all in their own individual boxes, wrapped up in the black paper that the glass plates came in. There are no details of their contents but I have an idea on some of them.
The cars in two images are of note, Wedding day of Mother is an Aston Martin and the big car was a Daimler. I have both books on the cars, quite a treasure. Sadly the Aston was sold after Grandfather died and Pop took the Daimler on.
You might enjoy this so I will share the story with you.....Grandfather was quite a man, he became President of British Steel. He worked with the British Government during WW1 as a chemist. No oil in England, we needed oil to make tyres for transportation, he came up with methods of producing tar from coal and a number of other things, anyhow that is bye the bye.........the Aston part of the story, well he played the Violin, not well I am told but he did try. He read that a Stradivarius Violin was going up for auction at Sotheby's in London. I think the year was 1938 he was prepared to go up to 600 British pounds a bloody fortune in those days. Well the Strad went for 2000 and obviously he did not get it, he did buy another Violin at the auction for a lot less, I have that now. The Aston comes into play because he still had the money and felt guilty for spending it on himself, my Grandmother had recently died, so he wanted to get my Father good car, there it is. I wish he had lashed out for the Strad because they are worth MILLIONS now. Father went to Trinity Cambridge University, he said every one had a bicycle but he had a "RACING CAR"
Right I am foo for a rest, it has been a long morning, hope you are not too bored.
Cheers,
James.
 
This is all very interesting, James.
Not to take this wonderful thread about your family away, I have some old images of my family when we lived in Iraq. I will not post any other photos here. This is your thread.

Here is a photo of my Dad with a car having license plate number Baghdad 890. There were only few cars in Baghdad at the time. My aunt had a car with number Baghdad 5.

5372084-lg.jpg
 
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and again.

and again.

Hello Raid,
Notice our parents wore a suit and tie in the old day's a thing of the past. Also in Europe men and women all wore hats and caps, real ones. Now the cap is used to show off the name of a product or a food company, we should be paid by the company for showing off their names.
Here is an image from Cornwall England 1956, fishermen making their own lobster pot's.
 
Wife moaning at me now.

Wife moaning at me now.

The wife is complaining that I am spending too much time scanning today.
This is one of two bricklayers back in 1956.
 
First let me say that you are fortunate to have so much of your father's photographic work. Also, as many have said here, he was quite a photographer. I hope you will post many more.
 
Last of them for a while.

Last of them for a while.

Right boy's and girl's here are the last images for a week or so, I am worn out doing these today.

Now I am going to make some comments that may make some of us angry......
I read a comment a while ago that the Zeiss Super Ikonta was not a camera for a portrait, well I beg to differ. In my opinion there is not a single camera that is limited in any way to any kind of photography. It could be said a fixed lens camera could not be used in sport's and close up work but there are way's to get around some of these limitations. I agree a view camera would not have been as handy as a Hasselblad on the Moon but it would have worked.
So here are some portrait images that the Old Man took, I have also zoomed in on a couple of the images, showing incredible detail from an old lump of glass.
Hope you enjoy these last few images. Oh, by the way Pop used to say only a fool takes pictures without a lens hood and a bigger fool using old glass more so. One problem with this camera is when setting the aperture you have to remove the hood.

This on 1956 Italy looks like a place called LAGUEGLIA obviously on the coast, look at the size of the net, nice placing on the left because your eye just goes up and bends to the right with the cork floaters, no plastic foam in those days. Close up of his hands alo in here.
 
Another Italian image.

Another Italian image.

The year was 1956, not sure where but there are images of lake Como on the same roll so I think for sure in Italy.
These were poor farmers but her face has a genuine smile, happy even in poverty. No moaning about not having a bloody DVD player or good shoes with a stupid Chinese made name on the side, I have forgotten the English shoes I saw a while ago, said to be an English company but made in BLOODY CHINA said the label. Again a good example of the quality of Zeiss glass. We all bombed the hell out of Germany in WW11 and after it was all over they ere still producing superb toy's for the boy's.
 
Same roll as the last images.

Same roll as the last images.

Again same vacation and for sure the same village 1956, could even be the husband of the lady with all of the hey on her back. Again look at the poverty, string holding up his pants. Mind you as Mother used to say "He has not missed many meals" either way a smile in poverty for sure.
 
An Operation needed for sure.

An Operation needed for sure.

Well looking at the notes on this image, taken again in 1956. A friend of the family who worked with Father was a Surgeon, it looks like Father was giving the gas, he was a "Gas Passer" as they used to say on MASH. The Surgeon asked Father for an image so he could study what he was going to do for this poor man. I also wonder how Father could have kept him under while the knife was in play, think about it, that is a big nose and a mask would have been in the way when cutting, must have used a pipe in the end. Anyhow not the usual type of image you chap's are used to looking at on here, makes a change, yes.
 
The last for a while.

The last for a while.

Well here is the Ikonta, taken the year he purchased it 1954. Note it has the PC flash, I have a Metz 54 that is going to work with this camera. "Photograph at Bald mountain" is doing the service work, when it comes back I am taking the leather covering off and having it covered with black GRIPTAC (I think that is the name) the chap doing the service work was put onto me by Zeiss in Germany, I wrote and they gave his name with a few others, he is seventy and from that bit of info will obviously not be around for ever, nice bloke and after a few intresting conversations knows his stuff.
Cheers for now,
James.
 
Wow -- in need of some sort of rhinoplasty, that's for sure. Hope the guy's surgery was successful.

From the looks of the photo of the camera, I'd say your father had talent in the product photography line as well!

Sounds like Ken Ruth has your camera; he has a sterling reputation.
 
Thanks for sharing the photos. That is why I love photography - to preserve memories of people and history.
 
I think folders are really under-loved, especially today. I just got one myself. I wonder what its secret history is?

Anyhow, great photos. Welcome.

(Too much time scanning? Not possible!)
 
What interesting photos and stories behind them. Thanks for sharing. Hard to pick favorites, but I really liked the wedding photo of your mother with the Austin, the girl at the flower box, the close up with the photo attachment, and the camera itself. That isn't meant to take anything from the others, just what caught my attention. Also the close up crops you showed. Shows both the ability of the camera and your fathers steady hand.

Thanks again. Look forward to seeing more of your father's photos, and some from you too.
 
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