5 frames with a Minox 35 GT and Kodak Ultramax 400

The Minox 35 GT is a very small camera with zone focus, an impressive meter and wonderful sharp 35mm f/2.8 lens which belies its diminutive size.

Its perceived virtues:
– Small and light, being made of hard (high quality?) plastic.
– I’ve heard claims it might be the smallest 35mm camera.
– Resolution of the lens is quite lovely for its size.
– Love the folding mechanism used to retract the lens. charming!
– Yellow shutter button. a pop of colour
– Works with modern battery: 4x LR44

Its perceived flaws:
– A CdS light meter. you’ll pray to your favourite saint it does not spoil
– Shutter will not fire without a battery.
– Removing the film compartment is a bit of a pain.

This wonderful review by Review by Gaston should be helpful to you if you’d like to know more details.

Kodak Ultramax 400 Film is ISO 400 color negative film that is affordable, relatively, and much enjoyed. I feel it has vibrant, punchy colours with a nice amount of grain which I really appreciate. Its higher ISO allows it to be used for indoors and lower light work, though it definitely won’t catch a bat defecating in the Batu Caves.

Its color palette is warm like Kodak Gold 200, but with subtler, less pronounced cool greens. Opinions on one’s inclination to these colours will abound and debated just as fiercely as tea versus coffee.

The Flea Market

I love the vibrancy of a flea market, the history of a place coming to life in the physicality (and admittedly dust and rust) of objects.

I was particularly intrigued seeing children leafing through the old postcards. It reminds me of myself digging through my grandfather’s old bookshelf when I was little.

The Minox’s metering is more than passable here. It uses CdS (Cadmium Sulfide) cells, more than a few copies do not work, my copy thankfully did. It appears to be a center-weighted metering, exposing for the mid frame. favouring exposure of the girl’s face rather than the dark jacket of the gentleman next to her. Like time, this metering seems to favour the young.

The Eroded Groin of a Greek Statue.

The National Archaeological Museum houses its precious relics (Mask of Agamemnon) in its carefully climate controlled gallery, but there is a collection of statues lost to ravages of time in the courtyard. Surrounded by greenery, they can be enjoyed at a leisurely pace more suited to their involuntary retirements.

Impotent and worn away, it is a good reminder that near pristine specimens of the body are indeed an anomaly in passage of time. Quite rightly, no one should expect a body to last the ages. A true consolation for my aching back.

I should say something photographic here, well, I thought the coolness of the green with the warm light reminds me a lot of Kodak Gold 200, something https://www.myfavouritelens.com/kodak-ultramax-400-35mm-film-review/ pointed out as well

We’ve dwelt on groins long enough, let’s move on.

Fluttering Flags

An inspiring photo, but taken in a traffic jam at twilight, the iso 400 of the Ultramax shows its versatility. It allows a shutter speed high enough to capture the movement of the flags of Türkiye fluttering in the wind. Would Gold 200 be able to do that?

Separately, I love the colour rendition and the grain here. I just read Shafiur Rahman’s exposition about grain and it got me thinking about the role of grain again.

Old Made New

I was told this pillar was taken from a Greek temple from antiquity and used in a ‘new’ Byzantine Church. How interesting. It’s Ionic capital certainty looks different from the rest of the building. There’s probably much to think about here.

Again the metering does a great job, capturing the outdoor scene behind, while the latitude of the film allows for the interior to be seen; and it wasn’t cloudy too, as the light spilling over the floor demonstrates.

Man with Cats

It’s not a bad life to have a smartphone, good weather and cats, one assumes. I don’t know, I did not ask him.

I think the tilted chair adds a bit of tension in an otherwise sedated photo. It might just be too boring without that element there. I wish I got closer or placed him more towards the frame. But a voice in my head tells me: he’s a big man and I’m a small Asian.

And that’s it, these are my 5 frames, thanks for reading.

You can find more of thoughts both in text and pictures at my page here.

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