Continuing with my Street Photography From My Garage project. I didn't have the time to post, but glad to be back! This one is called Dusk in the Street.

Excuse me, things have been so hectic I couldn’t even talk about winning the Myisland photo contest organised by the French embassy and Artra magazine. For now, I’m posting this exciting email announcing the surprise (it’s my first award ever for photography!) and the winning photograph. I hope to be talking about it very soon in my next post. French Spring Festival - Photography contest Inbox COLLARD Aurelia Wed, Aug 18, 10:02 AM to me, LELARGE Dear Mr. Akmeemana, Congratulations for winning the Grand prize for Best photography ! Your picture has stood out amidst almost 500 entries. Stephen Champion, professional photographer, judged your awarded photography as “an image of simplicity and quiet observation; so much a part of the photographic portrait tradition throughout the ages. It is quietly powerful and moving”. You have won 1 night for 2 persons at a selected Jetwing hotel as well as the printing on archival matt paper and framing of your photography in 16x24’. Please find attached the hotel gift voucher that can be used by contacting them through the number and e-mail specified. Regarding the printing and framing, could you send us a high quality resolution of your winning image (attached), as well as provide us with a delivery address? If you are located outside of Colombo, you will need to pick up the photography directly from the French Embassy. Please expect some delay given the current sanitary situation. I remain at your disposal should you have any questions, via e-mail or by phone (077 350 2534). Best regards, Aurelia AURELIA COLLARD Attachée culturelle / Cultural Attaché

 This is a photo of the Galle Face green taken with that Fed 5B about 15 years ago. 

 Another of my posts to the classic  camera collectors' FB page.

This is my Fed 5b rangefinder purchased as used in the 1990s. I have taken some very nice photos with its Industar F2.8/55 lens. Feds started as Leica copies but gradually assumed a form and life of their own.

The blinder broke  a few years back, but I hope to get that fixed. The build quality is quite good, much  better than in any of the Zenit SLRs I have used. I like the camera’s simple ergonomics and the solid feel. Focusing is very easy.

This is a photo of what used to be the biggest public space in Colombo, the Galle Face Green, taken with this camera before the port city project started.

 

This is the first post of my new photography project ‘Street photography from my garage’. There is a fascinating  flow of humanity along this road which leads to a tenement (or slum) area in Colombo. There is a massive construction project of luxury flats to the left. All trees on the road have been cut down, nothing replanted.

You can see  all kinds of faces, all kinds of people – office workers, housewives, families, the down and out, the poorest, the beggars, addicts, the aggressive, the submissive, the hopeful, and those who have lost all hope.

My project is not meant to exalt or condemn. I just want to capture passing life, and show it as it is, without romanticizing.

These photos are mainly taken at dusk, when the light is lovely, but also in bad weather, drizzle and rainstorms.

I have used two cameras – Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 600D – with a very old Russian 400mm M42 mount telephoto lens with a maximum aperture of F8. With this, I can photograph the street from my garage unobserved. The Mark III’s low light ability is very useful when light starts falling quickly, forcing me to go from ISO 1000 or 1600 to 6400 or more.

I hope to post these photos once or twice a week, as time permits.

Welcome to this fascinating gallery of portraits and street life. As for taking permission from those photographs, it’s impossible because for several reasons. If I ask them, they might or might like the idea. If the person is a drug addict, it could be downright dangerous as word gets around. If they consent, I have to get back to my filming position and get them to walk again, and the photograph will be posed and look unnatural.

As I said earlier, I don’t mean to condemn or exalt. This is passing life in the street as it happens. My approach is documentary, and it’s for the record.

I've joined several analogue camera groups on Face Book, and I've decided to publish my posts here as well.

Usually, I photograph my old cameras at the same place, but with different background settings -- old magazines, photographs, picture post cards, camera advertisements and other items from the analogue era.

I had to sell the bulk of my camera collection. But, after putting the remnants together, I still have quite a few....

And now I feel a lot closer to these survivors. This is what happens after a great sense of loss.

And I have plenty of stories to tell.... 

This is my third post on the old and rare camera collectors' page. Enjoy!

My Canon FTb saga continues. This is my third FTb, bought in 1998 with FD 28mm and FD135mm F2.8 lenses (like a fool,  I gave away that gem of a lens, but I will publish a photo taken with it in my next post).

I lost my first FTb in 1987 while photographing a riot in Colombo. I was freelancing for AFP then, and Douglas Curran from AFP’s New Delhi bureau (he hired me for AFP in Sri Lanka) paid me  compensation. With that, I bought another FTb. That was my workhorse until I bought my third FTb in 1998 (it came from Japan, or so the dealer said). I used both cameras until the second FTb disappeared mysteriously a few years ago. It may have been stolen, but I’m not sure.

These workhorses (purchased as used) never gave me any trouble and never went in for serious repairs. My second FTb occasionally seized up. The shutter got stuck half way if you didn’t apply correct amount of pressure. By removing the bottom plate and nudging the tiny spring at bottom right, you could release the shutter. I always carried a small screwdriver in my bag.

As the cameras’ built in light meters didn’t work, I used a hand held meter or went by the sunny F16  rule. In the mid 1990s, one technician restored the second FTb’s match needle metering, which worked accurately for a few years, and then fizzled out.

After reading that top end cameras like the Nikon F3 or the Canon F1 were made to function in extreme conditions and temperatures, I decided to test my third FTb. It isn’t a top end camera but sits quite close, and I always had abundant faith in it. One day, I wrapped the body in polythene (not the stuff in the picture! )and put it in the deep freeze section of my fridge for a couple of hours. After I took it out, it worked without any protest. Of course, I took it for an immediate service!

Even when I had to sell the bulk of my classic camera collection, I kept this FTb and it shall always be with me. I look forward to using it again when I get hold of some film, no longer available in Sri Lanka.

 My friend Shiran's guitar repair workshop. He's dedicated, the best I know.