journal features

medium format toy camera

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Tokyo, 2008.11.09

As previous noted, I've recently come into possession of an old (54 year old!) Ricohflex Model VII. This, to me, is the ultimate toy camera. I consider it a toy because:

it's got no meter

film advance is so manual that it's possible to have both double exposures and unexposed frames (in fact I've yet to shoot a roll that didn't have both)

it's got light leaks

it's got mold in the lens

the viewfinder's mirror is spotted with rust

the viewfinder's image is reversed

the controls are arcane, and taking a shot requires a great deal of concentration

In other words, I love it.

The latest results are here.

rand()m quote

Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it is passed on to you, out of your own talent and understanding, out of the things you believe in, out of the things and people you love, out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something. The ingredients are there. You are the only one who can put them together into that unique pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success or failure is of less account.

—John Gardner