My first use of bellows.


Back in 1978 I was 18 years old, had just graduated high school, and received my first SLR camera (graduation gift - thank you, dad).  It was a Russian Zenit camera, part brick and part 35 mm.  It was the start of an intense learning curve on everything photography.  I went through a Minolta phase and, in 1985, settled on my first of a long line of Nikons.  The FE2 that I acquired was magnificent.  I wish I still had that camera today.

Going back to my Minolta phase, I managed to get my hands on a bellows.  I used the 45 mm Rokkor lens with it; the combination gave me an impressive degree of magnification.  I focused manually using the lens' minimum aperture and then set it to its maximum value to increase the depth of field.  With everything being manual I also had to calculate the relative aperture with the bellows fully extended.

I had, at the time, a Metz 402 flash.  It had a lead/zinc battery housed in a separate case.  The flash itself was side-mounted and communicated with the camera using a PC cable.  I could use it off-camera by unclipping it from the base which was attached to the tripod mount on the camera's base.  I remember putting the flash down beside the setup in order to get light on the coin.  The space between lens and subject was less than half an inch; there wasn't much room.

By having the flash emit a maximum burst of light with a known guide number I could move the flash to the correct distance from the subject in order to create a proper exposure.  Since I was using slide film, a staple back in those days, the tolerance for improper lighting was minimal.  However, my calculations were right on as the photograph came out perfect.  The image you see was not cropped at all.

If you study the picture closely you will notice that light comes from only one side and that the angle is almost parallel to the coin surface.  The harsh lighting gave maximum contrast to its diminutive relief.  It is one of my favourite images from that time in my life.

When I purchased my Nikon FE2 I got the 50mm AI micro Nikkor with it as the only lens.  It seems I had caught the bug.  Macro-photography was going to be big.

Thanks for reading.  www.ericspix.com

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