Wabi-Sabi or the Discrete Charm of the FSU Camera

[Monz]

Right, Ian. Now to find my Bourgeois MicroHumourScoponar.

Monzur, Wolves said it. All I can add is that it won't be easy to find a properly working meter: they're selenium. And yes, you'll need to have a finger or two amputated if you can't learn The Contax Grip.

Hello Mukul,

What is the "Contax Grip?" I know that focussing is with a knurled wheel but that is about all I know.

--
Monz

 

[Sparrow]

Absolutely zuikologist - and somehow it's that knowledge of potential failure that's half the magic. In a way perhaps that explains the romance which still attaches to the idea of the USSR itself. We know the goal will not be reached, but that wonders and horrors will occur on the path. Such cameras, in their crudity, their genius, their beauty, disappointments and occasional miraculous perfection are strangely like life - strangely human......

Cheers, Ian

Nicely put Ian
🙂

 

[noci]

there's a book on wabi-sabi by Leonard Koren:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabi-Sabi-Artists-Designers-Poets-Philosophers/dp/1880656124

.. which I've really enjoyed reading. or , rather, browsing through in a freed state of mind 😉[SIZE=-1][/SIZE]

 

[Jocko]

Hello Mukul,

What is the "Contax Grip?" I know that focussing is with a knurled wheel but that is about all I know.

--
Monz

Hallo Monz - I hope Mukel will allow me to answer this, as I have a funny picture to hand 🙂

In an attempt to avoid infringing Leitz patents, the Contax, the original basis of the Kiev, does things rather differently, which in turn means that you hold the camera in a slightly different way. Essentially the middle finger of the right hand is braced below the rangefinder window/focusing wheel, which are situated in an extension of the faceplate along the top "left" of the camera (seen from the front). The forefinger then slips above the faceplate to operate the focusing wheel.

This sounds more complicated than it really is - it is simply the natural way to hold a Contax. The result is a very stable grip on the camera.

I enclose a comparative (and somewhat dubious 🙂 ) .demonstration of the holds by the great H.S. Newcombe - a Leica enthusiast (and it shows!)

Incidentally, Monz - an excellent introduction to the Kiev here: http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/zconrfKiev.htm

Cheers, Ian

 

[Keith]

To me the fascination of FSU cameras is directly related to my childhood ... as a young boy the most intriguing country on the world map of the school atlas was the soviet union. Shrouded in mystery and much maligned by the western world with enigmatic leaders and supposed brutal regimes that threatened the western way of life ... if but for the USA! For some reason the red threat loomed large in the minds of children being fed a diet of anti communism hysteria from across the globe in a safe little haven like New Zealand in the fifties.

When I hold one of these often slightly crude mechanical marvels in my hands it takes me back to times and attitudes long gone ... but strongly recollected! 🙂

 

[Jocko]

When I hold one of these often slightly crude mechanical marvels in my hands it takes me back to times and attitudes long gone ... but strongly recollected! 🙂

I really empathise with that - although in a slightly different way 🙂 when I was 14 or so I had a map of the USSR on my bedroom wall, alongside the Kate Bush posters 🙂 They were both symbols an undiscovered country, the mysterious, intangible other, eternal focus of fantasy and threat... and so endlessly fascinating.

Ah to be a lad again! 🙄

Cheers, Ian 🙂

 

[shadowfox]

To me the fascination of FSU cameras is directly related to my childhood ... as a young boy the most intriguing country on the world map of the school atlas was the soviet union. Shrouded in mystery and much maligned by the western world with enigmatic leaders and supposed brutal regimes that threatened the western way of life ... if but for the USA! For some reason the red threat loomed large in the minds of children being fed a diet of anti communism hysteria from across the globe in a safe little haven like New Zealand in the fifties.

When I hold one of these often slightly crude mechanical marvels in my hands it takes me back to times and attitudes long gone ... but strongly recollected! 🙂

Keith, I finally find a perfect thread to comment on your latest signature, which with your permission is frozen for posterity here so you can change it later on (or until the next RFF database restore 🙂 )

I sold my Contax IIa because the Kiev feels better in my hands.

This sentence summarizes what I feel also. The feelings that I have for these FSU cameras are admittedly deeper than superficial, thanks to films like Dr. Zhivago, I am also drawn to the enigmatic charm of that part of the world. A BIG part nonetheless.

The imperfection and the lack of finesse on these cameras strangely (or not, according to Wabi-Sabi principle) enhance their charms. I often imagined if my Kiev or Fed were made by a soul who is lost in his or her own thoughts, grinding away their existence, or blissfully strolling through life.

The lenses may have at one time reflected the wrinkled old face, full of bitter-sweet life or a pimple-less face of a youth brimming with hope for the acceptance of his/her puppy love.

And now, those same old glasses reflect my eyes or those of my daughter's who still tries unsuccessfully to trigger the shutter on the Fed 😛

Ian, thanks for a thought provoking thread. 😀

 

[gb hill]

Ian this is a great thread btw. I have always heard the term Wabi-Sabi but never gave a second thought to it's meaning. I like this statement from the wiki-pedia.
Andrew Juniper claims, "if an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi." I supose the object "being the camera" does this for me. Photography is to me a very spiritual enrichment, a jurney in which, when walking along with my camera I feel connected. I and the camera are one with each other. I know that when i'm out alone with my camera my mood is at peace. I guess it's like meditation. My journing around with my camera is my meditation. I never thought of it like that before but I guess thats what it is. I have high blood pressure and come to think of it my bp is at it's lowest after a good outing with my camera because I feel so relaxed and satisified with myself. So I like this Wabi- Sabi experience that I hold in my hands.🙂

 

[wolves3012]

Thanks wolves3012. Looks like I'll be doing some hunting at the next Wolverhampton Camera Fair (30th Sept I think)! All the best.

--
Monz

I thought they'd stopped doing those fairs. I live (literally) a few minutes walk away if you wanted to say hi. I have all major FED/Zorki models, bar a Z-3, and a couple of Kievs. You could try one for "fit" before you go....

 

[Jocko]

Will, GB, I think you put it perfectly. Years ago I remember coming across the idea that
photography was inately tragic because it always dealt with the lost past, etc, etc - and that struck me as - to say the least - very overstated.

The idea of Wabi-sabi, by contrast, really appealed to me. Somehow the idea of the acknowledgment of failure, chance, the vanity of human wishes and the transitory nature of things seems to emphasise compassion, a fuller appreciation of beauty and a gentle ironic detachment - an understanding - that I think underlies much photography, and is profoundly valuable in itself.

Cheers, Ian

 

[Monz]

Hallo Monz - I hope Mukel will allow me to answer this, as I have a funny picture to hand 🙂

In an attempt to avoid infringing Leitz patents, the Contax, the original basis of the Kiev, does things rather differently, which in turn means that you hold the camera in a slightly different way. Essentially the middle finger of the right hand is braced below the rangefinder window/focusing wheel, which are situated in an extension of the faceplate along the top "left" of the camera (seen from the front). The forefinger then slips above the faceplate to operate the focusing wheel.

This sounds more complicated than it really is - it is simply the natural way to hold a Contax. The result is a very stable grip on the camera.

I enclose a comparative (and somewhat dubious 🙂 ) .demonstration of the holds by the great H.S. Newcombe - a Leica enthusiast (and it shows!)

Incidentally, Monz - an excellent introduction to the Kiev here: http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/zconrfKiev.htm

Cheers, Ian

Thanks Ian. The "Contax Grip" looks doable. However, the gentleman in the attached picture seems to be grimacing as if he is finding the experience uncomfortable!
--
Monz

 

[Monz]

I thought they'd stopped doing those fairs. I live (literally) a few minutes walk away if you wanted to say hi. I have all major FED/Zorki models, bar a Z-3, and a couple of Kievs. You could try one for "fit" before you go....

Hi wolves3012,
These fairs are still going strong! They have a summer break (when regulars go through a "cold turkey" period) and resume in September. I saw an advert for the next Wolverhampton Show on Sunday 30th September in a recent issue of Amateur Photographer. See you there!
--
Monz

 

[skhan]

Interesting thread.

My Wabi-Sabi photograph: a kite made of a polythene bag (Wabi) got caught on a tree branch (Sabi)...or I must have got it all wrong 😉