We are slowly getting really impatient: when does retirement finally start?! I know exactly – in one year and five months. But on some days, we are so impatient that we’d love to just lock up the house and leave. From the outside. And give one last wave.
Jan Beenken had invited us to join the photography friends in Bad Wörishofen – on a Thursday. At 11 am. It looks as if everyone except us just has time on a Thursday morning. After much back and forth – and maybe a round of rock-paper-scissors was involved – CP had to work, and so I went alone.
On site, I met Jan at the South German Museum of Photography (Süddeutsches Fotomuseum Bad Wörishofen), where Stefan Hebel welcomed us. The museum was closed that day, which meant we could look at everything in a small, private tour and I made some wonderful discoveries, once again. You really do never stop learning… Stefan then simply gave me two more cameras. One won’t be featured here, perhaps another time… but „Bianca“, as I christened her, will be the star of the show today. The museum a little bit too, but yes, Bianca is the new diva in the house.
After this mini private tour and the new cameras, our large group of photography enthusiasts – „Die Fotofreunde“ – headed out into the countryside to a cosy, traditional Bavarian pub. I had to regretfully decline the obligatory schnapps, as I faced the return journey the same way I came: 250 kilometres of motorway in the fog.
On top of all that, there was also a small – well, almost – secret handover from Jan to me. Let’s just say when I got home, my CP was happy to see me, but he was also pretty pleased about the two large boxes. That, too, is probably a story for another time…
So, Bianca. She is about 100 years old, a beautiful folding camera with an adjustable winder. The wonderful thing is: it came with a roll film cartridge. Thus, Bianca has been promoted from a cabinet queen to a daily-to-go camera.
First, she got some love from me, which she desperately needed after (presumably) decades in a cupboard: lens cleaning, oil on the rails, leather balm for the case… the shutter was still completely okay – even the one-second setting worked (after just a bit of fiddling). And so, in her renewed splendour, she was allowed to come into the darkroom. There, the bellows were properly extended and two films were exposed. Being a bit dim in the bright morning light with too little coffee in my system, I exposed too many frames on one roll – I hadn’t remembered that Bianca has a much larger film gate than a little Rolleiflex – and the second film also had some overlaps. But it’s always like that, isn’t it? You need a bit of time to get to know each other.
After all the stress, Bianca retreated, purring and without any jams, back into her little box. Now she gets to dream about perhaps coming along on the next trip. Seeing the world again at her age!
Süddeutsches Museum:
Bianca:
Scans & Prints:
