The Side Arm Camera

A parting image shot with the Nikon F80 while the RB67 sat in the bag 

Should fate ever see me trying to submit an insanity plea in court I can at least submit as evidence in my favour the sheer mass of kit I routinely slog across difficult terrain as a means of passing time. When the Mamiya that is my go-to camera was made it was considered studio equipment because few would be fool enough to carry it for any distance outdoors. Given the commitment involved just heading out the door with it and a few of its similarly massive lenses there never seemed much value in tucking something smaller and lighter weight into the pack. Why would I need something else if I had my favourite camera with me?

As it turns out there are a few good answers to that question after all. I discovered them almost by accident. It started last fall when I started taking my recently acquired Minolta Hi-Matic 9 along when I was out with the big camera. The idea was simply to get a test roll through the new camera that wasn't another 36 frames of the dog looking at me awkwardly. My first outing with it was an off-season visit to a public beach that after decades of decline as a recreational attraction is now being eyed by condo developers. I'd been there before but on this visit I was drawn to the graffiti marked foundation walls of a long-ago demolished building that I previously hadn't taken much notice of.

Whether or not the fact it piqued my interest this time had anything to do with the presence of a more maneuverable, hand holdable camera with which to explore it this time I can't say. What I can say is that I immediately put the heavy pack down and just went with the Minolta. There was no rush, the walls would wait for me had I chosen to set up the tripod and fiddle with the big camera, but there seemed no question that the Hi-Matic was the right tool here. That might strike the majority of you as obvious but my methodical self usually doesn't work that way. I'm used to spending some time with a composition, considering my approach, noticing all the details. The difference here I think is that my subject called for more exploration than analysis.

A shot taken while exploring with the Minolta Hi-Matic 9, again while the Mamiya kit I had with me stayed in the pack.

Since that time whenever I'm out with the Mamiya kit there has always been a 35mm camera along for the ride, though more recently it's been a Nikon rather than the Hi-Matic. It's my side arm, the camera to use for all those situations not suited for pulling out the big gun. Those fleeting opportunities that won't wait for you to set up are the first thing that comes to mind. Even when it seems like there's plenty of time, grabbing a quick shot with the small camera can serve as quick insurance against the unexpected such as an unfavourable change in the light or a Volkswagon camper van parking in the middle of your previously pristine scene while you're setting up.

That's not the only advantage I've found in to carrying a side-arm camera. It's not even the main advantage. The fact is that even though I may gear up in anticipation of shooting with a slower paced, more considered approach doesn't mean this is the way I'll be inspired to work once I'm out there. When you're using a heavy tripod mounted camera deciding to stop and get a photograph is a little bit like pitching camp and doing this too many times can get a bit overwhelming.

My new side arm - the conveniently non-automated Nikon FM

In one form or another I've been carrying a side arm camera with me when I'm out with the big Mamiya kit for months now and I'm still shooting far more 120 film than 35mm. I may even try bringing the Iskra along to see if it works in this role - medium format is still the sweet spot for me. More than likely it will be the Nikon FM I recently acquired. The F80 served well enough I suppose but it won't meter with all my lenses and the way nearly every function possible has been automated doesn't appeal to my sensibilities like it once did. When I think about it it takes far more work to earn the money to buy the batteries that power the auto winder than it does to just use the winding leaver.

Leaving the Tripod at Home

I have always been a bit of a stickler about using a tripod. That might seem pretty obvious for a guy who uses a beast like a Mamiya RB67 most of the time, but it was true even back in the day when owning such a camera was a pipe dream. I had a good tripod (the Manfrotto 055 I still use to this day) before ever considering things like a second Nikon body or additional lenses. Then as now it was always the meditative approach for me. While I've always embraced my contemplative side I sometimes wonder if I let it stifle other aspects of creativity like spontaneity, novelty and whimsy. It's hard to really cut loose with a camera that's stuck to a tripod. It can be done I suppose, (think Salvadore Dali and flying cats) but why make it harder?

Hand held medium format from the Iskra folder. For compact on the go portability I think beats your typical 35mm SLR without sacrificing those big sharp 6x6 negatives, nothing beats this style of camera.

I've been giving some thought lately to what it would mean not to be so tied to a tripod all the time. At other times in my life, when the kids were younger and in my wedding photography career, an overwhelming majority of the photography I was doing was almost the polar opposite of the kind of work I do these days and the Manfrotto was seeing some serious closet time. It's not that I'm thinking of returning to that kind of photography. Wedding photography and having young kids are two things I enjoyed and that I am so done with now. Still, that doesn't necessarily mean I have to accept the limitations of a tripod, not all the time.

In a previous entry When The Tourists Are Away... I wondered if I'd have made out a little better going tripod free with a 35mm camera. Well I did get a chance to make a return visit, this time packing two Nikons - an F80 loaded with Ilford Delta 100 and an FE with some expired Fuji Superia for colour. Also along was the Iskra folder. Going handheld doesn't mean I have to give up medium format after all.

What looked like a toy fence, coming up to about mid shin on me, would have been chest high absent the snow.

The results you can see so there's little need to comment. It was a different sort of day that my earlier visit, generally overcast with an occasional opening in the clouds letting through direct sun. The landscape had also changed in the intervening weeks, with much more snow that in many cases covered over the glassy coating of ice that formed as mist froze. On the other hand it gave the whole scene more of a winter wonderland feel.

The experience I have to say was mixed. On the positive side yes there were shots I probably wouldn't have been able to catch with a camera bound to a tripod, especially in a few cases where there were people in the shot who would have moved on if I didn't have the ability to bring the camera right up and fire. The freedom to explore a subject also came into play now and then as well. It wasn't so much the small adjustments that sometimes need to be done to get the camera positioned in exactly the right spot, I can do this just as well, if not better, when working from a tripod. It's more those situations I'm not sure of such as when it appears an awkward or impossible camera position is required, or that presents compositional challenges there might or might not be a solution for. In short if, it seems there's a good chance the effort to get the shot I envision could be in vain, the added difficulty of having to manhandle a tripod through the process might keep me from trying in the first place.

I once had a summer job at a hotel not far from these. Amazing how many people arrive for the first time expecting a rustic cabin and thinking Niagara Falls was located in a wilderness preserve. In reality it aspires to become the Las Vegas of the North. It seems people don't gamble away their savings like they used to though, which I'm informed is a bad thing.

I have to say though, shooting like this did make me lazy, lazy enough not to bother digging out a filter if I thought it would help, lazy enough that there were occasions where I chose not to take the shot rather than go to the bother of swapping lenses between the two Nikons. Arguably if I couldn't be bothered it wasn't worth the effort or the wasted film anyway, but I just wasn't as invested in the subject or the process and it\s hard to tell myself that's a good thing. And lest it be forgotten, a tripod is more than just the camera gear equivalent a hair shirt meant to heighten our awareness of the photographic process through penance. Even at shutter speeds above the 1/focal length rule of thumb, hand held camera shake can cause enough sharpness loss to erase the benefits of using a top notch lens.

It's all food for thought. It may need some time to digest though, so it's a bit soon to say whether any of this will change the way I do things in the end. I'm certainly not ready to shelve the tripod or the Mamiya, though I can't help but think some tweak may be in order. As always I'll keep you posted.