My finger slams down on the shutter release as I whip my Pentax K1000 across the apex of Turn 5 at Sebring. A hardy ka-thunk reverberates through the camera’s body as I keep my eye trained on a bright-red GT40 roaring around the circuit.
Just as the Ford passes and blasts off toward Turn7, a…
I still use my Yashica TL Electro I bought in 1973.I'm amazed how many people comment on it when they see it still in use.Film will never go out of style.
When I moved four years ago I never got 'round to unpacking my Nikon FtN bodies and lenses. I'm now inspired to do so! Lots of mileage on them at Bridgehampton, Lime Rock, Thompson Speedway old and new, Pocono, Summit Point, Watkins Glen, Bryar Motosport and Mosport, back when those now running as vintage racers were there for the first time. The gear is old and I'm alot older, and probably have 20+ years of digital camera work under my belt, but there is still the draw of the analog film quality that makes the color qualities, motion and film warmth unique. Thanks for reminding me why I got into the photo and motoring hobbies to begin with!
In reply to sir_mike :
I understand the feeling. It often seems like people go out of their way to comment on my camera when I use it.
Another response I've gotten a few times:
"Wow, that looks just like a film camera"
That's because it is.
In reply to Richard Richer :
That's awesome, I'm glad to hear this story inspired you to break out the Nikon again!
If my Pentax could talk, I'd love to hear more about its previous owners.
And why not take pictures of vintage cars with a camera that's even older than the car. My No. 1 Panoram Kodak Camera was made between 1900 and 1926 -- and it still does the job. 
This 1957 Porsche 356 is in the foreground of a panoramic picture taken with a Krasnogorsk FT-2 swing-lens camera (1958-65). A standard 36 exposure roll of 35mm film (rewound into the camera's custom cassettes) takes 12 exposures (24x110).
This story is right in my wheelhouse. One of the best things about using manual, mechanical film cameras is the quality of the lenses made for them. I have a Pentax SP1000, predecessor of the author's K1000, a full-size all-metal precision instrument which uses a screw-on lens mount known as the M-42 mount. The quality, quantity, diversity, and value of Pentax M-42 lenses is amazing. My other toy is a Nikon F2, which like the SP1000 was made in 1974. It's more brawny and heavy, meant for photojournalists and Indiana Jones types as opposed to hobbyists. Also fully manual and fully mechanical like the SP1000, with even more diverse and brilliant lenses available. Neither body cost me more than $150 in good condition, and lenses are usually under $75 if I shop carefully.
The other big choice is the film. Shooting cars outdoors in daylight, we can use slow, fine-grained films in the ASA 50-100 range to get closer to the fine resolution and subtle tones seen in car photos from the '30s onward, many of which were shot with big medium-format press cameras.
Thank you for publishing this piece!
In reply to rcampbell :
Those are super cool. A swing-lens/panorama camera like those are on my "buy eventually" list.
In reply to cwfritz :
You are very welcome. This piece was a lot of fun to write.
It's really cool to see some hobby I picked up a few years ago turn into a work assignment.
It's good to consider the conditions when you're out taking pictures of cars. Several years ago I was at the VSCC Lakeland Trials -- on the side of a cold, rainy hill. I had a Canon DSLR with a fast zoom lens. Very automatic, and totally dependent on batteries.
Everything froze up, so I was forced to shoot with my back-up...an Olympus C310Z point-and-shoot. (I was wishing I had my Exakta, but I was traveling light.)
But the Olympus came through with some nice images. 
I learned with a Brownie that was antique at the time. In high school used a Rolliflex that you looked in the top of and everything was backwards. In the military I bought a Minalta X700 with a couple lenses including a 70-210 zoom. Took photos from the helicopter I flew on and have photos of bald eagles soaring the mountains in Alaska, dog sled racing, the running of the Olympic Torch before the olympics in Korea in 1988. Have a box of photos stored away. I still even have a couple rolls of 35mm film that needs processing. Inherted dad's Minalta X370 that is broken but came with some extra lenses different than what I had. Haven't transitioned to a digital SLR, use the phone camera nowadays.
Yeah, Colin totally captured using film in his piece–the nostaglia, the wonder, etc.
We have a house full of film cameras with several going back a hundred years. I keep saying that we need to have a film day....
Photography has been a long time pastime for me. Problem is that I have trouble ever selling my old cameras but don't seem to have the same reluctance at acquiring new ones.
I still have my first underwater 35 mm camera, a Calypso, made to order for Jacques Cousteau (he soon sold the rights to the Japanese and they came out with an almost identical camera they called the Nikonos) and I have a couple of my first digital cameras that I never use but can't bring myself to get rid of.
Of course I also seem to have the same sort of reluctance to part with cars that I have owned for years and no longer use, much or at all.
I've been threatening to sell my Nikomat and several Nikon lenses for years, and even took all the pictures for the ads. These are all from the late'60's - early '70's. But it went no further, and the're still here. Can you still get PX13 batteries?
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