adrian_stone1

Thanks everyone for your really helpful and supportive comments. It's very good to get a range of perspectives. It's also encouraging to hear that the Contarex Special and the bellows might be of interest to collectors.

I'm going to have a look at past sales on Ebay, and also check out McKeowns. I need to go through all the boxes and establish dates of manufacture, serial numbers etc.

I imagine I will have some further queries after I''ve done some initial research. I would be very grateful if you could check back on this thread in a few days time.

Thanks for getting involved.

Regards

I'd appreciate any advice regarding a large collection of photographic

equipment which I have inherited. The list does not begin to describe all the

additional equipment, accessories etc. Most of the equipment looks like 1950's

stuff and it all appears to be in excellent condition. I believe it has only

had one owner from new.

I don't have space to keep it. I have thought about selling it on Ebay but I'm

not expert in describing and checking this equipment, and the packaging,

postage and insurance would be costly.

Are there any options in the UK e.g. photographic auctions, dealers in this

specialist area? I live on the Cambridgeshire / Lincolnshire border.

Alternatively if there is little resale value would a museum value it?

Here's the abbreviated list of kit:

1) Zeiss Ikon Contarex Special with Tessar f3.5 115 mm telephoto lens, extra

interchangeable prism and bellows extension. There is no standard lens as it

appears that this was used for macro work only. The camera is in excellent

shape and the shutter works. This is not the "Bullseye" model and does not have

a built in light meter.

2) Zeiss Ikon Contaflex with f2.8 50 mm standard lens, Pro-Tessar f4 85 mm &

Pro-Tessar f3.2 35mm lens. This camera is also in excellent condition and the

built in light meter and shutter appear to work.

3) Zeiss Ikon Movikon 8mm movie camera with f1.9 10 mm standard lens, 2 extra

lens, with rangefinders. One is 1/2 x wide-angle and the other is 2x telephoto.

Any comments would be very helpful.

Thanks very much.

Hello Becky

Thanks very much for taking the time to pass on to me your gems. Our trip looks like it will be varied and very stimulating. Isn't the Internet marvellous?

Regards

Adrian

Hell Mike.

Thanks very much for your advice re. our holiday in the Miami area. It's great to hear from someone living in the patch, I'm starting to anticipate our holiday already. The Everglades is a must, your suggested route is really helpful.

The airboat - I'm uncertain. I like mechanical things (cameras, bicycles, motorbikes) but somehow the lack of respect for the flora and fauna gets to me. I may change my mind when I get there. Years ago my wife visited Florida and saw Manatees who were under threat from propellor blades. Britain is no better at living alongside nature.

South Miami sounds a bit like Venice Beach - do visit, but with a little caution. I am sometimes tempted towards being intrusive with a camera, but my wife will keep me out of trouble. Is it advisable to stay in a hotel on South Beach?

Thanks again

Adrian

Hello John

Cuba is a wonderful if rather chaotic country. Photographically it is quite wonderful. Forget the usual cliches of old American cars and cigar smoking senior citizens in Che Guevara berets. The countryside is stunning and the people are great. What I've seen of the tropical fish in crystal clear waters, the diving must be wonderful. It's the only place I've been where I have taken good photos through the surface of the water with a polarising filter.

My wife is a US citizen and she encountered no problems during her stay in Cuba, nor on her next visit to the US. I understand you cannot fly direct, you need to change, perhaps in Mexico.

In the UK we can a series of travel guides called The Lonely Planet. I've found them accurate and really helpful.

I hope you realise your dream.

Regards

Adrian

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments. Yes, we will be visiting Florida from the UK. I've accepted your advice to concentrate on one area and so we have decided to stay in the Miami area, possibly South Beach. That will give us acess to the everglades, other nearby communities, the Keys if we feel like it. It will also give us all the options within Miami itself, including shopping (Pitman Photo seems to be the photographic choice).

There are already some suggestions on the travel forum re. day trips from Miami, but anything else you can tell me would be great; ideal locations in December, times of day to photograph etc, and anything else that would help our holiday, would be absolutely magic.

Isn't the Internet a wonderful thing?

Regards

Adrian

P.S If anyone needs any advice re. Cuba, New Zealand or the UK, please let me know and I'll get in touch with you directly.

My wife and I are having a week in Florida this year over Christmas. We'd

like some advice regarding good locations for us as we don't know the patch.

We take landscapes, both panoramic and close up, and some wildlife. We'd be

happy to take street scenes of traditional communities, i.e older towns rather

than places specifically for senior citizens or areas heaving in tourists and

children- Orlando doesn't appeal. We prefer to make our own way (hire car)

rather than be part of an organised event. We've enjoyed both national and

state parks in the Southwest USA. We're OK at getting up early for dawn shots.

Any suggestions? Your comments would be really helpful.

Adrian Stone

Thanks very much for the comments so far. Any other suggestions from anyone?

Thanks

Adrian

I have been given some treasured 1970's colour 6" x 4" prints which have faded

over time. They now have a magenta cast. The owner wants to convert them to

a digital file. They are printed on a textured paper, I think it might have

been called silk. Anyway on scanning them a grid-like pattern emerges from

the textured paper.

What equipment and technique would assist us in creating a reasonable digital

copy? Is this beyond the scope of a domestic scanner? Would Photoshop help

to improve the images? Overall do you think this job is best left to a

professional lab? If so, what should I ask for?

Any comments would be just great.

Thanks very much.

Adrian Stone

Thanks for all your responses, I think I've triggered off some real debate here. Personally I accept that each airline has a right to set and enforce rules of their own, and indeed make a ruling on an individual flight when they want to. I have no desire to challenge the stances taken by the cabin staff, frankly I think the've got enough to put up with on most flights. But it has been very useful for me to establish that no-one is aware of an all-encompassing ban throughout the industry. I'm flying to Denver tomorrow and who knows, I might get bored......

Thanks again.

I was recently told to refrain from taking pictures of clouds on a

commercial AIR TAP Portuguese)flight from Porto, Portugal to

Heathrow, London. We were at 35,000 feet and in clouds. I was told

that taking photographs in flight is forbidden under the new

security controls on commercial flights. Does anyone know if such a

ruling exists? Does it apply to all commercial flights?

Adrian Stone

Hello Ellis. I'm sorry I forgot to contact you and thank you for your very helpful advice. I now have a contact there which I make use of from time to time. It's an interesting site to photograph, particularly during the construction phase.

Thanks again

Try as I might, I cannot find the telephone number of the security

company which patrols the Canary Wharf site in London Docklands,

UK. The last time I tried to take photographs there I was hassled

constantly for a photography permit, which you can't get on the day.

Canary Wharf is a beautiful photographic subject and I'd like to

takje some shots for my (amateur)camera club.

Any suggestions re. the company and the telephone number?