Three Twits and a fountain..

 I once wrote on here a few years ago that I had a dream to buy a 6/17 panoramic camera like the one Wim Wenders uses. Eventually I found what I was looking for and quickly set about building a collection of panoramic images. The camera I had purchased, although second hand and more than thirty years old I might add, was in an unopened box and in pristine condition.  You may also remember that on its second outing the camera 'blew over'  thanks to  'Calumets own' light and crappy  tripod and strong desert winds (Twit 1).

 Twit 1

A few months later I managed to allow the camera to fall and wedge in between some large jagged rocks (Twit 2). This time the body of the camera was actually bent. So much so that the camera back would no longer close. But with the help of a hammer and a few curse words I managed to get things as square as they could be.

Twit 2

It was sometime before I ventured out with the Pano again, but my love for this taped up monster soon gave way and I found myself in the small town of Amble along the North West coast of the UK. Of course it wasn't long before the third installment. After making a nice long image of a bit of wall and a pole with a green light on the top, I was five feet from the car when the camera, which wasn't attached to the tripod properly, fell to the floor with the words 'ohh you big bastard camera..'  This was by far the worst droppage.  Viewfinder first, smashed, body of camera, cracked. Bellows, ripped. And worst of all, the manual winder had snapped clean off. The camera was now well and truly knackered..

Twit 3

So the camera was confined to a draw. Out of sight, dead, and of no use to anyone. 

A few years went by and I had all but forgotten about the panoramic format. It wasn't until my annual 5/4 camera clean up that my thoughts turned to the 6/17 beast. After all I had just given my large format camera a full service and I had all my tools out. And so for the next four days I got busy with the camera. A few bits of light engineering, some screws, another go with a hammer, a bit of black paint, and wallah, I am back in the panoramic business...