Nikkormat FT2 photos

Having fun takes its toll

2007-04-12T19:53:00.000+02:00

This is what happens when you are two years old and spend all day outside in the winter air.

The future´s so bright...

2007-04-12T19:48:00.000+02:00

...she´s gotta wear shades. Grandpa wishes his were as cool.

Common goal

2007-04-12T19:41:00.000+02:00

My sister and my daughter drawing together.

Buying a used camera in European cities

2006-11-27T22:12:00.000+01:00

People have different rituals when they go to new cities. I try to find a store that sells second hand cameras.

Stavanger, Norway
I don´t travel all that much. In fact, I usually stay in Stavanger. The best place for finding old stuff, is Stavanger foto. It´s enough to just walk by the windows, everything they have is exposed there. They know their business and the prices are OK. I bought my Nikkormat camera there, trading it for my Nikon F50 camera and a Tamron lens. Can´t say I´ve ever regretted that. Their website is www.stavangerfoto.no/, but I couldn´t find a list of their items there. They are however listed on www.foto.no/bruktmarked.

Bergen, Norway
The second largest city of Norway has a lot of soul, a lot of rain and perhaps the best second hand camera shop in the country. Situated next to the famous Fløibanen, which transports tourists and citizens up a very steep mountain, the Antonio Stasi shop is worth a stop. Their site is www.antoniostasi.com/. I bought a Konica Auto S2 there, for a reasonable price. The owner knows a lot about photo, and the prices are fair. This summer I bought a good looking Nikon F3, for 1800 NOK. Plus, the shop is a meeting place for old school photographers from Bergen, and you will surely come across one or two of them if you drop by. Highly recommended!

Oslo, Norway
What can I say? Our capital is short on this kind of shops. The best one is probably Lømorks (www.lomorks.no), but don´t expect to bump into spectacular objects. Oslo Kameraservice (www.kameraservice.no) only updates their list of second hand items every Tuesday, and it´s only downloadable as a spreadsheet. I tried to buy an Nikon F2 there once. Just to make sure it was working properly, I attached a lens, and noticed there was no light metering. The salesman had to make several phone calls to colleagues who knew more than him, and came back 20 minutes later explaining that the meter was dead. Had I known that, I would never have considered it in the first place. I don´t think I will ever buy anything there.

Copenhagen, Denmark
There are two essential stores for second hand cameras: Photografica and Foto C. The first one (www.photografica.com) is just next to the popular shopping street Strøget. It has so much to offer you´ll risk wandering aimlessly around there for hours. Rangefinders, large and medium format, classic Nikons and Leicas, film and lenses for all purposes. I just bought a Nikon F there for 1000 DKK, with a one year guarentee. Foto C (www.fotoc.dk is also worth visiting, although not as interesting as Photografica.

Paris, France
Ah, the City of Light and Roland Garros. Much has been said about Paris´ famous "camera street" Boulevard de Beaumarchais. When I came there for the first time this year, I was disappointed. Maybe it was related to my walking the entire city to get there, but I didn´t find much I liked. The shops were small and crowded, and the prices way higher than I have seen anywhere else. The street is fine if you´re looking for very rare stuff, or if you´re simply looking to do some serious window shopping.

Pidgeon Norwegian

2006-08-06T21:42:00.000+02:00

I visited my sister in Bergen last winter. The first morning, my daughter (1 year at the time) started screaming at about 6. After unsuccessfully trying to calm her down for an hour, I decided to take her outside to let the other sleep a bit more. It was snowy in Bergen at the time (which is rare), and the doves of the town had gathered by Lille Lungårdsvann. These two had a long talk.

Tommy Haas, French Open 2006

2006-08-01T21:53:00.000+02:00

Tommy Haas punches a forehand volley.

Reaching out

2006-06-25T21:50:00.000+02:00

Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia dives for a backhand volley at the French Open championships 2006.

A view from the top

2006-06-09T00:39:00.000+02:00

Julien Benneteau returns a shot from Marcos Baghdatis at this year's French Open. Taken from the top of the Court 1, probably the finest tennis arena in the world (if you're a spectator, that is).

Breathing in

2006-06-09T00:35:00.000+02:00

This big nose rests in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris. It's a park you shouldn't miss, if you're ever in Paris. It's a ten minute walk from the Notre Dame cathedral, south of the river.

Serving practice

2006-06-09T00:27:00.000+02:00

Just back from Paris, where most of the days were spent at the Roland Garros tennis arena. Dominik Hrbaty tests his serve before one of his matches. 180 KPH never looked as easy.

Trees saying goodnight

2006-03-29T13:57:00.000+02:00

Winter evening in Stavanger.

Ready to evacuate

2006-03-15T18:58:00.000+01:00

The Norwegian oil museum is situated in Stavanger, and is worth a visit.

Hillevåg sunset

2006-03-07T19:20:00.000+01:00

Late winter evening in Stavanger.

Misty morning

2006-03-02T14:37:00.000+01:00

Trains leaving Stavanger railway station.

Bird flu blues

2006-02-26T19:49:00.000+01:00

No need for blakc and white film when the weather is like this. Taken in Stavanger, at Mosvannet just south of the city centre.

Bedside conversation

2006-02-15T13:10:00.000+01:00

"Teeth. You'll get used to it."

Lady in red

2006-02-02T20:42:00.000+01:00

She has clothes in other colours too, but none that matches the sofa better.

Still waters

2006-01-21T12:40:00.000+01:00

Soft light at sunset.

What are you looking at?

2006-01-15T21:10:00.000+01:00

Exploring the world, floor level.

Pale sun

2006-01-11T11:19:00.000+01:00

Looking towards the west from Averøy.

Sweet Saturday

2006-01-08T11:24:00.000+01:00

Soda and ice cream completes the Saturday trip to town.

The last glimpse of sun

2006-01-08T11:18:00.000+01:00

The sun still exists! A great relief after a wet summer.

Favourite Norwegian summer activities, part II

2005-12-13T21:50:00.000+01:00

Staring endlessly at the sea.

Favourite Norwegian summer activities, part I

2005-12-01T21:31:00.000+01:00

Long walks in deserted areas. (Just south of Narvik, for those interested)

Roses

2005-11-20T10:15:00.000+01:00

Roses blocking the view from Averøy.

Averøy

2005-11-06T19:10:00.000+01:00

I'm not really a sunset photographer, but I like shadows. From Averøy, just south of Kristiansund,, Norway. Taken in August 2005.

Bud

2005-10-27T12:58:00.000+02:00

Bud is a small coastal community on the north west coast of Norway. Not the warmest of summer places, as shown in thes picture from August 2005.

Sunny Norway

2005-10-20T10:55:00.000+02:00

This was as good as it got during my summer holiday. 5 minutes after the shot was taken, the rain came. And didn't leave for two weeks.

The fish has gone

2005-10-18T10:07:00.000+02:00

They used to dry fish on these things, and export it to southern Europe. Picture taken at Averøy, on the north west coast of Norway.

Life on a bench

2005-10-14T10:06:00.000+02:00

Enjoying the October sun in one of Paris' many parks.

Roger Federer serving in Rome

2005-10-11T15:56:00.000+02:00

Roger Federer is the world's best tennis player, but he wasn't when this photo was taken. Captured at the Italian Open 2003, Federer (near camera) is serving to Paul-Henri Mathieu of France. Federer won the match, and later that summer he won his first of three successive Wimbledon titles.

When in Rome, be sure to visit the Foro Italico stadium. It's beautiful, even when no tennis is played. Not quite the Colosseum or Pantheon, but pretty close.

Summer evening in Oslo

2005-10-01T17:31:00.000+02:00

The sun sets in Oslo, late August 2004.

Sister in green

2005-09-25T17:33:00.000+02:00

My sister all in green.

No more candy

2005-09-24T10:07:00.000+02:00

Closing time in the Parisian woods. October 2003.

Me and my Nikkormat

2005-09-22T21:41:00.000+02:00

Here's a secret: I'm not all that interested in cameras. I know the basics that go into getting a picture on film, but I'm lost when things get complicated.

But I've always liked photography, so when I had some extra money eight years ago, I bought a Nikon F50 camera (Aka N50). I shot some rolls, and made a simple discovery: It stunk. It was more like an advanced point and shoot, with little thinking left to the photographer. Which is me. And I like to think before I do stuff.

Several years later I bought my Nikon Coolpix 800, my first and only digital camera (which I still love). But I still wanted a proper SLR camera, to learn the basics of photography. A local shop had the Nikkormat FT2 for sale, and I traded it for my F50.

That deal is getting better year by year. I have never been let down by my Nikkormat. The meter needs a battery, other than that it's all manual. I have taken it with me everywhere (beaches of France, Rome, the Norwegian mountains), and it's always ready to shoot.

The thing I like the most is that you have to do pretty much everything. There is a light meter (it also works without it), but beyond that you're on your own: sharpness, aperture, proper film loading etc is up to you.

The result is much more satisfying when you deserve a lot of the credit. And thank God this camera was made way before the age of portrait, close-up, silhouette and action modes built in. As Aretha Franklin so wisely sung: Think!

The Nikkormats were Nikon's cheaper SLRs in the 1970s. But the camera uses the same lenses as the classic (and may I add, much more expensive) models F and F2.

Nikkormats are among the cheapest manual Nikon SLRs available, and getting a used one shouldn't be too hard. If you want to learn more about the Nikkormat, the best place to start is this site.

Manual focus camera, accepts lenses with "rabbit ears". I have 50mm, 28mm and 105 mm lenses. Nikkormat FT2 was produced in the mid-1970s.
ASA (ISO) range: 12-1600
Shutter speeds: 1/1000 second - B (shutter stays open as long as you press it)
Exposure metering (light): Centre-weighted. You see 92% of the actual picture when looking through the viewfinder.
Depth of field: By pressing the button on the top right side of the body, you see how much is out of focus with your current settings. After a while you get a pretty good idea just by judging your aperture and shutter settings.
Mirror lock-up: Handy for situations when you want to reduce mirror vibration. Situated to the left of the lens. (the long gray button on the picture to the right)

My Nikkormat in all its dusted glory.

Relaxing days

2005-09-22T15:54:00.000+02:00

Everything set for spending quality time in the sun.

Paris in the evening

2005-09-21T00:25:00.000+02:00

Don't you just love the autumn in Paris? Taken in October 2003, the sun has just set behind the Eiffel Tower, partly visible to the right.

Italian Open 2003

2005-09-21T00:12:00.000+02:00

Gustavo Kuerten (near end) reaches for a drop shot by Gaston Gaudio. Shot on a very hot day at the Foro Italico in May 2003, with a 50 mm f/2 from the stands. Gaudio went on to win the match, which was great fun.