A Camera’s Frosty Reception

One thing that re-scanning negatives has reminded me of is that the Yashica A has been a great performer in the cold. The copy I have of this entry-level TLR has been frozen to my hands, probably more often than any other camera I have and has yet to fail.

Yesterday, in an attempt to take advantage of the sun, I bundled up and headed out with some Rollei Superpan loaded. I really quite liked the results I got last week and wanted to bring home a little more of that magic.

I didn’t expose but three frames, when on the fourth, the shutter release button began to stick once depressed. It would release itself a few seconds later, but the thought in my mind was that the shutter was staying open. So I tried again for a couple more frames, and it still stuck.

Concerned that my run of luck was over, I stopped making photos and went home to let the camera warm up. Not wanting to waste the last five frames, I set up a tripod and used the rest on a pair of sleeping cats on our unmade bed (we usually make the bed, but sometimes don’t, much to the cats’ delight).

After developing the roll, it turns out that it was just the shutter release button sticking and not the shutter itself!