Transparency

[Vics]

I went off to Europe for six weeks in the middle of April with only a Rollei Automat MX and a bunch of Tri-X. While I was there, I felt I'd brought the wrong camera, and pined away for my M3. This after singing the praises of the Rollei as the best travel cam ever.
Now I'm home in California, and those Rollei pics (some of them, anyway) are really good. I should have dug a bit deeper and found the Rollei of my dreams, but such is the stuff of film.
The thing I love about many of these pictures is that I don't see the camera, or lens, or film OR the photographer in them. I don't take any credit for this, I think it's the Rollei that makes it happen. I just have the feeling of being there, more than I ever do looking at my Leica pics or those from the Nikons. The"photography" just seems to disappear. Bad part is that I was thinking of selling the two Rolleis, just to put an end to all the confusion about what to take. Now I just don't know.
Just an ode, I suppose, to the magic of the Rollei, even when you don't believe in it!

 

[Dan Daniel]

How much do you think is the Rolleiflex and how much is the larger negative?

I happen to find a TLR the best way for me to shoot. Something about the looking down, the ground glass screen, the quietness of the shutter, the lack of mirror blackout...

 

[graywolf]

Well, he was comparing it to his Leica M3, so no mirror black out, and maybe quieter than even a Rollei. If I was to make a guess, it would be the waist level viewfinder. You are shooting from a perspective that is no longer common, so it makes for taking that second look at the photos. The larger negative has to play a part too, just the smoother tonality makes a lot of difference. But still, my vote goes to the WLF.

 

[z.bruce.li]

WLF finder seems to calm normal people down and get more natural look. Also the leaf shutter on my 3.5F is whispering quiet, quieter than the shutter on M3. None of these features (WLF and leaf shutter) are unique to TLR, but are signatures of TLR.

 

[Moriturii]

"The best camera is the one you have with you"?

 

[charjohncarter]

The larger negative is very significant. I love it. I have too many 120 cameras, but one of my folders is a great travel camera. The Rollei beats them all for all around. It just makes me nervous to travel with it. I feel, it is a crook magnet.

The word 'transparency' threw me, but if you ever get a chance to run a roll of E-6 120; you won't believe it.

 

[Vics]

WLF finder seems to calm normal people down and get more natural look. Also the leaf shutter on my 3.5F is whispering quiet, quieter than the shutter on M3. None of these features (WLF and leaf shutter) are unique to TLR, but are signatures of TLR.

You may be onto something with "calm normal people down".

 

[Vics]

"The best camera is the one you have with you"?

I surely agree with that statement, but I don't mean to imply that the pictures were better, just more natural-looking, to paraphrase another poster.

I also agree that the four-foot-high perspective could play a part as well as the large negative. I can't help wondering about 4x5 (mustn't go there!)

 

[thompsonks]

I looked on he Flickr link you provided but didn't see any 6x6 Rollei pix? It would be nice to see them.

 

[Vics]

I looked on he Flickr link you provided but didn't see any 6x6 Rollei pix? It would be nice to see them.

One of my "sets" on my flickr page is all Rollei, but this last trip isn't up there yet. I've just started printing this week. I'll try to put some up today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/srca_house/sets/72157622095666194/

 

[Calzone]

To me a Leica is a more of a crook magnet than a Rollei. Next week I'm going on a short vacation and I'm bringing a Rollei 3.5 F because of the big negative, because the built in meter works accurately, and because its small and light when compared to my other MF cameras.

BTW in my opinion no shutter is quieter than a leaf shutter, especially in a Rollei that has been overhauled by Harry Fleenor.

Cal

 

[z.bruce.li]

You may be onto something with "calm normal people down".

🙂 I meant WLF tend to make normal people (non model) more relaxed in front the camera, since the photographer is fiddling with his own old toy and not really "staring at" them. For example, my Rollei 3.5F set has quite a lot of street portraits of strangers:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blee1996/sets/72157605952335283/

 

[venchka]

Of all the travel pictures I have taken over the course of multiple decades, the ones that always stand out were made with a medium format camera. Either 6x6 or 6x7. I will always take a medium format camera with me no matter where I go.

Wayne

 

[peewee]

Perhaps, if you take your Leica on your next trip you will miss your Rollei. 🙂

 

[Vics]

To me a Leica is a more of a crook magnet than a Rollei. Next week I'm going on a short vacation and I'm bringing a Rollei 3.5 F because of the big negative, because the built in meter works accurately, and because its small and light when compared to my other MF cameras.

BTW in my opinion no shutter is quieter than a leaf shutter, especially in a Rollei that has been overhauled by Harry Fleenor.

Cal

It's true that in six weeks wandering around Europe, I don;t think anyone even glanced at my Rollei. I do get a bit nervous with the Leica though.
Yeah, Harry did both of my Rolleis, and they are smooth as silk and whisper quiet.

 

[Vics]

Perhaps, if you take your Leica on your next trip you will miss your Rollei. 🙂

...and therein lies the rub.

 

[Calzone]

It's true that in six weeks wandering around Europe, I don;t think anyone even glanced at my Rollei. I do get a bit nervous with the Leica though.
Yeah, Harry did both of my Rolleis, and they are smooth as silk and whisper quiet.

Harry is clearly the best. Also nothing more retro than shooting a Rollei. Fun to shoot, easy to reload, and then there's nothing like composing on ground glass.

I feel strongly that focusing on ground glass aids in making great compositions.

Cal

 

[Dave Jenkins]

I thank the title "Transparency" suits the original post very well. The TLR does, more than any other type of camera, I think, take itself out of the way so that the photograph is about the subject and nothing else.

 

[KoNickon]

I guess I'm still unsure of what is meant by "transparency" as described here. I don't know what types of subjects you were photographing (and of course I wasn't there), so it's hard to compare what you saw with the pictures you created. Much as I love using TLRs (and Rolleis), I can't help thinking that you would have had a similar experience with any other camera that is unobtrusive and doesn't get in your way. For example, a quiet SLR with AF and autowind is about as simple as it gets in terms of doing the "technical stuff" and letting you concentrate on composition and capturing fleeting moments.

 

[Vics]

I thank the title "Transparency" suits the original post very well. The TLR does, more than any other type of camera, I think, take itself out of the way so that the photograph is about the subject and nothing else.

My point exactly. You put it much better and more succintly than I could have. BTW, Your Georgia Backroads book is really quite beautiful. Congratulations!