the audition. mamiya 4b. seattle. portra 800.

On the 18th of April, I went to Seattle and used the Nikon FM3a to capture the city. I wrote a blog about it (https://stevenlawrencepictures.com/2023/04/22/people-of-seattle-400tx800-april-18-diafine-44/). I also took the Mamiya 4B, a fixed-lens rangefinder camera. These are the images from that camera.

I brought the camera to give it an opportunity to take some background shots of Seattle. It wants to be in the limelight. It knows my affinity for rangefinders and has visions of displacing the Nikon. The Nikon FM3a does not fear the new camera. It believes no other camera could substitute it for street work.

I wanted the competition to be fair. The camera was allowed on this particular day to practice. To acquaint it with the mood of the streets, the timing, and the frustration that can occur. The next time I took it to Seattle, it would be required to show me what it could do.

The camera did okay. I did not say much to it after looking at these images. I do not want the camera to get overconfident.

It has almost been two weeks since the day these images were created. Yesterday, I revisited Seattle and gave the camera its opportunity to shine in the sun. I mean that, literally. There was a bright sun in the sky, and it was very warm. The Nikon FM3a was left in the camera bag as I captured the first roll on the Mamiya 4B. The camera was loaded with Fujifilm 200 and will not be developed for another week. It was interesting to hear the comments from the Nikon as I used the Mamiya, “that 1/250th shutter speed maximum is ridiculous with this sunshine, especially when mine is 1/4000th of a second”.

I did use the Nikon and shot a roll of Ilford HP5+. I was surprised at how moody the camera was. There was not the usual magic. I shot about 2/3 of the roll and left the city. I will be more careful in the future. Perhaps I should only use one camera at a time and not let the other know.