Yep, that’s me. My friend Dirk took this with my trusty Hexar classic (the Hexar was the first auto-focus camera I ever bought). That’s the Mamiya 6 on the tripod; I was shooting with the 150mm. It was a very rainy season. I sort of remember them saying it hadn’t rained that much in x number of years. I also remember being a little scared up there on the rock which was slippery with water; and that I did a lot of my moving around in the crouched position.
And here is the resulting shot:
As I go through the old photos, I have to admit, that I sort of miss some of the cameras. The Mamiya 6 is one of them. I never was crazy about the 7 because it didn’t fold up the way the six did. However, the idea that the Mamiya 6 was like an overgrown Leica M6, or as they called it the Texas Rangefinder – that never was the case for the very simple reason that the lenses are longer, meaning that a lot of techniques you might do with the Leica M, such as hyperfocal focusing, was more difficult if not impossible with the normal 75mm lens for the Mamiya 6. It also meant that depth of field was always going to be shorter; and that you weren’t going to work with ultra-fast lenses. And finally, you are going to be changing film rolls more often.
I liked the Mamiya 6 as a sort of lightweight field camera for scenics which is why it was with me at Yosemite.
That must have been a good rain year! Nice shot.
I’ve heard the Fuji 690 rangefinder cameras referred to as Texas Leicas. I’ve owned both the GW with 90mm fixed lens and GSW with 65mm fixed lens.
They produce a beautiful 6×9 negative but suffer from the same limitations you mention concerning the Mamiya…still, I wish now I’d kept them.
Jeff
I used a Mamiya 6 several times, but never owned one. I wanted one … bad. I love the square format, which is why I own a Hasselblad. I also owned a Fuji 690 and a 645i, those big negs were rich with detail. I sold all but the Hassy to go digital. Now, I’m back to shooting with the Hassy and film. What goes around comes around again. I have a huge inventory of negatives to scan. –Brent
Voigtlander has a camera, Bessa III that is 6 X 7 or square format. Uses 120 film. Uses a fixed lens and is about $900. I’m told its pretty good if you are into film and medium format. Also sold under Fuji name.
I forgot to mention I have two other medium format “artsy” cameras. I have a Holga 120 and a Holga 6X12 Pinhole. Fun cameras that produce interesting images.
Craig, if you can find that camera new for $900, buy every one you can because they are $2250 at B&H and Cameraquest.com!
Video of Dave through the ages at amolizgeven.wordpress.com