Taking the Rollei on vacation

[bsdunek]

Some good photos here. Look for Fritz Henle's book on the Rollei - just the best on out there (IMHO). I love my old Rollei - never lets me down.

[jpa66]

My Rolleiflex has been coming with me on holiday for several years now. I wouldn't think of NOT bringing it!

[skipjack]

The Rolleiflex has given our family most of our favorite photos. The processing firm we use - their people always come out to look at the negatives or slides on the light table. We recently came back from Cape Cod - and used the Rolleiflex more than our 135 cameras. By all means - take it and have fun.

[Rayt]

I have been shooting a lot more with my Rolleiflex these few weeks for street. I posted some photos of Beijing and Hong Kong on flicker. Finally I have found the right camera to match my shooting style and subject matter.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hkraytai/7921737494/

[Orbiter]

Fun to think of it as a travel camera, inspiration for me to take my humble but beloved YashicaMat on my next trip. Do our TSA friends recognize a TLR as a camera or does it require explaining?

[Rayt]

Originally Posted by Orbiter

Fun to think of it as a travel camera, inspiration for me to take my humble but beloved YashicaMat on my next trip. Do our TSA friends recognize a TLR as a camera or does it require explaining?

I hope our TSA friends won't ask me the remove the lens like they sometimes do with the Leicas.

[jcrutcher]

I'm new to TLR's with Rolleiflex but can tell you they are a lot of fun and it seems easier to take street photo's with one. Load up and enjoy!

[PMCC]

Originally Posted by Rayt

I have been shooting a lot more with my Rolleiflex these few weeks for street. I posted some photos of Beijing and Hong Kong on flicker. Finally I have found the right camera to match my shooting style and subject matter.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hkraytai/7921737494/

Nice job, Ray! My daughter will be back in Beijing in a week.

P.

[curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Orbiter

Do our TSA friends recognize a TLR as a camera or does it require explaining?

I've never had a problem with the Rollei, but I do take the precaution of not having film in my film cameras in case they ask me to open them.

--Doug

[Rogier]

I am taking it with me to Myanmar (Burma) in January for 2 weeks. With 50 rolls of Velvia (50) and 50 rolls Reala :-)

[froyd]

Originally Posted by skipjack

The Rolleiflex has given our family most of our favorite photos. The processing firm we use - their people always come out to look at the negatives or slides on the light table. We recently came back from Cape Cod - and used the Rolleiflex more than our 135 cameras. By all means - take it and have fun.

Originally Posted by jpa66

My Rolleiflex has been coming with me on holiday for several years now. I wouldn't think of NOT bringing it!

Not bringing it was never a question. I did, and it was fun... unfortunately the pictures are still traveling their way back to me from the lab.

My concern was about the style of images I would capture with the Rollei (or fail to capture without the 35mm RF). Despite the good advice, I feel like the majority of the images I captured where my standard 'flex fodder. Did not venture into the beautiful landscapes like Hausen or observant details, like Rogier --but that's because I don't normally shoot those images anyway. I was hoping that the 'flex would be put to use to create more dynamic images --kids running around the backyard family having a meal together, etc (granted mine are not the typical travel vacations). Instead I fell back on more predictable lines... in any case, it's too soon to talk without having even seen what's on the rolls!

[jwicaksana]

I am also excited to take my humble Rolleicord III on vacation next month. I actually like the stares and questions I got from people around me, it helps them to relax and feel comfortable. I'm learning to approach people instead of just shooting from afar. Hope I can do this on my next trip.
Oh, and enjoy your vacations with your Rolleis, folks!

[froyd]

It's been an agonizing wait for the scans to get back to me, but finally here they are!

Overall, I pretty happy, but I guess I still failed at nailing the vacation snapshots gerne with the TLR.

The classic "postcard" type of landmark photography it's not usually my bag, but the Rolleis make it pretty hard to take a bad picture of static subjects, so on that front I was happy. However, this type of shot represents 1% of what I like to photograph on vacation.

Helsinki Cathedral on Portra 400

94940012 by kafe-pic, on Flickr
Helsinki Cathedral on Portra 400

Same goes for posed portraits of the family. Easy to do at home, easy to do on vacation...

The kids in Torino on XP2

94950001 by kafe-pic, on Flickr
The kids in Torino on XP2

and

The kids on Lago d'Orta on Portra 400

94930002 by kafe-pic, on Flickr

However, the casual vacation snapshots that I was pushing myself to capture with the Rolleiflex were a disappointment... Many were out of focus, some were shot at too slow camera speeds, others lacked a clear, strong composition, such as the image below:


94940003 by kafe-pic, on Flickr

or were taken without paying attention to the details of what was happening in the image, e.g. closed eyes below:


94910011 by kafe-pic, on Flickr


I did manage to capture a few candid shots that I thought successful, but what I learned from this experience is:

1- the Rolleiflex is fun and light to travel with, and I can use it to the traditional shots with no problems

2 - I need to either slow down more or improve my shooting instincts dramatically to improve the quality of the snapshots. Here I found the TLR limiting, though the limits were mainly my own and not the camera. I felt I needed to be fast to capture fast developing action, and I neglected to pay attention to good composition, focusing, exposure, etc... all the basics! Fortunately my idiot-proof P&S saved the day, but I'm committed to improving my TLR skills beyond posed portraits and city/land scapes.

More pictures soon!

[kanzlr]

froyd, what camera do you usually use for successful vacation photos?

[graywolf]

A TLR is not an action camera.

That said you can take action photos with one, you just need to have everything preset, so all you have to do at the precise moment is push the button. That does take some practice and forethought. I would call it "you" getting the photo, instead of the camera getting the photo.

[froyd]

Originally Posted by kanzlr

froyd, what camera do you usually use for successful vacation photos?

Contax G2 and pocket digicam (fuji F40)

[kanzlr]

funny, I just got a G2 as travel companion

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by curmudgeon

I've never had a problem with the Rollei, but I do take the precaution of not having film in my film cameras in case they ask me to open them.

Not only does TSA recognize them, but so many other international airport security agencies. That has never been a problem for me.

Once, way back when, the predecessor to TSA always wanted to see the inside of the camera but my TLR had film in it -- so I removed the hood and let them look at the mirror in the viewing chamber. They were perfetly satisfied.

[froyd]

Originally Posted by graywolf

A TLR is not an action camera.

That said you can take action photos with one, you just need to have everything preset, so all you have to do at the precise moment is push the button. That does take some practice and forethought. I would call it "you" getting the photo, instead of the camera getting the photo.

Yep. the more deliberate candids worked well:


94950009 by kafe-pic, on Flickr

and to a lesser extent extent even this:


94930006 by kafe-pic, on Flickr

That said, some shots presented themselves before I had time to prepare, and the results looked like this:


94910012 by kafe-pic, on Flickr

I still like the image at an emotional level, but I would have done a better job capturing it with the Contax G.

In any case, my missed shots were not all "action". Take the one of the three people against the yellow wall. The girl's eye ruin the shot. By the way, I have considered having a doctor surgically remove eyelids from my kids, but my wife dissuaded me. The poor shot was caused by my panic in trying to be quick capturing the moment and did not pay as much attention as I should have to the image forming on the groundglass.

I agree with both your statements: the camera has limitations (to take it to an extreme, it's not a Nikonos!) and that the photographer's skill can add to the limitations.

What I was hoping to do during this vacation was try to raise above my limits and expend the usefulness of my Rollei.

I left with a better understanding of what's possible if I push myself (focus more) and what's probably out of reach even from the best photographers using TLRs.

[Vics]

Froyd, you did a much bertter job than I did. I liked your pictures very much. If mine were that good I'd not be selling my Rolleis. You know, the old adage about this was "If it moves, shoot it with a 35. If it doesn't move, shoot it with a Rollei."

[froyd]

Originally Posted by Vics

Froyd, you did a much bertter job than I did. I liked your pictures very much. If mine were that good I'd not be selling my Rolleis. You know, the old adage about this was "If it moves, shoot it with a 35. If it doesn't move, shoot it with a Rollei."

eeek! do not sell your Rolleis! At least keep one. My first roll with the Rollei was the best I've ever taken. Subsequent ones were much worse (same happened with the M4 interestingly enough), and after that I started to improve to about 8 or so keeper (keepers by my standards, mind you) per roll. But I really had to put in the time to change my behavior as a photographer.

[Vics]

Originally Posted by froyd

eeek! do not sell your Rolleis! At least keep one. My first roll with the Rollei was the best I've ever taken. Subsequent ones were much worse (same happened with the M4 interestingly enough), and after that I started to improve to about 8 or so keeper (keepers by my standards, mind you) per roll. But I really had to put in the time to change my behavior as a photographer.

I just shipped the 3.5F out to NYC to one of our members here. If I don't get offers on the MX, I'll take it as a sign from God, and I'll keep it.

[froyd]

Originally Posted by Vics

I just shipped the 3.5F out to NYC to one of our members here. If I don't get offers on the MX, I'll take it as a sign from God, and I'll keep it.

Well, congrats on the sale! I looked through your Flickr 6x6 set and though it looked great, so hopefully you will still press the MX into service in the near future.