Another Round with my Barnack

A year ago I went on my usual Australia trip to visit my grandkids. I decided to take with me my Leica 1 Model A and my Leica 11. That’s it….film and oldies at that.

Sadly while I did shoot a few rolls with the Leica 11 my Leica 1 Model A had serious issues. The film jammed and I couldn’t advance it, thus no images taken other than that partial roll. Now, after a year…..I decided to send it into DAG for complete overall and CLA. It recently was returned to me and it is a beaut for sure. ,

Yesterday I took it for a quick walk-about. And while ‘quick’ might be more appropriate to show the amount of minutes or hours I spent walking with my Leica 1 Model A, it sure does no justice in explaining the slow process that goes into the actual taking of a photograph.

And that ‘slow process’ is exactly what makes this camera my favorite. To load the film I need to cut more of a ‘lead’ in order to have the film advance work. I don’t look at ‘focus’ but I look at distance, so more along the lines of zone focusing. But on this model of a Leica, you never view by the focus as we do in other film cameras, modern or vintage or historic. You really need to get your distance down. IE….6 feet, 8, 10 etc…. I use a FOKOS which is attached to where a normal hotshoe is attached on your normal more modern camera. This FOKOS is akin to a rangefinder in how you view thru it. But the figures that come from it are either ‘feet or meter’ based, showing the distance from you to your subject.

So…..I gather that information for the FOKOS. Then I look at my lens and adjust the distance on my lens to match the FOKOS. Then I advance the film and determine my shutter and aperture. Once there, I shoot. The determination of the distance slows up this process heavily. But it is all a part of shooting this truly historic camera. See below….you can take a look at my Barnack Leica Leitz 1 Model A + the FOKOS….. enjoy.

Barnacks...Down Under

I am off on my yearly and soon to be, bi-yearly adventure down to Australia as I have a daughter there with two grandkids and one on the way. Yes, a camera decision to make. Taking the ultra-small Ricoh GR is a give-me as I take photos of grandkids. But, which film camera to haul along? …Leica MA and if so, what lens(s)?, Leica Barnacks 1 Model A, or Olympus OM-1 and which Lens’s? My Decision…. leaned to the Barnacks…. Keep reading to understand my reasoning. You see, rarely do I shoot even a dozen images per day, when I venture into the streets. I like to frame my shots, slowly compose them…carefully craft the ending image, and yet admittedly, that goes with any camera. But it really relates to a Barnacks. Now, to grasp what a Barnacks ‘is’, let me ‘step out’ this camera to you and the process:

• Find a shot….not particularly unique here but perhaps unique in my view of the process. I look for the angle, the shadows, the tones, contrast….

• It is a Leica, so I need to make sure the lens cap is ‘off’ (same as with my MA!) and then pull out the lens and lock it in place. The Barnacks has a retractable 50mm Elmar lens.

• Advance the film manually in the Barnacks. It takes one complete turn of the knob.

• Using the sunny 16 and my 400 ISO film, I determine shutter and F-stop. Am I exposing for the shadows or the light? I cannot adjust the shutter (20, 30, 40, 60, 100, 200, 500) on the Barnack’s until after until ‘after’ I advance the film.

• Select the F stop….The stops on the Barnacks do not equal what we normally see on cameras today. The stops on a Barnacks are: 3.5, 4.5, 6.3, 9, 12.5 and 18. This requires a bit of re-thinking as the stops of yesterday, are not equal to the usual stops on cameras today, so a bit of re-adjustment in how to approach this needed.

• Then I take the protective screw off of the shutter button. This helps prevent accidental taking a shot.

• The focus on a Barnacks is not determined by a traditional rangefinder mechanism as we know of it today, unless I have an accessory called a FOKOS which fits on the top of the shoe (only reason for the shoe mount ). Otherwise the Barnacks focuses based upon ‘distance’ ….in feet or meters, depending on the version you have. It is surprisingly not all that difficult to measure by distance estimation and is rather an enjoyable part of the process.

• Once I have distance estimated or more precise using the FOKOS, I can now move the lens focus to the appropriate feet in length. On a Barnacks 1, Model A, you have to release the ‘lock’ on the focus adjuster on the lens. This is done by pressing the ‘hockey stick’ (which was what it was informally called) and sliding the lens counterclockwise to the estimated distance, in order to focus.

• After the above has been complete, I can then move my eye to the viewfinder and compose my shot. The viewfinder has no connection to focus, distance etc…merely composition as one frames the image.

• (h) Press shutter …. Then be prepared to do all of that all over for another shot, when / if, one presents itself.

FOR ME…..that entire process adds to the experience of creating, and crafting, and tooling and slowly ticking the boxes with a check. In no manner is this process akin to any automatic or “P” mode function or that of a traditional rangefinder for focus or cameras with light meters etc… You see, I am a bit of a highbrow when it comes to this particular camera, and relagate more modern camera designs to that of just taking a tourist shot, or an everyday snap shot…. A Barnacks’s is purposeful…. it is imprecise, it is slow, is can be tedious, success implies I shoot alone, so I can force myself to get into my zone, I immerse myself into the process. I demand that the tool I use, equals the rough 1930’s photographic outlook that at times, I require.