Bill Smith's Photography

 Been almost a month now since I left Oakville and I'm finally getting around to going through my last roll  I shot there as a resident. I chose to roll with my Leica IIIf rangefinder and my last roll of Lomo Metropolis 400, an interesting combination. Metropolis 400 is heavy on the desaturated colour and in some ways intentional.  Living in North Toronto now, Oakville has become a bit of a hazy memory. I missed the focus a wee bit on my old house 246 Cairncroft Road but in some way it represents what your memory sees. I made the right call with Metropolis 400, granted if I did this series right, I should have used my Leica M3, but that was in storage.  Camera: Leica IIIf Red Dial, 50 F3.5 Elmar lens.  Film: Lomography Metropolis 400. Processed at Burlington Camera. 

 My last adventures with Scewmount Barnack Leicas didn't end well, on the few occasions I tried my brother's IIIf and IIIg, I botched the loading and got 36 exposures on one frame. I was quite content to just shoot with my M3 and M4-2, even though I wanted to get a IIIg because Alex got dad's from the estate.  Logic has no place shooting with a Barnack Leica, if the cliche film photography slows you down, working with a III series body is an exercise in zen. First you have deal with bottom loading, wind the film advance before adjusting shutter speed and be careful where you point your camea as bright sunlight can incinerate a rubberized silk shutter cloth instantly.  That said, Joan at Burlington Camera had this red dial Leica IIIf from the mid 1950s with a pre war Elmar 50 F3.5 lens, on the used shelf, I saw it, handled the camera, and put it back. In a fit of camera GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) a few weeks later I came back in and bought the camera. I wonder if Joan...