Rocketbook Scan – 2024-05-25 15.38.17

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This email is from gordon Delivered by Rocketbook.

Dreams

Weird dreams. Was it the solar activity?

For some reason I’m in London. A parallel London. I get on a train. I’m tailing someone. Then the ticket man comes on, and I don’t have a ticket. So I jump out of the window, slide down the bank and run along a motorway. Then I realise I’ve left my bag on the train which has all my stuff in it.

It felt so real. I woke up glad it was just a dream.

The photo is of Smuk before it waa Smuk.The tenants are changing. Hopefully someone who breathes life back into the place. But, Smuk is dead so it will be a reincarnation of sorts.

My Alternative Universe

In my alternative universethey stream Elvis
into orange painted toilets.
Mixed with the sound
of the softly dying extractor fan
it reminds me of grunge
that is yet to come.

Moscow is open

Moscow opened up this week. Finally! Restaurants are allowed to serve outside dining. And next week, their inside seating will open. We headed to Hachapuri. It’s a chain in Moscow and in my opinion make the best hachapuris in Moscow. Hachapuri is a kind of Georgian pizza. If you really want the best you need to go to Georgia, but for now this will do. And, washed down with a fine glass of Qwevri wine, it was very fine indeed. I really missed being able to eat out these past three months. Life feels suddenly much much better. Simple things, huh?

Instagram Breakfast

In true Insta style… here’s this morning’s breakfast. And, to celebrate, I deleted my Instagram account. Freedom woohoo!

Russian Nationalism At The Post Office

My Thoughts On Covid 19

I actually don’t have many thoughts on this virus that has caused such a reaction globally. It is a virus and like many others it can kill. I am not any more afraid of it than I am of the host of other viruses I could catch and be killed by. Except of course this particular one is being constantly brought to my attention by various sources of media every time I engage.

I am lucky in that so far none in my immediate circle have been affected directly by it. Although one close elderly relative did have a scare which proved to be a false alarm. Of course I have friends of friends who have been affected to varying degrees.

The reaction to it scares me far more.

I have many thoughts about that. Suffice to say I am scared that we have definitely overreacted: put the brakes on too hard and thrown the baby we were nurturing in the back seat of the car smashing through the front windscreen, unleashing physical forces with outcomes that will not be in our best interests. Our fear driven reaction is far more dangerous than the virus itself.

We will see in a year how this all pans out. I am really hoping we humans soon just add it to the many risks life has and get on with living.

Meanwhile I have learned to handstand without a support.

Yashica T5 Compact Film Camera

35mm
Fully Automatic
f3.5 – f16
Zeiss Tessar Lens
DX ISO (50 – 3200)
Autofocus – half press Focus lock
Autowind
Superscope
Electric Shutter (1s – 1/700s)
Built in flash (Auto / On / Off / Red Eye)

My Ricoh GR1s died on me without warning. A camera I really liked. So I wanted another compact to replace it. A light pocketable camera I can take with me everywhere and easily take candid photos.

I got caught in the hype and got a Yashica T5.

The big selling point for me was the Superscope.
I can look down at the top of the camera and see the picture I will take.
Truth is I don‘t use it very often. And, in low light you can hardly see what‘s in the viewer.

The camera‘s lense is very good. 35mm is a great length. I always felt the Ricoh‘s 28mm was just a little too wide. The Zeiss Tessar on it renders really sharp well balanced photos in low and bright light. I have no idea what aperture it was selecting, but wide open seems pretty sharp and undistorted.

Often if you don‘t use the half press focus lock the autofocus grabs the focus elsewhere. There is also a delay while it grabs focus before firing, small, but enough to sometimes miss the moment you wanted to catch. I miss the snap function from the Ricoh that zone focused the camera and cut out any delay.

I shoot a lot from the hip. So, the inability to zone focus this camera is disappointing. I missed a few great shots because of it.

The electric wind is not silent, but in a normal situation with background noise you don‘t hear it. In a quiet place like a church though, it’s quite loud.

It looks like a shit camera. This is an advantage for me. It is not intimidating like a single lens reflex can be. It would be a very savvy thief who would try to steal it from you.

In spite of it‘s cheap look it is solidly built. I accidentally dropped it a few times and it seems to be fine. Of course, I don‘t advise dropping cameras!

The T5 is fully automatic. You can‘t choose aperture or shutter speed or ISO. If you want to push your film you‘ll need to hack the DX code on the canister.

The flash works well. But, another kudo for the Ricoh… The yashica doesn‘t hold the last preset you selected. The flash sets to Auto every time you turn the Yashica on. 90% of the time I want the flash off. And yes, this has led to a few uncomfortable moments.

While the T5 has it‘s faults, I really like it. It takes great pictures and makes me shoot more film! I feel though for my day to day camera I need something a bit more manual. I just got an Olympus XA. I’ll review sometime in the future. I‘ll keep this camera, I will use it from time to time. It‘s a good all rounder capable of quality shots that is fun to use.

Big Brexit in Windsor

And so I find myself in Windsor. Home of the Queen. Brexit looms. Windsor and Eaton are actually beautiful. But they could go a bit easier on the Union Jacks. Good luck England!

Moscow by Yashica T5

Sunny day back in Moscow. A little bit of street shooting for me. I take my Yashica t5. I think it’s my best street camera. It’s a discreet little point and shoot that fits in my pocket. Not to mention the little waistlevel viewfinder on the top of the camera. Near perfection. My only wish would be such a camera with full manual aperture and shutter speed settings.