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  • Through Someones Vintage Eyes – Moscow Russia & Villages

    This is the second to last of the series taken by our mystery photographer. Only one box remains for our exploration through their eyes. Today’s lot is mostly Moscow! As with the rest of the series, I can’t be sure exactly when they were taken, but am working off clues. The biggest clue is a stamp on the Agfacolour Transparencies box suggesting development in 1965. I think that checks out looking at the cars – maybe a viewer can identify better based on landmarking and developments?

    Above leading photo labelled ‘Sunbathing At Polish Customs’

    One of the many statues near Leningrad
    Russian Countryside
    Typical Wooden House Near Moscow
    Log house near Moscow
    Red Square and Moscow Museum
    Gvm Dept Store Red Square

    A lot of this series slides were labelled on the slide frame, so I have where possible written that out word for word as it was shown. Looks like the photographer and group took a bit of a road trip in some Commer Vans – the FC model if I am not mistaken. British made (on that side of the planet – also assembled by Todd Motors in NZ), there looks like no official mass importation happened to Russia – so perhaps the group had a European road trip over in them? – wish I had more of those slides!

    Moscow Starlins Grave Headstone
    St Basils Red Square
    Geoffrey & Me
    Moscow University
    Russian Domed Church
    St Basils Russian Orthodox Church
    Moscow Kremlin Walls
    Graves of Prominent Russians
    Red Square line
    Moscow Outside Lenins Tomb

    I may be mistaken, but I am pretty sure the man above is who I referred to as the ‘photographer’ in my Hong Kong series. Now, in the Russian series, he is in front multiple times so there is a unknown ‘second’ photographer! It’s funny how roughly 60 years on the dress style is not so indifferent to today in many shots. That said – I never see young men (boys) in hats like these ones anymore. A shame – they are cool.

    Moscow – Young Pioneers in Red Square
    The Kremlin
    The Stare Armoury in the Kremlin. Most of the traffic is trucks
    St Basils from across Moskva River
    Hotel and Hotel Ukraine
    Kremlin Walls

    Many of the landmarks in this era are the same tourism landmarks of today … perhaps not exactly today – its not the easiest place to travel to from the west with war and conflict both there and elsewhere as I write. But no doubt one day things will have changed and boarders will again be open. As with all places in conflict, from a purely visual architectural perspective, one hopes landmarks of the old survive into tomorrow.

    [unreadable writing] Tomb
    Spacecraft Sputnik
    Moscow University
    Bolshoi Theatre
    Moscow Lenins Tomb and Kremlin
    Lenins Tomb St Basils
    Woman Worker
    Our Guide in White

    It’s a moral and ethical challenge sharing photos of places in conflict. My perspective is I am sharing a snapshot of the time where the image came from. It’s offered from a position of historic viewing and void of political standing or stance. Is that the right thing? – I can’t say. Images and history should always be shared regardless of sides of a fence or standing. A reasonable volume of people in these photos are likely departed. What that they believed, felt and experienced are all just parts of our imagination as we look at smiles and otherwise towards the camera. My highlighted man clearly had a great trip anyway!

    Entering Lenins Tomb
    Members of the Young Pioneers waiting to see Lenin
    Red Square Gvm Dept Store
    Que to enter Red Square
    Outside Intourist Hotel

    As we near a close to this series, I pull out my two remaining favourites. I loved the headline image of the group resting with their vans, but also the two below. For the first one (labelled Moscow), I can’t quite work out how the roading system operates. Clearly there are driving lanes, but it appears there is a large concrete patch in the middle. Is it car parking? It’s perhaps just bizarre as in my part of the world, it would either be kerbed and grassed, marked as a carpark, or more likely, have a building sitting on it! I bet it’s not just wide open concrete 60 years on today!

    And finishing with another favourite. Its not a perfect focus, as is the case with several images in this lot which seem to be set to infinity not close focus – but its still a good one!

    I’ll call it ‘The Gang’ – so they know the photographer? Maybe. Older lady walking past and some joker just sitting in the sidecar of the motorbike as the rider is ??? How old does that phone box already look compared to its surrounds! Very new looking window frame on the shop. I google translated the giant many word sign. Do you know what it came back with? – Food! – Its 18 Russian characters long. I feel like Google is simplifying it for me. Food.

    It is titled in slide ‘Near Leningrad Local Bakershop’

    And thats all for today. Farewell old time Russia.

    All images scanned on the Kaiser Baas ‘Photometer Touch’ and fine edited in Darktable.

  • The ‘Lucky 400’ Pentax SV

    What do you get when you cross a ‘iffy’ Pentax SV and a box of Lucky 400 Film?… mostly photos, albeit semi dirty ones. I recently purchased a Pentax SV in ‘kind of’ working condition. The film counter is faulty, the self timer is faulty, the curtains were faulty, the lens front ring was half on crooked and seized (now fixed enough). It’s nearly as working as I need it to be. I don’t really care less for a self timer (though I may try to repair it some time). A film counter is really handy, so I do want to have a go at that some time. Dry running ok, I threw in another box of Lucky 400. I had shot the last box trying my non assisted Sunny 16 skills at 200asa. Being I didn’t trust this camera yet (or my skills), I used my phone app for a meter as the SV is another of several meter less SLRs in the collection (it won’t fail if it never had one!).

    Yellow filter mounted, I took this to be 1 stop’s worth and shot at 200asa. Early on in the roll I noticed 1/60th and under was not closing the curtain. Into the dark bag, out comes the film, off comes the bottom cover and I made some adjustments to the shutter curtain tensions. By ear, they are not bad now and no issues with the curtains. Film back in, wound in dark with cap on up to where I left off, and away we went again. Focus is easy, viewfinder bright and controls pretty much exactly where they are for 80% of all SLR’s of this era.

    The Lucky 400… Now I had done some reading before purchasing this basement bottom dollar film. It seems that quality control is not always known to be of Kodak standard. Dust, blotches and marks. I didn’t notice it so much on my other roll, but this one was a different story. Almost all the frames have what might be described as ‘black hail’ raining through the images. In part I like the charm of it. In part it makes the couple of ok shots in the roll not really usable, without post digital work. I have one more roll of it left int he fridge. I guess we will see if I am ‘Lucky’ whether it’s a clean roll or not. But again – its about the cheapest I can get anywhere, so not terrible for mucking around.

    I think thats all the words on this one for today!…

    Camera: Pentax SV (Roughly 1963)

    Film: Lucky 400 – Shot at 200ASA with Yellow filter

    Digital scan on Sony Nex 5N and converted to positive in Darktable

  • Mutukāroa / Hamlins Hill Regional Park

    One can spend a volume of a lifetime living in a city and still not seeing all it has to offer. Mutukāroa ‘was’ one such place for me until recently. Placed right next to our main state highway, on the fringes of the CBD suburbs, I pass this place multiple times a week. Until recently I always wondered if it had a track and access, or was (as a few places are) locked off to the general Public. Then we went for an intentional drive and parked up at the entrance!

    Travelling past it at 100kph/60mph, one does not realise it’s actually a fair sized park with an active farm of livestock grazing on its rolling grass hills. It also has some bush track and spaces for local bird watching. As well as the current attractions, it is a local site of a pre-European Māori settlement. One can see remains of habitation in the form of pits, terraces and middens. Being a high point of the area, this is not surprising – good view of approaching visitors and close to multiple water sources for fishing up some kai moana (seafood).

    Interestingly (for some), in the 1960’s the hill was scoped for demolition to use to reclaim areas of the local Manukau Harbour. The local community petitioned and managed to save it. Both a win for its historical cultural significance and today’s recreation. Its actually out cities largest non-volcanic hill at 65m tall. The largest inner city is Mount Eden at 196m and out in the harbour Rangitoto at 260m – so Hamlins Hill (its other name from the Western side) is only impressive because it’s non volcanic.

    Not the only hidden place I have no memory of visiting. I will find more another day!

    Images shot on the old Canon EOS 300D

  • Pukekohe Visit

    My last post farewelling the raceway suggested that Pukekohe was built around it. Thats a false statement – simply my personal links to the are were tied to that memory. Pukekohe itself has far richer (thats a pun) history than a track for cars to boom around.

    Originally called Pukekohekohe, the area was a settlement of local indigenous Maori, (Ngāti Tamaoho, Ngāti Te Ata) and featured super fertile lands for crops. In roughly the 1860’s during internal wars in NZ, it saw land confiscation from Maori, and by 1880 it was a new European settlement town of Pukekohe – again, with its focus on market gardens and growing crops for wider Auckland.

    Farming and agriculture continued to grow and boom in the area… so all was well on the plants side of things, but as suggested above, culturally it was not New Zealand’s brightest era. Maori and European relations were less than ideal and it was an era of racial segregation, with a seperate by-laws and a Maori school in the 1950’s. Things were not just bicultural of course – the area also saw a lot of success with Indian and Chinese immigrants in the early 1920’s (they had even less rights legally at this time in NZ history). We also saw the reactionary ‘The White New Zealand League’ set up due to some of these immigrants… I don’t think I need to go into detail the cultural angle that group took…

    So yeah… a troubled era, not unique to this physical town.

    Hmmm… Not an overly positive story to spin into my photos is it. So when did it improve for non-western people?… nothing like this is time specific. Things happen in small steps over lengths of time. In 1963 Rai Wai Ching contested a seat for parliament to highlight the racism in the area. He failed, but this did spark change. Non-white bans in cinemas and hotels began to disappear. The segregated school closed in 1964 – Once a movement starts, it continues. But wow, 1963 was only 60 years ago. We still have members of the community who remember that era, that time, that place where we had so much division.

    Current day about 70% identify as European, 20% Maori, 12% Asian and 9% Pacific (my math is not incorrect – you can identify as multi ethnicity in NZ). Thats reasonably level with NZ wide (bar lower level Asian demographic currently). I don’t live in the area, so cannot comment to the general feel if one is part of a minority. Some articles suggest though the world has changed, the past lingers… we do carry it with us.

    Though still a Hub of fertile ground and crops for the masses, urban life has well and truely moved in and is sprawling. Housing areas are popping up like crazy with new areas of housing opportunity for our growing population. As was the case with the racetrack the other day – Change is always afoot, and though the past is never gone, with change comes the opportunity for renewal and a path that moves us to the next era.

    All photos taken on my antiquated Canon EOS 300D – the 6MP beast.

  • Once Was Pukekohe Raceway

    A recent weekend took my small follower and I to Pukekohe. Armed with my ‘vintage’ Canon EOS 300D we ventured to what was known as Pukekohe Raceway. At the time of visiting, I thought the place looked a little run down from memory… my observations were founded in that the actual raceway (opened in 1963) closed in 2023, bar a couple of later events, the last being D1NZ (drifting) giving the track a final farewell.

    As well as the ‘run down’ feeling, the visit was awash of memories – Supercar Races, Open Class, V8’s, Drifting, NZ Grand Prix… some just relic history in NZ Motorsport today. The noise gone, but almost still present in the ghost of the breeze passing through on a otherwise hot day.

    It’s still in a stage of decommission as it turns into a race horse venue. Gone are the pit buildings, the over bridge and armco barriers. Remnants of race life still visible in a non locked shed and the demolishing area.

    So much of historical Pukekohe township (to me a visitor) is built around the shadow of its motorsport history – it has a Possum Bourne Retirement Village! (One of our great Rally Drivers now gone). Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon, Paul Radisich – all big names of their time who tested vehicles to the limit there. The area feels a little odd without it frankly. But times always change. The owners decided to repurpose to thoroughbred ventures and we have a nice world class car facility/track an hour down the road from there in Hampton Downs. Also, digitally the track has been scanned for future e-racing with iRacing – which was cool to read about.

    So a belated farewell from me Pukekohe Raceway. Thanks for the memories!