A 15 year old car, 25 year old camera, and 30 year old lens.
The lead image for this post was shot by my newest camera, a Nikon F3 film camera. The F3 was the last professional manual focus camera that Nikon made. My copy comes from 1985. And if only I’d known this was all it took to make Sharka’s interior look all vintage-y, I could have saved a lot of money on rare Japanese parts!
But what fun is that?
And also, I’m getting ahead of myself. This post is actually about the Sazaire Factory Gift Set that was under the Christmas tree with my new-to-me Nikon. So I’m gonna go back to digital photos for a minute…
The Sazaire Factory gift set, Danbo not included.
This set includes a two-piece ignition trim ring, an odometer reset knob, and a small key cover for either the center console or the glove box. All are hand machined. All are like small pieces of jewelry.
I have this set thanks to my buddy Randy, who used to own these years ago and suddenly remembered that they existed. He asked Rod of Tetsuya Garage if these were still available and could be imported to the US. A group buy was organized and ClubRoadster emptied Sazaire Factory of their remaining stock.
The ring glows in the dark.
The ignition ring is two pieces. One for the part that turns with the key and one for the metal surrounding area. The little dot and ring are glow in the dark material. They…. don’t work incredibly well. But it is a cool idea and a nice detail.
The ignition ring adds a nice bit of bright work.
Sazaire Factory ignition cover
The odometer knob matches my gauge cluster perfectly.
This little piece matches my KG Works cluster so nicely that I thought I should put a small red arrow to point it out as the subject of the photo. It is a bit… short. This allows for the distance that the odometer button presses. From the side it looks a little odd, but you never notice when driving.
Sazaire center console key cover.
It’s slightly difficult to see this little guy in the back, but he adds a nice bit of shine to an otherwise black area. It’s all about the details after all.
And now for a couple more film shots!
Smooth idle.
Thoroughly Modern
What do you think of the film shots? Good, bad, crap, wonderful? I personally love how they look. I think I’ll be using my F3 a lot in the future.
To hell with digital. I want you to shoot all the film!
All the film!!! I think it’s coming in my next Amazon order.
What did you use to scan them into the computer?
Costco does it for me when they develop. I get negative scans at around 9 megapixel from them on a disc.
Perfection. Really like the vintage look of the pictures.
Thanks! My film camera will be spending a lot of time in the garage, I think.
This is sick. I’m a big film user as well. You really cannot beat the look. What film are you using?
I would reccomend picking up some Ektar and Portra. Also, if you really get into it, it isn’t that expensive to get a dedicated scanner.
Here are two examples of Portra that I shot of my car…
http://tripulvila.com/images/fourtitude/AudiA3003.jpg
http://tripulvila.com/images/fourtitude/AudiA3004.jpg
Keep it up with the film, I love seeing more car photographers create great images with film.
Thanks! I’ve been shooting Kodak Gold and Fuji Superia. Not anything great, just some basic stuff to put a few rolls through the camera and figure out how to use a center weighted meter. I’m loving the Fuji. Great vintage colors out of it.
I think the pix in this post are Kodak Gold 200.
BTW, I dig your website design. Never seen a site quite like it.
Thanks man! Sadly, I had to change it last night since there wasn’t any content on the front page, it was all images. So I updated it to appease search engines until I figure out something aesthetically pleasing as well as Google pleasing.
I’ve heard awesome things about Kodak Gold 200 actually. I have a friend who swears by it. I haven’t ever used any Fuji print films, only slides, but their colors are amazing. FIlm is definitely a lot of fun. You’ve got to give Portra and Ektar a try sometime. I’ll add you as a contact on Flickr to follow the progression of this project and your photography. Awesome stuff all around man!
Google likes WordPress… a lot!
And you’re not the first to mention Ektar to me. I’ll definitely be picking some up next time I hit the camera store. Or have something else to buy from amazon. Or decide I need more film.
(I’ve also added you on flickr!)