I was in Washington & Seattle earlier this month, and ended up walking around down town one day with my camera of choice: a 1937 Voigtlander Bessa RF with 105mm Heliar lens! I loaded it with Ilford FP4. The camera shoots 6x9cm format. I first went to Pioneer Square as I've heard it was taken over by bums & addicts, but on arriving I found them all gone. I took a photo of an older man playing jazz melodies on his clarinet. Buskers are one of my favorite subjects, and I always drop a couple of bills into their hat before taking a photo. Moving north to Pike Place market, I discovered a living nursery rhyme! It was a woman playing a violin while wearing a large cat head! I asked her to play "Hey diddle diddle, The cat & the fiddle" for me, and without speaking she obliged. My wife stood nearby rolling her eyes.
On to the space needle plaza where I found a real psychic giving a reading to a customer, and a couple of caricature artists and their seated customers. That one was a tougher shot to get as the uncoated Heliar lens does NOT like shooting into the sun! All shots were metered with a small Sekonic L-208.
While I'm not sure this is true "street", (will have to wait and see if I get the RSL stamp of approval
), I really enjoy wandering big cities with a vintage camera and a pocket full of 120 b&w film. The Bessa RF has a lever instead of a button to release the shutter, and I did have trouble keeping it steady hand held. I think next time I'll bring my Baby Rolleiflex, a 1931 miniature camera that shoots 4x4 images on 127 film. It should be perfect!
Kent in SD
