danielneal

July 10, 2015

Well, after some back and forth, I got a surprisingly gracious takedown request from Leica Camera AG today.

I'm not surprised. I am a touch disappointed that I have to take the site offline, but I'm happy that a lot of people were able

to access it while it was live.

I won't soapbox about copyright reform here.

-- Dan

July 9, 2015

<p>I tracked down one of the photographers featured in a 1961 issue of the magazine and interviewed him. He was 11

and shot with a IIIg when the magazine was published, and he had a great photographic career: Junebug Clark

<p><a href="https://leicaphotographyarchive.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/junebug-clark/">Junebug Clark</a>

July 7, 2015

I'm appreciative of the advice. I've removed the recent (80s and 90s) stuff. The most recent stuff in the archive is now 42

years old.

I haven't heard back from Leica Camera AG yet. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

July 3, 2015

1. I've been in touch w/ the LHSA. I'm giving them my PDFs, and got a very unofficial blessing from some of their

leadership for this project.

2. I'm finally in touch with someone at Leica -- stay tuned. I will do whatever Leica asks me to do.

3. Suggestions that I contact the amateur photographers whose work appeared in sixty-year-old magazines for formal prior

approval are patently absurd, if well-intentioned.

June 30, 2015

Re copyright concerns:

Yes, the concern is legitimate. I am not intended to challenge Leica's copyright in any way and, instead, am trying to

make old, unavailable, historic reference and research materials available for free to the curious. I'm keeping my fingers

crossed, and continuing my efforts to reach out to Leica Camera for an official (or nod-and-wink) blessing.

Worst case scenario, my PDFs get donated to the LHSA and I take the archive down. I'm *not* making any money on

this, to be sure.

-- Dan

June 30, 2015

<p>Hey everyone,

<p>A few weeks ago, I acquired a large pile of Leica Photography magazines. I found them absolutely fascinating to read, and decided that I needed to make them available to anyone curious about early Leitz/Leica history. They're filled with really wonderful information about the early days of 35mm photography, and have some surprisingly relevant articles. For example, there's an early feature on Mary Ellen Mark (Vol. 21, No. 1: Spring 1968) and a fun article on enhancing edge adjacency effects with Rodinal (Vol. 22, No. 1: Spring 1969).

<p>

I invested in a book scanner and have spent a lot of time scanning, correcting, OCRing, and indexing 78 old issues of Leica Photography

magazine from 1949 through 1971, with some bonus issues of Leica Fotografie and Leica View from the 80s and 90s. There are gaps

and missing issues in my collection, but I'm working to obtain and scan some of the missing issues with some contacts in the LHSA and

from the Leica forum.

<p>

Figuring out a way to make these historic reference materials available to anyone who is interested for free has been interesting. I've

been corresponding with folks from the LHSA, who are in the process of preparing their own digitized archive for LHSA members to use

for research. I obtained an unofficial blessing and some guidance on their stance regarding copyright of these old historic reference

materials, and I'm providing them under the umbrella of fair use for research and reference purposes. I have not yet connected with

anyone from Leica Camera, and would appreciate any contacts y'all might have.

<p>

These magazines are freely downloadable from my archive site:

<p>

<a href="https://leicaphotographyarchive.wordpress.com/">https://leicaphotographyarchive.wordpress.com/</a>

<p>

Please let me know what you think -- feedback is cheerfully welcomed.

<p>

All the best,

<p>

Dan

June 16, 2015

Wonderful read. You've got the best toys.

June 16, 2015

@Ken: I did get to the Pawn Stars shop. It's a big tourist trap, and definitely second rate as far as pawn

shops go. They did not have any cameras at all! I hit over a dozen pawn shops, antique shops & thrift

stores on my trip, and scored half-a-dozen classics. :-)

@Cory: I don't think I'll be using a hood (I was actually trying to get flare in the cigar shop), as it destroys

the foldability of the camera. I did find some really nice B+W 29.5mm filters though, and was happy to find

that I can fold the camera up with a filter attached. Love those Kodak boxes and containers!

@Donald: It's a bargain classic!

June 16, 2015

My hot rod Kodak Retina IIa:

<img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5456/18200585703_97c89f5e52_b.jpg" width="1024" height="678" alt="Kodak

Retina IIa"></a>

<p>I’ve been lucky enough to get to know another local classic camera aficionado a little bit. I met <a

href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=584923”>

Darin</a> through an <a href=“http://www.apug.org”>APUG</a> sale, and he’s since shared a lot of the gems from

his classic camera collection. Back in April, he showed me a neat little camera that he had acquired for the princely

sum of $25. I commented on how well built it seemed to be, and Darin clued me into the German (Nagel) DNA in the

early Retinas.

<img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5321/18198637994_1c4db08d5e_b.jpg" width="1024" height="819" alt="Kodak

Retina IIa"></a>

<p>Here are some background pages on this camera:

<ul>

<li>http://retinarescue.com/retina2atype016.html</li>

<li>http://www.dantestella.com/technical/retina.html</li>

<li>http://www.cameraquest.com/retIIa.htm</li>

<li>http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Kodak_Retina_IIa</li>

<li>http://blog.jimgrey.net/2012/07/16/kodak-retina-iia/</li>

</ul>

<p>I realized that a gemlike Retina IIa, hailing from the Nagel factory in Stuttgart, is probably as close as I’ll ever get to

owning one of my dream cameras, a Leica M3 or Zeiss Contax IIa. I popped on a $41 Retina IIa from eBay. Upon

receiving the Retina IIa in the mail, I was dismayed at how stiff the focusing helical was, and how dim the rangefinder

was. On the plus side, the shutter speeds sounded great, there were no holes in the bellows, and the coated 50mm

f/2 Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon looked amazing. The frame counter spring was broken too, although this

wouldn’t significantly affect the camera’s operation.

<p>I sent the camera off to <a href=“http://www.retinarescue.com”>Chris Sherlock of retinarescue.com</a> for a thorough

CLA. Chris’s work was magnificent, quick, and reasonably-priced. I received the serviced camera just about one

month after shipping it to Chris, and the total cost for the CLA and frame-counter spring replacement was only $220

NZD (~$155 USD). I love a good custom hot rod camera and I’m planning on using the Retina IIa for a long time, so I

ordered a red leatherette kit from <a href=“http://www.cameraleather.com”>Morgan at

http://www.cameraleather.com</a>. Installation was easy, except for the three-dimensional lens cover door. There’s

no easy way to replicate the factory hand-paring, but the kludgy workaround works fine and looks OK.

<p>Usage notes — the slightly weird frame counter is no big deal at all. The film advance lever and infinity-focus

interlocks aren’t trouble either.

<p>The focusing lever is oddly placed and shaped. Post-CLA, my copy is smooth and precise. Pre-CLA, it was just about

unusable. The rangefinder is snappy and usable, but a M3 it ain’t. Eye relief with my big glasses is poor; I found

myself focusing with my glasses, then taking them off to frame the shot (which sucks ‘cause I’m very nearsighted).

This is the first camera I’ve ever thought about getting an accessory viewfinder for. My hands had to learn a “Retina

grip,” which is awkward in use — for me to focus comfortably, I’ve got to focus with my right hand instead of my left

when shooting in landscapes. This means that I’ve got to move my hand around to actuate the shutter — not smooth.

The camera holds and shoots better in portrait orientation.

<p>So, it’s not the most pleasant or intuitive camera to use. But, dang, I love that lens.

<p>I took the camera on walkabout in Las Vegas last weekend with a few rolls of Ilford HP5+ and Fujicolor Superia 200. I

used an iPhone light meter app, and really wish that I had brought my Sekonic L-208 instead of trying to use the

phone app for everything.

<p>I took the camera to the Neon Sign Museum, as well as some bad areas of town to experiment with harsh outdoor

light and semi-abstract composition. I also took some shots in a dimly backlit cigar store where an old Cuban couple

were rolling cigars. I’m very happy with the results.

<p>I souped my HP5+ in Pyrocat-HD, and used rotary processing. Color I mailed to my favorite lab, <a

href="http://www.precision-camera.com”>

Precision Camera & Video in Austin, Texas</a> to be developed and scanned.

<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielpneal/18138654734" title="Neon Sign Museum with a Kodak Retina IIa

by Daniel Neal, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/370/18138654734_3082408c53_b.jpg" width="1024"

height="679" alt="Neon Sign Museum with a Kodak Retina IIa"></a>

<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielpneal/18573574530" title="Neon Sign Museum with a Kodak Retina IIa

by Daniel Neal, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/300/18573574530_577ea86b08_b.jpg" width="1024"

height="679" alt="Neon Sign Museum with a Kodak Retina IIa"></a>

<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielpneal/17763791014" title="Vegas with a Retina IIa by Daniel Neal, on

Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8856/17763791014_e83c706f58_b.jpg" width="1024" height="639"