There never was a Leica camera that looked quite like this one supposedly issued to the U-Boat service of the German navy in WWII.  Certainly the very few that ever existed don't look as pristine as this as they have, literally, been through the war.

This camera seems to have the look of a real pre-war Leica II.  It is engraved with "E. Leitz Wetzlar" on the top deck.  The lens cap reads "Leica" and it appears to have a 50mm Elmar f/3.5 lens.  But as well marked and beautiful as it is, and in spite of the silky smooth controls, this is a fantasy that never existed.  This is really a Russian Zorki rangefinder, copied to a very large degree from a Leica II, and produced in huge numbers between the end of WWII and the mid 1950s.

Whoever worked on this camera was able to strip down, repair, paint, engrave, and reassemble what is today a beautiful looking camera.  To a Leica collector it is very easy to tell this is a fake with telltale features including chrome front screws which should be painted black.  The shutter release is without the internal threading for a Leica cable release and the internal rangefinder cam that connects the lens to the rangefinder system is entirely the wrong shape.

So, we know what it is not: what it is - even as a fake - is quite fascinating.  Not only was the craftsmanship on this camera outstanding, but someone knew a great deal about WWII German U-boats.  The camera is supposedly presented at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, where the Kriegsmarinewerft built and launched U-boats.  There is a rear presentation plate to "the brave submarine commander, in grateful recognition."  There is also an engraving indicating that the commander was in charge of the U-boat flotilla "Weddigen", the first Nazi flotilla to be formed in 1935.  The usual German eagle, swastika and "M", supposedly for "Marine", are emblazoned on this little camera.

Other fantasy Leicas have appeared on the market but few of them have the extensive engraving and presentation plaques that have been added here.

Have I put any film though it?  No, and I doubt I will.  As a camera is it more of a collectible than a user as I would hate to blemish the beautiful finish on this interesting "Leica".  Have you ever encountered one of these Russian fakes?  If so, share your experiences here.

Every now and then I like to dig through the mountain of negatives that I have stored in binders on my bookshelf.  These were taken between 1970 when I started taking photos and today, although recently the production of negatives is way down.  I take a few out every now and then to see what I can do with the latest processing tools I have at my disposal.  This image was taken in about 1980 in the northern Saskatchewan town of Uranium City where Jan and were teaching.  This abandoned truck was parked on the side of a hill but had recently been pushed into this position as there were tire tracks visible in the snow.  I am certain the truck didn't get there on its own as there was no engine in the vehicle!

This was shot on Tri-X ASA 400 film in my trusty old Spotmatic II.  You had to be careful about how old the weather was as film has a tendency of shattering inside the camera if you try to advance the film on very cold days - of which there were many just south of 60 degrees north.  In extreme conditions we used to tape "Hot Shot" heating packs to the back of the camera so things continued to work. 

Uranium City and area was a playground for photographers who liked old, abandoned things.  As the only way to move equipment in and out of the area was by air or barge, it was too expensive to move salvaged material down south once people were done with it.  That lead to old equipment, old vehicles, old mines and even old town sites just left where they were last used and this truck is an example of what was left behind.

I still pull out my film cameras from time to time.  There is still a particular fell to using a simpler film camera and the results, while requiring a little more work to processes, are still of

We came across this abandoned and flooded building at Manitou Lake, Saskatchewan, about an hour and a half south east of Saskatoon.  Manitou Lake is a terminal lake and extremely salty.  This building started life in 1923 as the "Martin's Tourist Hotel".  In1962 the Wardley Brine Shrimp Co. converted it into a shrimp packing factory which it operated for a number of years.  It has long been abandoned but was kept in relatively good nick with a coat of paint every now and then.  The recent flooding at the lake has caused the water level to rise to the point that it is effecting the structure of the building and I doubt if it will last much longer.  Image taken with my trusty old iPhone 3GS and processed "in camera."