** click photos for larger versions

Getting a little worried now. Still cant find a roll from my trip. It’s always the one you’re most looking forward to developing that you loose or ruin.
Anyway…
I quite like the first shot. As everyone started to cross the road, i took a quick look behind me and saw this girl standing there whilst everyone moved past. I guessed the distance and got a quick shot before she disappeared into the crowd. It’s out of focus as you can probably tell, but without trying to sound too “wanky”,  i think it reflects the moment for me.

Here are some more shots from Italy. I’m just trying to scan as much as humanly possible before me scanner packs it in. The quality isnt brilliant, but after an overseas trip i have no money left for a fancy new negative scanner!
Taken with Neopan400 and Tri-x400 (some EI300).. Im really liking Neopan at the moment. Maybe ive just fluked a development time/method that gives the results i want, but i cant seem to work tri-x out at the moment. Oh, all were developed in Rodinal 1+50, but i think i managed to keep the grain down (even with bad scans).
**click to view full size

Ok i’ve just about finished developing my film from the holidays so i’ll start posting shots up here.
The title of this post says it all really. I kind if got on a mission to take photos of cars/bikes/etc one day and this is what i came up with.
*you might want to click on them to see the bigger version.

No matter what rangefinder you use, theres a good chance that you’ll need to have the rangefinder calibrated one time or another. This is no big deal if you’re aware that the problem can happen (often as a result of bumping or dropping the camera)
Some cameras will need adjustment more than others, and the Voigtlander Bessa range seem to be more prone to rangefinder misalignment than others (this can be said for the Epson RD aswell, which is basically a digital Bessa).
Alot of older cameras have a pretty simple adjustment process, and theres quite alot of info on the net documenting the process. However the Bessa range are still pretty new, and at first it seems as though the whole adjustment process is a guarded secret. Naturaly, many Bessa owners werent too keen on paying a full service fee for a 5 minute RF alignment, so they begun to search for ways to do it themselves.

Theres alot of info floating around the internet on this subject, but i noticed they either didint come with pictures, or the descriptions were missing simple steps. I’ve tried to bring all of the relevant info together in one place and write some instructions based off my own personal experience. This process was completed on a Bessa R3, however i’m told most of the Bessa range is very similar.
*Disclaimer. It’s recommended you ignore these instructions and get your Bessa calibrated by a registered Voigtlander technician if :

• You dont have experience pulling apart and fixing cameras,
• You’re not confident with small tools,
• You’re clumsy,
• You dont take responsibility for your own actions and will want to blame your broken camera on me!

1. First of all, to calibrate the rangefinder you wont necessarily need to take the entire top plate off. It is possible to remove part of the hot shoe that will give you access to the adjustment screws. This can be a tricky process particularly if you dont want to scratch the black pain on your hot shoe. You’ll need a small flat head screwdriver or a toothpick to wedge and pop/lift up the cover plate illustrated in the photo below.

When you lift the edge up enough, the cover will pop up and you can slide it out in the direction of the arrow above. It’s important to have patience with this step, as it’s really easy to get frustrated and be a little too forceful. You dont want to break or scratch anything.
2. When you get the cover off, you’ll see the bracket held on with 4 screws shows in the image below

Taking these screws off should be pretty simple, they werent on too tight with my camera. You’ll need a size #00 phillips head screwdriver for this.
3. Now that you have the bracket off you’ll be able to access the adjustment screws. I could only get a photo of one, but i’ve show where the others are using blue circles. The screws are numbered from 1 to 3 for reference purposes.

You’ll need a long flat head screwdriver to adjust these screws. Also, you may need to remove any “loctite” or similar residue around the screws that prevent you from turning them.
The adjustment process
Below is a description of what each screw does. Quite often you’ll only need to adjust one of these so dont freak out.

Screw 1: Rangefinder patch focus adjustment
Screw 2: Horizontal (left/right) adjustment for Infinity focus
Screw 3: Vertical (up/down) adjustment
*There is a 4th screw also, but to access it you need to remove the entire top plate. It calibrates the base length but you’ll probably need to adjust it. (pray you dont)

Now we can start calibration. Once your camera is adjusted at infinity focus, everything should be fine for close focus aswell, but check just incase. My camera needed horizontal adjustment, yours might need vertical (or both). Find a place to set your camera up on a tripod where you have clear vision to something you can focus on for infinity (make sure its atleast 5 blocks away, its better to be safe than sorry). Adjusting horizontal alignment wont affect vertical alignment, so dont worry.

RF Patch Focus: If you’re rangefinder patch isnt sharp than you’ll need to calibrate it also. Doing this first will make the other steps easier. Also, i’ve heard that adjusting this screw can sometimes move the horizontal alignment aswell, keep that in mind. Turn screw#1 to calibrate this. You may also want to do this with the Vertical alignment leaving the infinity and close focus adjustments to last. It’s not absolutely necessary though.
Horizontal: Set lens focus to infinity (use a lens you know is accurate), and then point the rf patch at an object in the distance. Adjust screw #2 which will move the patch left to right and stop when its properly aligned. Be very delicate and precise as its quite sensitive.
Vertical: With the lens still focused at infinity, adjust screw#3 which moves the patch up and down. It’s a larger screw and isnt as deep as the others so it might be easier to get to. Once again be very precise.
Close Focus: I’ve never done this adjustment before, so cant speak from experience. Every time i’ve adjusted at infinity the close focus has been fine. To calibrate close focus you’ll need to remove the top plate and access another screw which isnt covered in this guide. However i’ve been told that very small adjustments can be made using screw#1. You should be adjusting your lens at 1m for close focus calibration.

After you’ve adjusted all the screws for calibration you can put something on them like “loctite” that will help prevent misalignment in the future. To reassemble everything you just reverse the disassembly process.
Have fun

Only have a couple shots to put up for the moment.
I shot a roll of TriX400 at 800iso. Normally thats fine, but i developed it in Rodinal, and the grain wasnt very nice in some of the shots, which isnt helped by my scanner which is on its last legs. It was the first roll i’d taken in a while and got a few shots that i like.
Actually, there was a whole series that i really liked, but i wont be uploading them here just yet.
The shots below were taken at my Dad’s graduation show, he just finished a Masters of Art. I’m very proud of him as he’s never actually studied at uni before, but did so well they’re asked him back to do honours. I’ll make another post later on detailing his work a little more.
These were just a few random shots taken on the night. Nothing amazing, but i have to get into the swing of things again.

Well i finally got around to developing the first roll from my new Bessa today.. What a bloody disaster.
For the first time ever i had trouble loading the film onto the spools. It kept getting stuck, and would crease and bunch up.. I started to loose patience so decided to chop the film randomly in half and load the rest of the negatives on the other spool. By that time i was thinking about chucking the whole film out. I wasnt in the best of moods. But i eventually stopped having a sook and put the Fujifilm Acros in Rodinal at 1+50 for 14 minutes. It turned out ok i think, not perfect though. Temperature was about 16 degrees which probably didnt help.

I went back to the Opera House again. I know its touristy, but i think its one of the more interesting structures in Sydney. I really likes it’s angles and curves and scale. Its very unique. I’m going to keep going back there trying to shoot some non touristy compositions.
Oh, and i had the 35mm on for all (except the last) of these shots.

Here’s a few more taken in the city:

Now this last shot was taken with a Russian Jupiter 8, 50mm f/2 lens from 1962. I only took a couple test shots with it, but wow im impressed. I’m really surprised how nice it looks wide open at f/2. It has really nice bokeh and bit of a natural “glow”. I think it’ll take a little while to get used to it, as it can render some areas a little bit too grey. But i’m going to keep practicing to get the best out of it. It’s by far the most unique looking lens i have. Oh and it cost me nothing which is extra nice
I’ll be using it with some colour film also.

I only recently purchased a Bessa R3A but it’s already one of my favourite cameras.
For those who arent familiar with this model, here is a bit of info about it.
The Bessa R3A is a 35mm film rangefinder camera made by Cosina Voigtlander in Japan. It features both aperture priority and full manual modes (as opposed to the R3M which lacks aperture priority). The camera has a Leica M mount meaning it can use a multitude of Leica and other brand M mount lenses. It can also use the Leica Thread Mount (M39) lenses via an adapter. The camera is constructed of magnesium alloy meaning that it feels very tough whilst only weighing around 400g. The camera has manually selectable frame lines in the viewfinder of 40/50/75/90 (of use full VF for 35mm), with a very sharp and contrasty rangefinder patch. The viewfinder on these cameras are one of its biggest features. It are incredibly bright and a pleasure to use. An added bonus is that the VF has 1x magnification, so everything is life size and using the camera with both eyes open is extremely easy.
The film advance is very smooth and solid, and the shutter button fires off the electronic shutter with just a light touch. Some people complain that the shutter noise is loud with these (well louder than some of the Leica’s). I cant comment on this as i’ve never used a Leia M for an extended period of time, but i can say the R3A’s shutter is quieter than any DSLR, SLR, and any of the many fixed lens rangefinders i have.
When taking photos in aperture priority mode the VF shows up the shutter speed thats currently selected. If theres not enough light, or too much light, the speed on the extreme end will flash to warn you. In manual mode it displays both your selected shutter speed and the recommended shutter speed at once (one flashes). This is such a simple system and very easy to get used too. You also get a AE lock activated by a separate button right under your thumb, plus exposure compensation for +/-2 stops via 1/2 stop increments. Shutter speeds are B to 1/2000 sec. (which is what i missed on my older rangefinders with only 1/1000 sec), plus iso 25-3200 by 1/3 steps. All pretty standard these days, but better than what i’ve become used to lately.
I’ve only just started shooting with it but can already tell this is a camera designed for the enthusiast. Everything feels solid, comfortable, and simple to use. Plus the price is only a fraction of a similar spec’d Leica (well, how many can you find with 1:1 VF and Av mode??), whilst being able to take all of its lenses and more.
As you can tell i really like this camera. It combines portability, quality, lens/accessory options, and simplicity in a very affordable package. A perfect introduction into the world of M mount rangefinders and lenses. I’m just worried that i’ve started travelling down a path my wallet will begin to hate me for!

Below are a couple pictures i took of it this afternoon. The second one was purely for fun, dont worry, im not trying to take it that serious :p
Camera has the Ultron 35mm f/1.7, side grip, and soft release attached.

You can read some more info here
Plus, i have a hard to find scanned user manual for the R3A/R2A in my Downloads section