Snowscapes at Pemaquid: Koni-Omega Rapid 200
Looking back at a beautiful winter visit to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, where I try my hand at shooting with a “new" camera.
Back in early February, after a snowstorm dropped a beautiful 4 inches of powder across the region, I made a quick run down the coast to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. The sky was a vibrant shade of blue, and with scarily a breath of wind it was actually quite pleasurable along the coastline. It seemed that I was the first person to visit the lighthouse, for there were no footprints anywhere across the property. It’s always nice to see untouched snow like this, and it is really nice for photography!
It promised to be an exciting photoshoot, not just because of the snow-covered landscape, but because I had a new camera with me. A little over a year ago I came across a used Koni-Omega Rapid 200 while browsing in a camera store. The Rapid 200 is a medium format rangefinder camera from the 1970’s, and was actually designed for press photographers. There were a few different versions of this camera, but the model I purchased has interchangeable lenses, not something that was not all too common for rangefinders.
It was certainly a unique looking camera, and it immediately piqued my interest. After a quick bit of research on the camera, I went ahead and purchased it with every intention of taking it out into the field. Yet its large size and weight led me to continuously choose one of my other cameras when packing my gear in preparation for a photoshoot. Before leaving for this excursion, I decided it was time to run a roll of film in it and see what the camera was capable of.
The landscape was definitely picture perfect. After capturing a few images up near the lighthouse, I decided to get a bit adventurous and climb down the bluff to capture the view from further away. Thankfully the rocks were not too slick, so the biggest challenge was simply finding where the cracks between the ledges were under the fresh layer of snow.
The view from the rocks below the eastern side of the lighthouse is quite stunning, no matter the occasion. I played around with a couple of different takes on this scene, but after I received the film back and scanned it, I liked the composition of this image the best.
I did run into what I thought was an issue with the camera before taking these first couple of images. After loading a roll of Kodak Gold 200 into the film chamber, I found myself unable to fire the shutter. I proceeded to run through some potential issue scenarios, from a locked shutter button to an uncocked shutter, and everything in-between with no success. A quick look around on the internet proved futile in finding an answer too. As the minutes were passing, I was getting a bit frustrated at the situation. Finally, after removing a dark slide that protects the film during changes to the removable film holder, the shutter instantly became fully functional. Just like that, problem solved. Lesson learned; I should have known to completely read the manual for the camera before leaving the house this morning. Lesson learned.
Despite those few maddening minutes, I enjoyed using this camera. Framing with a rangefinder camera such as this can be hit or miss depending on the camera. The viewfinder on the Rapid 200 is nice and bright, but I was a still a little concerned that the framing might not be very precise. After the results from the first roll of film, I now feel pretty confident that the viewfinder is fairly accurate with its superimposed frame lines. The images on the negatives are exactly as I remembered framing them.
I also explored the shoreline to the west of the lighthouse, where many photographers and tourists alike capture the iconic reflection images that can be found across the internet and social media of Pemaquid Point. There was to be no reflections on this day. Instead, I was interested in capturing the shadows and textures of the fresh snow. I found a few different compositions that piqued my interest, especially this scene with the ledge poking out of the snow.
I went home quite excited to see what I had captured, and I wasn’t disappointed when the film returned from the lab. Seeing the final images after waiting a few weeks for the film to return is always a fun process, as it gives you a fresh perspective on the photographs. I’m definitely excited to take this camera back out into the field and give it some more run!
Let me know which image is your favorite in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
Beautiful photos