On a few photowalks around Kitsilano in Vancouver BC with my first roll of Fomapan Classic 100. All pictures shot with older, non-AI Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens.
Developed in Ilford Ilfosol3 for 5 minutes at 20°C and scanned with a cheap film scanner. Color has been removed and some levels adjusted slightly.
Gate to the Northwest Passage
Here at this impressive 4.6m (15ft) art installation sculpture by Alan Chung Hung (built in 1980) I walked around appreciating how the profile changes as you view it from different angles. The rusting weathered steel boasts some great textures and patina. Without a battery for the FM I metered using a phone app and shot handheld usually 1/125
Museum of Vancouver
The Museum of Vancouver was rehoused in this funky building in 1968. As I walked up the street I noticed a stormy backdrop over the city with light getting through to the building. The ramp curves help frame the picture a bit as well I think.
False Creek – Burrard and Granville Bridges
Vancouver really does have great looking bridges. Down at the public boat launch you can look down False Creek. Maybe too washed out, I may like the landscape version of this better but this one has some tension.
Seaforth Armoury
This Canadian Forces LAV III or Light Infantry Vehicle sits at busy Burrard Street in front of the Seaforth Armoury. With a 50mm lens I needed to back up to the curb with a sidewalk and bike path in between. Head on a swivel. You can really make out some of the soft grain in the white building behind. The lighting and perhaps a cheap scanner make that front tire look Photoshopped but it’s not.
Wharf Light
I liked this shot even though there appears to be glare and light leaks. At the edge of the public boat launch dock in frosty temperatures I remember feeling a bit nervous and perhaps gripping the camera a bit firmer than normal.
Took me a while to both get through a roll of 36 and also to narrow down to just five pictures. Happy with the results and will definitely use Fomapan 100 again.
The Super-Takumar 50mm f1:1.4 and Mighty Ohm Geiger kit The yellowing of the lens caused by the radioactive decay.
Last week marked the ten year anniversary of the Japanese earthquake and resulting tsunami that caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
In the years following that tragic event, flotsam began arriving on the Pacific West Coast. Volunteers making great effort to return personal items back to family and loved ones in Japan.
Models showed the ocean currents and their possible nuclear contamination as it crossed the Pacific Ocean.
My interest in sensors and environmental monitoring led me to the relatively inexpensive Mighty Ohm Geiger Counter kit. A fun open-source microcontroller-based Geiger counter kit you solder together yourself.
Years ago I began collecting vintage film cameras, still occasionally shooting and developing my own B&W film today. Ebay was a great source for these antique objects of optical and mechanical precision, which were practically given away in the early days of the digital camera’s rise. Some film cameras are still sought after for collectibility and some manual focus film lenses got a new life with the use of adapters on digital cameras.
While I had an interest in detecting any increased environmental radioactivity from the event as a citizen scientist, my main motivation was testing old film camera equipment.
One of my favourite Ebay film camera purchases that I still use today is the Asahi Pentax Spotmatic SP. I got it as a “kit” with a large assortment accessories and quality lenses. At nearly 60 years old, these Super-Takumar screw thread M42 mount lenses have such a precise feeling. The range of prime lenses in this purchase included: Wide angle 28mm f3.5, Zoom 135mm f2, and Fast 50mm f1.4.
Small yet surprisingly hefty, the only way I can describe the focus dial is like the volume knob on an expensive stereo. Smooth resistance. The aperture dial clicks into each stop without wiggle. Lens covers are friction-fit without mechanical fasteners, hoods and cases, straps all immaculate condition and with such tight tolerances. I need a thesaurus for additional words for “precise”.
From this camera, and the 50mm f1:1.4 specifically, I created one of my personal favourite pictures of all time.
I have however heard stories of some lenses being radioactive and also that some cameras may have been looted from nuclear contaminated sites such as Chernobyl. In the late ’90s my camera of choice was a lomo smena 8m. Used mainly backpacking, there is really no lighter fully manual 35mm camera.
There are plenty of forums, articles, and Youtube vids, listing/discussing radioactive lenses. Thoriated glass was used for it’s optical properties perhaps before the effects of prolonged exposure to radiation were fully understood. While many dismiss the risks associated with owning or using this radioactive equipment, I’ll leave it for the reader to make their own informed decisions. A comical radiation dose chart from XKCD.com
I’ll admit, until I had a source of beta or gamma radiation, my geiger counter was essentially a really great random number generator. Blip… blip….blip. blip
My radiation detector is capable of detecting beta and gamma radiation but alpha radiation can not detected. A bit more reading about Thorium232 tells me that it actually decays emitting alpha radiation though.
Hang on, what’s going on?
Turns out the decay chain releases a “cascade” of fun alpha, beta, and gamma particles. The latter saturating the Geiger-Mueller tube sensor.
From the serial monitor getting close had the following readings: CPS, 18, CPM, 1080, uSv/hr, 6.15, FAST
Though detectable only close to the source, it’s hard to read these kind of numbers and say I want to go out and hold this up to my face for half a day.
And keep it the house with my family for years to come? Nope. Topes lose, Topes lose.
I wouldn’t even consider selling this lens at this point, even to someone who fully acknowledges the risks. Because while they might accept it, the logistics people, delivery drivers, shippers or anyone in between didn’t agree to that.
Question is, where and how do you dispose of this hazardous, gorgeous, and “precise” material?
UPDATE: I’m now in touch with the Historic Artefact Recovery Program (HARP) Operated by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). The HARP provides technical advice, assistance, identification and management of radioactive artefacts found on public and private properties across Canada. Where necessary, the artefacts are transported to a licensed long-term storage facility located at CNL’s Chalk River Laboratories in Chalk River, Ontario.
