The Common Pencil

Golden light fell through the window. A bowl of freshly cooked oats waited for me in the kitchen, but I really wanted to take this shot. I framed my scene, readied the camera, but it jammed! Confusion. Did I do something wrong? I knew for certain that the film roll was not full. Did my camera just break?

Classic case of an obvious problem that could have been avoided, had I known just a little bit more. After purchasing my mechanical friend, I did a lot of reading about understanding different types of film. In hindsight, googling for ‘analog camera maintenance’ would have been the smarter move.

Simple camera guides for the secondhand market can tell you to look for things like: What is the state of the mirror? Is there any rust or mold? Does everything that should move, move? I was not aware that some mechanical parts needed oiling. Or that there is a thing called ‘light seals’ that needed replacing. Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming the internet for my lack of common sense. I am simply recording what went wrong.

My camera looked perfect when I bought it. Since I had been able to take pictures with it, I had not given maintenance much thought. And now it cannot take pictures anymore. The winding crank thingy is jammed and the mirror is stuck up.

A common problem apparently. Should be easy to fix. I can send my mechanical friend to the other side of the country to have it repaired, but I wanted to try and fix it myself. Starting by unscrewing things and just looking at parts to see how they moved. Trying to understand before touching too much.
So far I managed to fix the light meter. It is responding so smoothly now! I nearly had the mirror working again as well, but something got jammed again. And I lost tension on the self-timer somehow. There are a couple of screws in there that really don’t want to get unscrewed, whatever I try to do, and I fear that I may have to open up the entire body to reach the part that needs unclogging. I was feeling optimistic at first but to be honest, I may not be able to repair this one after all. Unless I stop being afraid of the soldering iron.

Maybe I’ll just let it rest for now. I do have a mirrorless camera to play with that lacks soul in every way. Woo Heleen, why so gloomy? Be grateful for what you have! A camera is only a tool and it is the artist that gives it soul. You’ve been able to shoot with 3 different types of film and learned so much about photography in the process! Things breaking down is no fun but it is the way of the world. There really is nothing to be sad about. Pick yourself up and continue!

Words of wisdom: If you’ve found yourself a mechanical SLR, don’t do what I did. Yes, the world of film is super interesting, but make sure to have your mechanical friend maintained or learn how to do it yourself first. And don’t unscrew anything unless you’re mostly certain about what you’re doing.

With love,
Heleen Charlotte.