I’m still working on posting some of my film photos from the spring. I need to get caught up on these since I just sent off another batch of film to be processed.
In early March, before the pandemic and the stay at home order, I went for a walk with my Flexaret Automat. I hadn’t been out with the Flexaret since the fall after I fixed the issue I had with the film not advancing.
I think this might have been only the 3rd roll I shot with it, and I bought it back in September of 2018. I shot a test roll, then it stopped working with the next roll (much to my disappointment). Then it sat for a while until I figured out how to fix it.
I like shooting with it, although it is a bit of work. It doesn’t have a light meter so I need to use an app on my phone. The viewfinder is waist level and shows a mirror image both of which take a lot of getting used to and slow me down.
My first test roll with it came out pretty bad since I was still trying to figure out how it worked. But I liked the results I got with my first roll after fixing it, and I really liked how this most recent roll turned out. A big part of that is due to the film I used: Rollei RPX 400 Black and White. I had used the 35mm version once before and was also pleased with those results.
Holly and I had taken a Monday off to extend my birthday weekend. We went to lunch at Cheu Noodle Bar but then she wanted to go to work for an hour or so for someone’s retirement party. While she was at the party, I wandered around with the Flexaret and my new Minolta AutoPak 450EX (which I’ll post about later).
Cheu Noodle Bar is very close to Thomas Jefferson University. I worked there at Scott Memorial Library 20(!) years ago. I took 5 shots around there including one of The Winged Ox by Henry Weber Mitchell which is my favorite of the roll.
From there, I wandered along Walnut Street where I took a couple more photos before moving on to Jewelers’ Row.
After that, I made my way to the historic area to finish the roll including taking a picture of Commodore John Barry outside of Independence Hall. I recently found out that I am a distant relative of his.
Now that I have shot 2 rolls with the Flexaret that came out well, I need to use it more often. And I need to remember how much I’ve liked the Rollei RPX 400 Black and White film.
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