The Human Crab

[Brian Moore]

I shot this image with my 1938 Voigtlander Bessa. Arista Ultra 400 film. Light leaks!

 

[Ralph Turner]

I like this, the way the diagonals take you through the frame to the far distance, then you catchthe 'crab' out of the corner of your eye a d yoy're drawn straight back to him. That light leak does add a certain character to it.
Which model Bessa, Brian?

 

[Brian Moore]

I like this, the way the diagonals take you through the frame to the far distance, then you catchthe 'crab' out of the corner of your eye a d yoy're drawn straight back to him. That light leak does add a certain character to it.
Which model Bessa, Brian?

Thanks a lot, Ralph. I'm actually not sure what the name of the camera is. I just thought it was a Bessa. I'll take a picture of it an post it.

 

[Brian Moore]

@Ralph Turner here is the Voigtlander Bessa. As you can see the name Bessa is imprinted in the leatherette. I don't see any other model name.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

The Bessa didn't seem to get a designation other than the year (1929 being the first year of production). Based on the embossed leatherette, it looks like it could be a 1935, 1949 or a 1947 Bessa RF. These are the only three that appear to have a 2 line embossing (Voigtländer on top and Bessa underneath). It would be easier to better identify with a shot showing the other side. Also, while I can see that it's an f/3.5 lens there were variations each of the three years with the 2 line embossing. Voigtar 3.5/10.5cm Compur-Rapid in 1935. Skopar 3.5/10.5 cm in 1945. Heliar 3.5/10.5 cm or Color-Skopar 3.5/10.5cm in the Bessa RF (1947).

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I love the shot, Brian. People pay to get light leaks like that these days.

Great comp.

 

[Ralph Turner]

Thanks Brian. Looks to be in lovely condition. Do think the leak is from the bellows?
Gary, I can just make out Voigtar on the inner edge of the lens bezel.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Gary, I can just make out Voigtar on the inner edge of the lens bezel.

That would suggest that the camera is 89 years young.
All of my data came from the 12th Edition of McKeown's Camera Guide (read my article about this 6 pound tome on 35mmc on 4/2).

 

[Brian Moore]

A couple more pictures of the Bessa. One showing the other side, as @Gary R. Smith suggested might be helpful.

To address @Gary R. Smith's observation about the lens type (and @Ralph Turner's), it is indeed a Voigtar lens.

Ralph,...I don't think the bellows are leaking light. They're in very good shape, and when I open the back and hold the camera up to strong light with my beady eye searching for pinprick holes within, I see none.

 

[Brian Moore]

The Bessa didn't seem to get a designation other than the year (1929 being the first year of production). Based on the embossed leatherette, it looks like it could be a 1935, 1949 or a 1947 Bessa RF. These are the only three that appear to have a 2 line embossing (Voigtländer on top and Bessa underneath). It would be easier to better identify with a shot showing the other side. Also, while I can see that it's an f/3.5 lens there were variations each of the three years with the 2 line embossing. Voigtar 3.5/10.5cm Compur-Rapid in 1935. Skopar 3.5/10.5 cm in 1945. Heliar 3.5/10.5 cm or Color-Skopar 3.5/10.5cm in the Bessa RF (1947).

Thanks for the research, Gary. Voigtar indeed!

 

[Brian Moore]

I love the shot, Brian. People pay to get light leaks like that these days.

Great comp.

Thanks Rob. (I paid for these light leaks, too. )

 

[Brian Moore]

That would suggest that the camera is 89 years young.
All of my data came from the 12th Edition of McKeown's Camera Guide (read my article about this 6 pound tome on 35mmc on 4/2).

Somehow in the past I dated it to 1938. Perhaps I traced the serial number on the web. Could be wrong, though.

 

[Ralph Turner]

Ralph,...I don't think the bellows are leaking light. They're in very good shape, and when I open the back and hold the camera up to strong light with my beady eye searching for pinprick holes within, I see none.

That's encouraging. One thought that crossed my mind and might not apply here, is that the film counter window on some cameras of that era are quite pale, a sort of yellowy orange. That Carbine I recently used is one such candidate. I've covered the window with a piece of deep red acetate to hopefully overcome the issue (jury is still out on it - I haven't yet put another film through it to see if it helps). Anyway, good luck with it. It's afine looking beast

 

[Brian Moore]

That's encouraging. One thought that crossed my mind and might not apply here, is that the film counter window on some cameras of that era are quite pale, a sort of yellowy orange. That Carbine I recently used is one such candidate. I've covered the window with a piece of deep red acetate to hopefully overcome the issue (jury is still out on it - I haven't yet put another film through it to see if it helps). Anyway, good luck with it. It's afine looking beast

Thanks Ralph. In fact the film counter window on this Bessa is a lush, deep crimson, so I doubt that's an issue. But who knows,...? Maybe next time I take it out I'll cover it with a little flap made from gaffer's tape as I do with my Holga. (By the way, this Bessa actually has two film counter windows; one of them is blacked out by a cover on the inside of the film door, under the pressure plate. The pressure plate, however, appears to be permanently fixed in position so I don't know why the false window is there unless maybe Voigtlander used the same back design for cameras shooting a different aspect ratio--6x6, for example, rather than the Bessa's 6x9.)

 

[Ralph Turner]

Thanks Ralph. In fact the film counter window on this Bessa is a lush, deep crimson, so I doubt that's an issue. But who knows,...? Maybe next time I take it out I'll cover it with a little flap made from gaffer's tape as I do with my Holga. (By the way, this Bessa actually has two film counter windows; one of them is blacked out by a cover on the inside of the film door, under the pressure plate. The pressure plate, however, appears to be permanently fixed in position so I don't know why the false window is there unless maybe Voigtlander used the same back design for cameras shooting a different aspect ratio--6x6, for example, rather than the Bessa's 6x9.)

I have seen old pics of these cameras with drop in masks sat next to them, so it makes sense, though it sounds a bit of a mystery exactly how they're fitted. Anyway, I hope all goes well next time

 

[Beth Carter]

there's an odd number of legs on that crab... but it's a very nice environmental portrait of a rare species.

 

[Brian Moore]

I have seen old pics of these cameras with drop in masks sat next to them, so it makes sense, though it sounds a bit of a mystery exactly how they're fitted. Anyway, I hope all goes well next time

Yeah I thought about the possibility of a drop-in mask, too, but the (apparently) fixed pressure plate seems to preclude that notion.

 

[Brian Moore]

there's an odd number of legs on that crab... but it's a very nice environmental portrait of a rare species.

Good observation, Beth. (You know your crabs!)

 

[Gianluca Drago]

I shot this image with my 1938 Voigtlander Bessa. Arista Ultra 400 film. Light leaks!

The image has an unexpected vertical 16:10 crop ratio (I agree with Ralph about diagonals guiding the eye to explore a scene that develops vertically down to the main subject); a warm tone reminiscent of sand; before you get the whole scene you are not aware of the scale of it (maybe influenced by the title) so the seagulls look like shoreline snails. What the man is doing is a mystery: is he fishing for shellfish hidden under the sand? Is he a detectorist who has found a buried treasure? Who knows?
Nice one, @Brian Moore.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Somehow in the past I dated it to 1938. Perhaps I traced the serial number on the web. Could be wrong, though

I suspect that there could be inconsistencies with the included images in McKeown's and that maybe the 2 line embossing happened at random. Based on the images in the book it looks like what they show as a 1935 model. The image they show for the 1937 doesn't have the 2 line embossing but that model was made from 1937 to 1942. I would likely rely on a serial number list. McKeown's doesn't list serial numbers per year.