photo from week 357 - Smena 1

This self portrait used an exposure of about 1 second.

photo from week 357 - Smena 1

A detail from the disued magistrates' court in Chesterfield.

photo from week 357 - Smena 1

As part of "Red Oktober", which celebrates cameras from the Eastern Bloc, myself and three comrades took a trip to Chesterfield, where this disused court house could easily have come out of the USSR.

Week 357 - Smena 1

The Smena 1 is the first of a long series of simple but reliable cameras made in the USSR between the 1950s and the 1990s. I loaded it with expired Orwo NP55 black and white film.

photo from week 356 - Zeiss Ikon Ikomatic A

The film is showing its age here, the graffiti was quite vivid, but the colours are quite muted in this photo.

photo from week 356 - Zeiss Ikon Ikomatic A

This now disused school is where my grandfather was a pupil 100 years ago, during WW1

photo from week 356 - Zeiss Ikon Ikomatic A

This camera doesn't have a "B" setting, but the shutter is faulty, and when in the flash position it stays open while the release is pressed, this allowed me to take this indoor photo with an exposure of approximately 1 second.