I’ve had the first layout copy of Volume 2 back to go through and it’s looking well. Added to which, I was sorting through some books I’d bought as research material for what would have been the next book, and one unexpectedly provided some additional info for Vol.2 that I managed to condense into a graph/info chart, which has been inserted as a near full page image and looks great. “Dead chuffed” as we say in Yorkshire.
I’ve had another visit to Key Publishing and re-raided the archives for suitable images to accompany my more recent shots. I increasingly had a suspicion this would need to be done, but it’s paid off as aside from having the material I pulled out three years ago rescanned, I found some more that I’m sure weren’t there last time and I like better. So I’m now awaiting the scanned images appearing to sort through, decide the final selections, and re-edit my captions where needed.
We’re getting there!
Now, the title to this blog entry has been caused by a car, a camera and a calculation error, which I’ll explain in reverse order.
If you recall from a few months ago, I exposed my BAS problem; “bag acquisition syndrome”, too many camera gadget bags basically. I’ve been a good boy and started to address the problem, two bags sold online, one new one ordered, another going, possibly two. Here, frustration number one was calculation error , which was the new bag! You look at dimensions on websites (sadly not many UK outlets for this brand, so no pre-purchase browse) look at the photos and think you can get what you want to carry into a bag, especially as the next size up looks massive. WRONG! That extra 3Lt of volume and just 5cm in length, equates to space for your camera body with lens fitted and room for 2 more lenses, which is what you wanted, as opposed to just one extra lens and a chunk of waste space. So that bag is off back to the Netherlands and the larger replacement is coming. Pictures to follow, because I’ve gone a little brighter than normal 🙂
Frustration two is a bit of a mystery and to be honest, I’m a mite gutted. Around this time last year, I’d repaired a Nikon FG-20 and did a quick flip to get an FG instead, which accompanied me on the Analog Wonderland photo walk around Sheffield.
This year’s event is next weekend, and after a bit of a delay, then looking like it had sold out, my photographer mate who wandered around the photography show with me back in March (who, after considerable debate, is now the proud owner of a Nikon Z8) and myself are joining in this year’s walk. Hence, with a week to go, I pulled the Nikon FG out of the relevant gadget bag, fitted new batteries and…..nada. Dead as the proverbial dodo. Checked batteries, work fine in another camera, checked in the FG battery compartment; Oh!
Mysteriously, the bottom of the battery compartment has disintegrated, most of it dropped on the floor when I tipped the camera up. With nothing to secure it, the battery contact doesn’t apply pressure to the battery pack and hence, one inoperative camera. After popping the bottom off the FG, it’s not the simple fix it might be either, the screws for the battery compartment as a whole unit, are accessed only after lengthy dismantling of the rest of the internals. So despite being able to get the requisite part for $10 (used) from eBay in the US, it’s now on eBay in the UK as spares or repair. Consequently, this year’s photo walk will be done using either an Olympus OM40, or the latest Yashica FX-D I’ve renovated, providing I get the scans back of the first roll of film I’ve run through it before the event.
Final frustration, the very nice and slightly expensive car I bought last year. I have what may be called an “engineer’s ear”, one that can hear rattles, knocking, mains hum and other mechanical or electrical sounds. The very quiet and occasional rattle I picked up on the car, I put down to probably one of the heat shields for the exhaust corroding on the attachment points, as they do, due to road salt. However, the car went for a service last week and they called back once to say the service in general was fine, with a couple of advisories, that I elected to have done. Then a while later, and sounding rather sheepish, they said they’d had a fault code pop up, and I needed a new turbo! My rattle was actually the turbo waste gate, as the actuator is duff. So four figures for the unit itself and the same again to rip a large number of parts off the car to actually fit it, and return said parts from whence they came. I am now awaiting the verdict of the warranty company and their independent assessor.
Shutter therapy definitely needed!