Free running at Kanheri caves

 

Cognac Conversations

Yashica Minister D

Yashica Minister D is a 35mm rangefinder camera which was built around 1964; an advanced version of Yashica Minister III which was built in 1963. A rangefinder camera is used to taking extremely sharp images. It rungs on a range-finding mechanism, which is embedded into the camera. The rangefinder measures the exact distance of the subject from the camera. A value, which is then fed onto the focus ring to take an impeccably focused image. It is different from an SLR camera as it comes with a fixed lens and doesn't have the mirror to reflect the same image as seen by the lens onto the viewfinder, as is the case with SLRs. The parallax error cased by this, has to be either corrected manually or in better rangefinders (like the one we are talking about) the viewfinder self corrects for parallax. 

The focus can be set from 2.6ft (0.8m) to infinity. In case the environment gets too dark to use the rangefinder, the focus ring is very reliable and has clear graduations. However, this camera should not be used for taking macro shots. 

Specifications:

1. Yashinon 45mm f2.8 lens with and angle of view of 56 degrees. The lens mount accept 46mm screw-in accessories and 48 mm push on lens hoods.
2. Shutter speed - B, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500 seconds. The shutter can be set at M or X synch. A self-timer with 8 seconds delay is provided and the lever is placed at the bottom of the lens barrel. In case of using the self-timer, please shift your shutter lever to X synch.
3. A PC socket is provided on the front left bottom of the camera for connecting external flash.
4. The aperture ranges from f16 to f2.8.
5. It features an uncoupled CdS exposure meter which runs on a 625A battery.
6. The viewfinder self corrects for parallax. 

How to use: 

To load the film, a small lever with O-P written on it is provided at the base of the camera. To open, push the lever from P to O and while at O, push it inwards and the flap will open. On the flap's inside, a chart with ASA and its corresponding DIN value is given. Compose your frame. Set your aperture and shutter speed. In this camera, both the aperture and shutter rings are coupled together, so when you move the aperture ring, the shutter ring moves in accordance. However, a separate aperture ring is there (the last ring from the mount), which you can further use to alter your aperture settings. Its numbers coincide with the ones on the exposure meter. Look through the viewfinder on your subject and press the red button (rangefinder button), to the left of the viewfinder, to activate your exposure meter. You will see two vaguely overlapping images. Move your focus ring to make them exactly overlap. And CLICK! 

The works - Rewind crank, flash mount, exposure read-out, shutter release and film advance lever

Yashinon 45mm lens. Clearly visible focusing ring and LVS ring right of it

Thats the Copal SVL shutter - highly reliable and simple in operation

Style Swap With Attic: Getting Behind the Scene

My Camera Went Strolling

The other day my old camera decided to go out and see the world around, it had been stashed away in a cupboard for quite some time. Looks like this Yashica Minister D had a lot of fun hanging out with some vintage stuff.   

The Forgotten Portugal in Mumbai

Traversing the busy lanes of Girgaun in the heart of the city, I took a slight detour to one of the narrow gullies, not knowing where it leads to and I was in for a very pleasant surprise. What unfolded before my eyes was something unlike Mumbai – far away from the reaches of a metropolis and deep rooted in the thick of it. Khotachiwadi is a heritage village in south Mumbai, around which the city has grown to its present magnificence. Though it appears to be a misfit to the cosmopolitan countenance of the megalopolis, it is a testimony to the generous ability of Mumbai to give its people the liberty to choose and shape their own place and environment. 

This 19^th century settlement was founded by Mr. Khot, after whom it is named, who was the landlord who leased these plots to the early settlers in the area. It was first inhabited by the city’s east-Indian Christians who are believed to have worked for the East India Company and hence got the name. Most of these people had a mix of Indian and Portuguese origins, as a result of which, Khotachiwadi looks like a forgotten piece of Portugal with its quaint old houses, trellised balconies and latticed windows. In the recent past, many Gujarati and Marwari families have also moved into the area.

It’s a labyrinth of small narrow lanes wandering off the main road into the belly of the city. Once you enter it feels like a different world – so much away from the hustle and bustle of fast-paced city life and completely not invaded by traffic, which seems a utopian wish in a city like Mumbai. The houses are made of wood, with a large open front verandah, a back courtyard and an external staircase to access the top bedroom. Earlier, there used to be 65 of these houses and the number has now reduced to only 28, as old buildings are being pulled down to make way for new skyscrapers to accommodate the ever swelling population of the city. 

Particularly, the charming architecture of the village has won the attention of many urban heritage conservation initiatives. Most of the people are attracted to its distinctive low-rise, high-density landscape showcasing a variety of individual homes, chawls and apartment buildings in bright colours that reveal Indo-Portuguese flourishes, port-town styles off the western coast and modernist decor touches. But it is indeed limited to talk of the place only in terms of its architectural and historical uniqueness. It is also the intimate involvement of the residents in times of emergencies that makes the place so special. As of the residents, Shirley, puts it firmly that “I have been living here for the past 40 years and what keeps me attached to this place is the generosity and warmheartedness of the people. In times of need, we are there for each other.” 

There every house has an engaging tale to tell of its existence and of the generations of families who have lived in this neighborhood  The community is passionately involved in its present and future as for them the place is stretched between communitarian nostalgia and the aspirations of its younger generations. One has to run through the history lessons of the city in order to understand the significance and the status Khotachiwadi holds within the metropolis of Mumbai.  The area comprises most of the layers of social and cultural changes that have transformed the face of the city through the last five centuries. It’s lanes, family names, architectural forms, social, cultural and culinary traditions continue to perpetuate the customs and habits from days that have long gone. Tracing the history of the place and of its people requires approaching it from different perspectives. It’s like catching a glimpse of the evolution of an incrementally built city, generation after generation.