Early on in our relationship my wife and I made an agreement regarding holidays, especially the “Hallmark”, made up, BS holidays like Valentine’s Day. We decided that if we wanted to celebrate; to go to a special restaurant, to get a gift for the other person, we wouldn’t wait for the prescribed day. It could be a random Tuesday, just because I’m thinking of you. The only day we try to celebrate together is our wedding anniversary, but more often than not we are in different cities and a phone call is all we get.
At the end of last year, we were in Atlanta working and decided to meet my brother and sister in law in New York City the day after Christmas. Anytime is a good time to visit New York, but I especially enjoy the city around the holidays, even though there was no snow this year. When we arrived at the hotel there was a package waiting for me at the front desk. My wife was all smiles so I knew that it was from her.
As soon as we closed the door to our room I ripped into the box.
Holy crap, a near-perfect Widelux F8!
A trip to B&H for film was our first stop after unpacking our bags. I bought a couple of rolls each of Ektar and Portra 800. The weather in New York was cold but sunny and clear. Perfect for testing out my new Widelux.
The plan was to spend a few days in the city before flying to Buffalo where we would rent a car and drive into Canada to spend some time with friends at their farmhouse in Niagara on the Lake. I would have plenty of photo opportunities.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way. On the second roll of Ektar, the camera started skipping frames. It seemed to be an intermittent thing, but it got worse as the week went on. This beautiful camera had some serious mechanical problems and would have to be returned.
When I got back to Seattle, I developed and scanned the Widelux rolls. The problems with the camera were very apparent. Bad spacing, skipped and overlapped frames. Fortunately, not all of the images were ruined.
Here are a few surviving images from my week with the Widelux.
You have to try a selfie or two, right?
Obviously, I did not master the camera in two rolls, but I had fun. The swing lens adds such a different look and feel from that of a camera like the Xpan.
I have the most amazing wife and this was one of the best gifts I’ve ever received, but I’m not sure I’m going to replace it.
At least not right away.
