williamtk1974

Funny thing about it was that reports from the following night indicated that the organizers made announcements about potential wind-related delays and fewer people ended up disappointed. Not sure why they couldn't have done that the night I was there. Their poor handling of the first night made it into local news media reports. About three hours south of where I live is a resort named Callaway Gardens. They've been there for a long time and offer pretty much the sort of amenities you'd expect at a place like that, such as golf, hunting in season, a man-made lake with a beach, a huge pool, extensive gardens, a butterfly pavilion etc. Neat place. Every year at the Labor Day weekend, they do an end of summer festival that includes a balloon glow. I went a few years ago and was not disappointed. It was clear that they've been doing this long enough to know what they're doing. I tried to get pics that night, but the US Mail lost my film.

I believe that Process One did a good job with the negatives and scans at a reasonable price. With regards to learning, I learned that this sort of photo project is doable. Having the right tools and technology were helpful. That said, I probably could have put the camera into fully manual mode and made good images there, but that would be more of a gamble. These weren't the only pics that were ok, but I thought they were the best of the lot. There were some others that were disappointing. I tried to get some pics of the ferris wheel on site, but could never catch it at its most illuminated, so those pics seem a little dull to me. Out of 36 or 37 exposures, less than half were all that good, but that doesn't come as much of a surprise. The limited number of exposures forced me to be careful. Now, I made brief mention that the event didn't go off as advertised. I believe that had it gone off as planned, I would have been able to get some better images. The event organizers advertised the event as a balloon festival that would also include a tethered balloon rides and a tethered balloon glow once the sun was down. There also happened to be a carnival of sorts taking place, as well as numerous food and craft vendors present. When it came time to do the glow itself, I couldn't help but notice that at least 1/4 of the balloons which had been present earlier in the evening were deflated and packed up. Once the time of glow's beginning passed, a delay was announced over the PA. About a half hour later, an announcement was made that they would continue to offer tethered balloon rides. No explanation was given about the state of the glow itself. The following week, the organizer's Facebook site seemed to be overflowing with increasingly negative and vitriolic comments about the festival's failure to live up to its advertising. It got so bad that the organizers had someone monitoring the site at all times and quickly removing anything other than posts about how someone had soooo much fun at the balloon festival and how they couldn't wait for it to come back next year. The cynic in me couldn't help but wonder if some of those postings were created by shills. If an explanation had been given at the event over the PA, I doubt they would have been subject to so much harsh criticism, but they handled the whole situation poorly at best. Thank you to everyone for your helpful advice on this posting and your kind words regarding the end result of the project. Maybe 2020 will see me getting to have another go at it somewhere else. -William

Ok, the film was Kodak Ektar 100. The camera was a Nikon F90X with a Nikkor 50mm F1:1.8 lens. If memory serves, I shot some of the pics with the lens at f8 and some at f11. Some might see this as cheating, but I set the camera at Aperture Priority and used Spot Metering. I was using a tripod and the Nikon electronic cable release that fits that particular camera, so any blur was a result of movement from the balloons during a long exposure.

Ok, finally, some pics to share. Please keep in mind what I said about how the event didn't turn out the way it was advertised. I'm not claiming that the pics are perfect, but I think they turned out pretty well and showed that this type of photography can be done on film.

I have some pictures I can share, but I'm not sure how to get them in here. I try to copy the link from Dropbox, and all I get is that broken IMG thing.

I just got a roll back from the Old School Photo Lab that was shot somewhere around 2013 and was in my freezer all that time. From a processing standpoint, all looked good. From an image standpoint, I wonder if I couldn't have done just as well with a roll of Ektar 100. However, the good pics were the sort of thing where a certain private island in the South Carolina Low Country should beg to use them in their next prospectus brochure. But I'm not going to solicit the business. Nothing against the OSPL, but a little further research showed that there are cheaper options out there.

I just shipped the film, along with a couple of other rolls, to Process One, so it shouldn't be too long before something comes back.

The problem seems to center around the 1/25 shutter speed, which is the first one in the fast grouping. For some reason, the release doesn't seem to spring back all the way, so when you go to cock the shutter, it's like it immediately fires again. All the other speeds, including B and T, seem fine. I haven't done any real scientific testing or anything like that. It's also missing the handle on the left side. I'm probably going to get a dog collar to take its place.

I ended up getting a manual from Mike Butkus that showed what I needed. Trouble is, I don't think this shutter is ever going to be as good as the shutter on the other camera. I work on watches. and this one looks like a cheap, brass clockwork to me. Lots of places for it to get worn.

Ok, good news is that the camera arrived today. It's what we would call a Pacemaker SG 2x3. Serial number dates it to around 1950, so it's around ten years younger than the first one I bought. It's in pretty good shape. The focal plane shutter works just like it's supposed to. It was being sold as non-working because the Kodak Flash Supermatic shutter on the Ektar 101mm lens was gummed up. A little lighter fluid with a q-tip got it running, at least for awhile... Then, the bad thing happened... The shutter started sounding draggy again, so I thought I would take a peek inside and try to have a go at better cleaning and lubrication. As it turns out, it's perfectly ok to go in through the front of the shutter. But I didn't know that, and tried to go in through the bottom. Apparently, some of the springs use those screws to brace against, so now nothing's working the way it's supposed to, and I'm not quite sure what to do. I'm kicking myself about this. Anyone by chance have a good, clear pic of what the shutter is supposed to look like when it's put together properly? Thank you, -William

Now I've just noticed that one of the feet is missing off the bottom. I swear it was on there earlier, but a careful search of the floor with a flashlight isn't proving fruitful, so it's probably been gone the whole time. Any ideas for a replacement that might look similar to the ones still on it?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm thinking about getting a 35mm lens for my Spotmatic. Looks like a good many 35mm lenses came in that f1:2.8 range, and most of them aren't all that expensive. I noticed that Vivitar lenses in this size can be had for less than $40. They're not the only ones in that price range, but they seem common. Any thoughts on this? Thank you, -William

Some of his captions for those found film photos are the best.

I managed to win an auction for a Mini SG with a Graflok back being sold for parts only. I'm hoping that it might be repairable, but we'll see when it gets here. I'm keeping the other one. Kind of half to now given that I've done a couple of repairs lol. All of the speeds on the lens shutter now work correctly, and so does the Kalart Range Finder. The little mirror inside had come off, but I was able to get it glued back on. Once I exercised the focal plane shutter, it started working very well.

Inquiring minds would like to know more. Hey Chuck, mine has the setup like what's in the middle of the picture.