The Wiggle Wagon - Part I

"Is that really 35mm?" one of the locals piped in, having noticed the Nikon FM I had set down on the table.

The place was Garth's Kitchen which I was told was the only restaurant Killaloe Ontario had since the old diner shut down, at least if you don't count the chip truck permanently located out behind the town post office. It seemed not so much like a dining establishment as a farmhouse kitchen writ large. Your waiter and the chef were the same person. There was no swinging door to insulate you from the reality of how your food was being prepared, just a little nook in the corner with a stove and a refrigerator where he worked. Normally there were three items on the lunch menu but they were out of a few things so donairs it was, made from meat that was sliced and done up in a frying pan fresh, right where you could see it if you weren't sucked into the conversations of the other patrons (as I was) or distracted by the featured wall of mirrors arrayed in an eclectic hodge-podge of picture frames.

Cousin Ken at Garth's Kitchen

The "local", I was to learn, was a musician who went by "Cousin Ken" professionally, and I suspect in just about every other sense as well. He seemed about my age, lean with a wiry Van Dyke beard and hair pulled back into a pony tail. I don't imagine anyone could speak with Ken for long and not get the impression he had a few tales to tell, the nature of which you never would have guessed other than that they likely don't involve time in the employ of a law firm or financial services company.

"Your camera there, it uses 35mm film doesn't it?" He sounded impressed, like just the chance to see it would make his whole afternoon. Well, I thought, let's see if make his whole day.

"Well this one's my 35, but my 120 is just out in the car."

The statement had exactly the desired effect. "Whoa, you have 120 too! What is it, a Rolleiflex or something?"

Rolleiflex was an intriguing guess. It's not what I have but like so many other medium format users I'm more accustomed to hearing the perennial "Is that a Hasselblad?" The interest was obvious and it would have been cruel of me to disappoint at this juncture..

"Why don't I go get it and show you."

His enthusiasm went up another notch. "Definitely! If you bring that in and your Manfrotto I'd love to have a look."

I rose to fetch it from the car, wondering if that last bit had been a lucky guess about the tripod, as though I don't own a Rollieflex, my Manfrotto 055 is the one piece of photographic equipment I still own that's been with me since the mid 80's.

"Hey," he added as I reached to door, "maybe I could get you to do a few shots of my Wiggle Wagon."

I had no idea what he meant, but couldn't imagine anything that went by the name "Wiggle Wagon" on which it wouldn't be worth spending a few frames of film. "Of course," I said.

When I returned Ken and his companion Des (or Desmo in his role as on-air personality at CHCR, the local radio station that adjoins the restaurant) moved in closer while I opened the photo backpack that contains my Bronica S2A kit. I realize I haven't said much here about the Bronica since I got it a few months back, but suffice it to say the same chrome paneled, Raymond Loewy inspired design that attracted me to the camera was a hit with this crowd as well. Ken, it was by now no surprise to learn, was at least semi-acquainted with the world of cameras, at least as it existed twenty or thirty years ago, though I'm not sure he had seen anything like the S2A before. He knew about my tripod, he finally told me, because he recognized the characteristic Manfrotto hexagonal quick-release plate attached to the bottom of my Nikon.

The classic selfie as it was meant to be taken, courtesy of Garth's wall of mirrors.

Once the tour of the camera was complete and conversation broadened I kept the camera in my lap, eyeing the waist level viewfinder, wondering if a candid portrait was in order. The Bronica has no in-camera meter but I guessed that with the lens wide open and the shutter set to 1/30th, the lowest I dare go for hand-held, I'd still be a stop or two under with the window light. I had HP5+ with me, but having accidentally left the dark slide at home there was no way to switch backs and so I was stuck with the slower Acros film I had loaded. Ken said nothing but I'm sure he knew what I had in mind, and perhaps knowingly obliging me turned to the window, throwing himself into the perfect light. Shadow detail be damned, I had to take it.

My initial task documenting the experience complete, curiosity couldn't hold out much longer.

"So, you were saying something about some kind of wagon...?"