I hope you have had an enjoyable summer. As mentioned in the last issue, I had been assembling a flat pack shepherd's hut for my wife. It's very nearly finished, requiring a bit more sealant around some joints and removing masking tape from the outside of the window glass. The suppliers said it only takes two days to assemble. No comment! Then my son decided to buy himself a machine lathe weighing 800Kg and wanted to have it in the house. No comment! I persuaded him that a purpose-built workshop with a substantial concrete floor would be more sensible. So, before I had finished the hut, I was seconded to assist with building a workshop in the garden. A number of weeks still to go on that project; at least the roof is waterproof.
Our autumn meeting in Bosham was quiet, partly because it rained most of the time. David had suggested a visit to Chichester Cathedral, which I duly arranged with permission to use tripods.
I always find that taking my camera out for a specific purpose is very rewarding, and I look for subjects that I would otherwise not see. I went armed with my Rolleiflex SL66SE fitted with Zeiss F-Distagon 30mm f3.5 fish-eye lens. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the interior of the Cathedral from a totally different perspective. Corner to corner, the lens covers 180° and side to side 112°. I found it was interesting to look for ways to encompass the distortion caused by the fish-eye with the straight lines and curves of the Cathedral's architecture.
Looking ahead to my winter photography, I hope to venture out with that camera/lens combination and also a Kodak 620 Box Brownie that my sister-in-law gave me for my birthday last year. Having researched the 620 format - see my article on p.20 - and re-rolling 120 onto 620 spools and modifying 120 spools to fit a 620 camera, I think I will give it a go; also to roll some more 127 for my Baby Rolleiflex with the bulk Ilford HP5+ which I bought a few years ago. Time spent in the warmth building up a stock of 'impossible to find' film to use in otherwise obsolete cameras should keep my thoughts on photography rather than workshop construction.
This is the penultimate hard copy printed edition, and after January, only PDF issues will be sent by email. Please carry on submitting material so that Club Rollei User will continue.
On another topic, I have a nagging feeling that I have misplaced an article which has been sent to me. I have searched everywhere. If you have sent me something and it has not been included, I apologize, but please contact me. It may have been by post or by email; I may also only have dreamed it!
Don't forget to submit for the January issue...
Contents:
- Front Cover: "Wagons to the Field" by Brian Pearce
- In Passing by David Morgan
- Misfortune and Muddle by Raymund Livesey
- Want to 3D print a Rollei Model?
- Rollei Wellingborough by David Morgan
- "I'm Back" medium format digital back for analogue film cameras
- Some Old Kodak Verichrome Pan Film by John Wild
- Rolleicord and Rolleiflex Twin-Lens Technique
- Postal Print Competition 2019
- Rear Cover: Member's Photos
