Hawai’i is just about my favourite place on the planet, hard to explain, but it’s quite wonderful. The Americans have done a fairly good job looking after it for the planet in recent years.

This bag is a real gem, I can’t believe I’m still using it after decades. It’s very functional, with four pockets/spaces for pens, cameras, paper and I can actually fit a 13-inch Macbook Pro in too, as well as the Contax G and three lenses. Or a Leica M, or Q2, etc. Beautifully made, lovely soft leather. Sadly, Goldpfeil bit the dust some years ago and is now just a name brand stuck onto some leather goods not made in Germany and not related to the original. I loved my bag so much that I actually bought a second bag and it’s sat here all this time, I’ve never even taken the padding material out.

I suppose that someone else should own it. If you’re an actual Contax lover and bag lover and want to buy it, get in touch.

Papadum the Chihuahua makes a subject during a manual focus test of the lens wide open.

I wanted to remember some of the camera shops that have gone that I used, mostly good and great, but for one…

Fieldgrass and Gale, Wandsworth

I bought a beautiful Nikon 180mm from them years ago and possibly an 85mm too, but they were run by a man who repeatedly fails at this, Peter Walnes, who is well-known in the industry for not paying his bills.

Fieldgrass and Gale went under years and years ago but Mr Walnes was still advertising in the Amateur Photographer until they suspended his advertising after further issues with not paying clients after selling their equipment, etc.

Tim Patrick’s letter, published in AP, issue dated 22 May 2021, notes how his court judgements against him have been ignored, AP intervened on the basis that he agreed to pay his debts by Easter 2021, which he failed to do.

If you come across Peter Walnes or an eBayer with the handle “arri888” then do avoid. The fraudulent activity seems to continue even now with complaints coming in September 2022 (source: https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/313459-selling-m-lenses/page/4/#comment-4520128)

Sigh. Such a shame.

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MXV, Uckfield, East Sussex

These guys were great. I must have bought stacks of kit from them, a Nikon D1X, various lenses, my 1st Contax G2, a Fuji GX680III, and they never let me down.

I gather that the stock value of film photography gear dropped like a stone from which they never recovered and finally closed around September 2009.

Sadly I also heard that Paul Beaumont took his own life soon after. A thoroughly tragic end to an excellent fellow who ran a great service. RIP Paul.

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Kingsley Photographic, Tottenham Court Road

Great window display, great staff. Used to buy Contax bits from them along with film and usual consumables.

Rents and costs went through the roof, internet sellers destroyed the margins and sadly Kingsley closed in February 2011.

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12:33 AM

#INPROGRESS: New photo story. #documentaryphotography #photojournalism

11:12 PM

#INPROGRESS: New photo story. #documentaryphotography #photojournalism

1:38 PM

#CONTAX167MT: another camera restored to active duty using the simple tools of a penknife and a glass fibre pencil. I dumped a stack of films into @khrome_hamburg and they have a beautiful collection of film cameras which inspired me to get my rest and gear and either make this work or give up. Small, light, simple and all worth it to experience the beauty of Carl Zeiss lenses. #contax #yashica #carlzeiss #japan #filmphotography #analoguephotography #analogphotography #slr #167mt

10:25 PM

#NEWMODELARMY: epic crowd dragged NMA back on stage for three encores, including this directed at the UK Government… #vengeance #gig #hamburg #markthalle

12:49 AM

#AUTUMN: #Hamburg is quite beautiful, instead of the many parks we have in London, the entire city is lined with trees. The parkland at #PlantenUnBlomen is particularly well-kept, the Japanese garden only augmenting it rather than being a highlight. The (largest in Germany) open-air ice rink should be coming soon, and then there’s a bit of a fight to turn it back into a giant #rollerskate park from April to September, as the new surface isn’t skate-friendly… #Germany #park #leicapower #summilux

11:29 AM

#ORIGAMI: in my modest collection of Origami books that I’ve been gathering since I was seven, is this practical guide from 1980 which includes instructions for embroidering initials, making other table accessories with napkins, children’s party folds and a handy stain removal chart. If I want to learn something new, I have to find either a children’s book or an old one. #napkin #napkinfolding