Stills

A Rolleicord III. Newish to me but antique in the scheme of this digital age. I bought it a few years ago here in Japan and dusted it down a couple of weeks ago. This is one of the shots from the first roll of XP2 120 film I put through it to test it out. Will be using it much more during the summer months.
 

Rollie gear has never looked so tempting as it does now.

I had a limited experience with a TLR and found that it made my photography a bit too static. Also it changed the height that I held the camera (need to get one's head over it). I never got over either of these problems before the camera seized up (it was one of the cheap chinese cold war jobs). I'll be interested to see how you get on.

This scene I like, although as often with your Tokyo street shots it takes a while to sink in. The squareness plays to the subject well.

Have you also gone tripod based?
 

Rolleicord has only ever been a name for me so I can only see how you get on. By the looks of this you should do well. The 'whoosh' or 'clackety-clack' (whichever Japanese trains sound like) hits one immediately. I love the old man halted by the rather flimsy barrier. Presumably the train is going left judging by the arrow. A great composition.
 

I see this as a contrast between the rush of the train and business vs. the tranquil life of the old man who waits patiently for his opportunity to cross.

Do you get 'LensWork'? I opened it and saw work that looked like yours. It was by Peter Steinhauer.
 

No tripod - the camera is quite light, the sun is bright so high shutter speeds can be obtained.

This train is of the clackity-clack type. The rolling stock is probably nearly as old as my camera. They know how to look after them and keep them running smoothly.

My Lenswork extended arrived on Friday so had a quick look through at Steinhauer's work. I can see a little of old Tokyo in his work but the preponsity for blurring figures got a little too much for my taste.

Thanks for the comments and feedback. Was out again with the Rolleicord this morning and got on much better with it. It certainly slows me down (Colin's comment on static is spot on though the height of shooting adds a different and enjoyable dimension to your field of view) with respect to 'action' work and the dull focusing screen is a bit of a pain but 12 shots in one hour before the temperatures got too high delivered me my shooting fix for the week...
 

Everything seems to be going to or pointing to the left. I like the corner framing of the curved tree branch. The man seems very solid and grounded in his spot, in contrast to the train. A good feeling from this.