Lesson Learned Again – A One Shot Story

By Floyd

Those of us who travel with film kits live on the knife edge of disaster every time we head out for a day of shooting. Most of our gear is likely 20 to 40 years old, very possibly older. And being mechanical devices, which in many cases were designed for servicing every five years or so when they were originally offered for sale, they fail. Shutters seize up, film advance mechanisms jam, the list goes on and on.

This is a brief reminder on why the photo gods have long warned us to always have a backup when you take gear out for an important shoot. A few weeks ago, on a two-and-a-half-week trip to Japan, I decided to give precedence to weight instead of good planning. Sure enough, my digital camera’s electronics went wacky and started to shut down about 20 seconds after being turned on. I had enough time on the trip to visit my favorite used camera shop in Tokyo to pick up a replacement body, but lesson learned.

Or should I say, lesson learned again. This happened to me before when traveling in Tokyo – my film SLR’s shutter seized up while shooting a political protest march through Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district. Fortunately, on that trip, I’d brought a backup. Instead of a SLR body with three lenses, I’d had the presence of mind to put a Rollei B35 into my camera bag. It’s a very small fixed lens, zone focus camera. A very different shooting experience, to be sure, but it worked (and continues to work).

So, for the rest of that trip, I carried the little Rollei in my coat pocket. The photograph accompanying this tale of second chances was made with the Rollei. I was walking through Ueno Park, a subject rich area for photographers. I came across a cultural group that was performing dances in the large park. I whipped out the Rollei, which was loaded with Kodak Tri-X, guessed an exposure based on the 50-year-old selenium meter reading, and pressed the shutter.

Lesson learned. Now if only it had been lesson remembered.

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About The Author

By Floyd
Floyd K. Takeuchi is a documentary and fine arts photographer who is based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Most of his work is done in Hawaii, the Pacific Islands and Japan.
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Comments

James Langmesser on Lesson Learned Again – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 24/11/2024

Point taken. We are preparing for our annual trip to the South Tyrol, leaving on Thanksgiving, 4 days away. My wife and I are both photographers. Indeed, it is a true pleasure to relive, to savor past trips through pictures. It is my task? responsibility? to pack the photographic equipment. We haven't had any problems in the past, but we cannot assume that "the past is prologue". I shall ensure that for each of our cameras there is a backup. And there is in the back of our photo cabinet a Rollei B35, so thanks for the tip. The picture you took in the park to us captures the essence of why one travels, to see life as others live it without intruding.
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Reed George on Lesson Learned Again – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 24/11/2024

I love the photo and the lesson. And the Rollei 35s of all designation. Thanks for the reminders.
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Daniel Castelli on Lesson Learned Again – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 24/11/2024

I also learned the hard way to pack a spare. My back-up is a Leitz-Minolta CL. I’ve thought about getting the Rollei 35.
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