Spent the past couple hours fighting with my damn Leica. The battery died this morning and when I got home the fight began to get the little round cover off. It’s always been difficult but nothing like this — heat, attempts to turn it open wearing rubber gloves for extra traction, and eventually tapping a jeweler’s screwdriver with a hammer into the soft brass. My thumb is so sore now from attempting to break the cover free that I can’t use it on the spacebar while typing.
It’s moments like this that I just hate machines. I want them to work. Period. And I don’t want to tinker. Pretty unrealistic expectations.
With the Leica out of service I’ll have to turn to the view camera or the Zero Image pinhole camera. Haven’t decided what I’ll do. In the meantime I’ll share the three prints I made last week as part of my ongoing 3 Prints Project.
Our Belgian Sheepdog Junior standing at the door waiting to be let inside. Can’t remember why he’s outside in the driveway or even what he’s looking at. I know there aren’t any dog biscuits or bacon in that direction.
View from the driveway as I head into the garage. When spring arrives and the leaves begin to grow that little shed disappears from view.
An abstract look at our Honda Fit during a morning snow flurry. Not sure what motivated me to make the exposure, just some instinctual reaction to form and texture. Maybe.
Maybe I’ll give the Leica another go. Can’t find the WD40. Seems like a tool that’s inconsistent with a Leica…
It sounds to me like a good time for a relaxing cup of tea.
Years ago, before I started going around on two wheels, I bought a real fixer-upper of a ’53 Willys Utility Truck on a whim, and I mean a REAL fixer-upper. It barely was street legal and, for the few years I owned it, was great fun to take from time to time to the last drive-in movie spot in town (as long as I had passenger to hold the right side door closed).
Anyway, I recall trying to rotate its tires for my first time: I had no trouble with, I think, the passenger’s side, but I exhausted myself and my sailor’s vocabulary on the driver’s side (I was never a sailor, so maybe my vocabulary was deficient). Days or weeks after giving up, I learned that the lugs on the tough side were reverse threaded…
By the way, the contrast in your photo of Junior is compelling: black-haired transfixed dog window-paned and framed in black. Too cool.
A cup of tea was definitely in order. Visited my friend Paul this afternoon and he succeeded in removing the battery cover. The camera is back to work. The cover has a bit of lubricant on it so hopefully it won’t be so hard to remove next time.
Junior is a great subject!
The Flemish name for the breed of Junior is “Groenendaler” 🙂
Indeed! That’s my boy, a Belgian Sheepdog of the Groenendaler persuasion. There are two other branches on that tree — the Malinois, and the Tervuren.
machines, gadgets, devices = blessing & curse. They help keep the cloud of profanity that hangs over every suburban home in business.
I’m pretty sure all dogs go outside so they can look inside.
A blessing and curse is spot on though lately I’m leaning more towards curse.
I think your dog theory is accurate as well. Fine observational skills.
It is great to see your Leica images; also interesting the displays of b&w and colour. Keep up the good work!
Sorry to see the Leica damage, but saw this today online and thought to pass it on to Leica users; perhaps something to look forward to…
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/2297085902/konost-full-frame-digital-rangefinder-in-the-pipeline-for-2016
Wow, that Konost camera looks interesting, and pretty. I like a rangefinder camera for my personal work but it will never live up to my needs on the road to produce my typical blog photos. The Canon G15 is near perfect — small, inexpensive, big apertures for the shallow depth of field I often want, and a long telephoto for the compressed image I want. And it shoots HD video!
I Googled a little, and it looks like there are replacement battery covers with a dime type slot to facilitate removal. I also thought that it would be possible to build a tool for the purpose: for instance, drill two very small holes in the cover, then two matching holes in a spare button or piece of metal, install some pins in the button or metal, so that you can insert the pins in the cover and then twist the button or metal to force the cover open.
Good luck with it Steve.
Mr. Ruby got it off this afternoon with brute force. I guess a couple years younger and no arthritis in the thumb and fingers makes a difference!
I’m going to find one of those slotted covers. Much more functional.
Put the camera for a night in the freezer (ziplock bag inside a tupperware box…). With some luck you can get it off 🙂
Once we got the cover off and inspected closely we found a very small amount of corrosion on the part of the cover that touches the top of the battery well. Almost nothing but enough to make removal difficult.
The freezer trick might work if there is enough expansion and contraction. I’m just glad the battery has been replaced.
Glad you got the cover off…..seems a bit off in terms of ergonomics….but then, it wouldn’t be a Leica? 😉
I think I would have tried a bit of duct tape for “gription”.
The rubber gloves provided enough gription but I think the pain in my thumb and fingers due to my psoriatic arthritis just limited my turning power enough to keep me from turning it open. Paul was able to get it free after a few minutes of struggle.
If my fingers get worse I’ll end up like Clay on Sons of Anarchy and need injections in my joints to keep riding…
I was going to say a pair of locking Vise-Grips and if that didn’t work; a blowtorch and a five pound sledge.
Fortunately it didn’t come to that.
Obviously that troublesome Leica is causing you too much stress. Maybe you need to send it here as part of your stress management…
Nice photos!
The Leica isn’t long out of my reach. It really needs to go in for a clean, lubrication and adjustment but I hate parting with it. Best do it soon though.
Processed another roll of film today but had a bad headache this afternoon so never got back to the darkroom to print.
Just think of what could be happened if you had to fix your Zero Image: a file, a rasp and a saw? 😀
Have fun, the means is not the photograph.
I’m bad with mechanical tools but a nightmare with woodworking tools. Heaven help me if I ever need to repair a wooden camera.