Rolling Around with a Rolleiflex

There’s something extra special about going out with just a single roll of Ilford HP5+ in a Rolleiflex–the possibilities abound regarding who I might meet, what I will see.

This week I took a drive north toward Greeley Colorado with no real destination except perhaps one antique shop I like to frequent, only to find out it’s no longer in business. But all along the way I looked for photo subjects. And when you’re looking for things to photograph with a loaded camera in hand, you find things to photograph.

Here are some of the photos from that roll inside a Rolleiflex 2.8C.

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These first two I made because I was attracted by the old “Color Portraits” sign above a row of shops in Greeley. I met Carl England who is a painter who maintains the buildings and will be shortly touching up the paint on the sign. I asked him to pose and made his portrait.

In that alley where I photographed Carl there were sneakers on wires, always a favorite subject of mine to photograph. I enjoy how, even in this age of high-technology, people are still tying their shoelaces together and throwing sneakers and shoes up onto overhead wires.

Driving back from Greeley, I passed through the tiny rural town of Gilcrest and made this photograph of the town’s liquor store and car/truck wash with a magical cloud floating above.

The next morning, I stopped by Key Camera in Longmont Colorado to chat with Dave Feely about a Leica that possibly needs a repair, and asked him to pose for my Rolleiflex. He was quite the appropriate subject as he used to work for Rolleiflex in Denver and knows the camera inside and out. He’s the go-to repair person in Colorado for film cameras.

That afternoon, I met my buddy Clark for a slice at Rosalee’s in Longmont, and saw the big American flag over his right shoulder and knew it would make for a good photograph. Exposing the film at 1/25 at f2.8 because it was dark in that area near the back of the restaurant, I knew I would have to hold still and that focus depth would be extremely shallow.

Also on this roll is a portrait I made the day before the ride to Greeley of my friend Tom who I met at the Niwot Tavern.

All in all, a good selection of photographs from a single roll of 120 film.

I posted them in my Rolleiflexers gallery, which if you haven’t visited in a while, take a look.

If you want to meet people while out photographing, take a Rolleiflex. Its unique shape makes it great for attracting attention and striking up conversations before making peoples’ portraits.