Perpetual Calendar Day!
I’ve been playing with a new flash, coupled with a wireless transmitter to enable me to take it off-camera. I’ve only just started down this route and have plenty to learn, but the first results are encouraging.
Heuer Bund, shot with the camera set to manual (1/60s and f11) and the flash fired remotely on ETTL…
I’ve been neglecting my watches… here’s the most Rolex of Rolex, then.
A history stretching back more than a thousand years, mentioned in the Domesday Book, and famous for the psychiatric hospital that used to occupy much of the Porters Park housing development (so famous, in fact, that “Shenley” became a generic term). Otherwise known as home!
Anyway, I wanted to try out the Olympus so it was just a quick walk in the bitter cold this morning to take some test shots.
I never quite got on with my Canon G11 as a walkaround camera, mainly because I’ve been brought up on traditional viewfinders. Anyway, after giving the matter my usual nanosecond of thought I decided to enter the world of Micro Four Thirds and the Olympus OM-D EM-5 is the result. I’m delighted with it, and it’s first major outing will be the forthcoming trip to Blancpain’s factory in Biel, Switzerland.
It’s very excited about it, too 🙂
I decided recently that – as much as I like the DB10 I ordered for my Autavia GMT – I’d also like something a little more substantial. I’d tried one on with a Stach strap but they’re not cheap and seem like a bit of a palava to order, so I set about looking for something similar but “off the peg” and not too costly. In the end I had a gander at the Crown & Buckle straps from the US, and ordered the one in the photo below together with a couple of others.
I really like the result, and at around £30 per strap delivered I reckon they’re great value if you want the chunky vintage look without paying an arm and a leg to achieve it.
I tend to wear my Chronomaster with navy blue suits, and it really does look very special. The blue of the dial is dark and incredibly deep, and knowing it’s powered by an El Primero movement just makes it even better. It’s the only blue-dialled Chronomaster I’ve ever seen, actually.
Mind you, the view from the back’s not too shabby either…
Well, I’ve been mulling over strap choices for the Bundeswehr, which when I bought it was on a Sinn bund strap (with the pad) and looking pretty authentic as a consequence. I found the pad to be a little too much to carry off, though, and tried it on the strap alone for a while. It still wasn’t singing to me, and after a couple of suggestions were made on TZ-UK I ended up buying an olive green Zulu (style) from Crown & Buckle. I’ve never had an olive Zulu/NATO although I’ve wanted to try one for a while, and the moment I put it on the watch I knew that it was the perfect match. I like nylon straps at the best of times, but I absolutely LOVE this combination.
Is that you can forget the watches that you really love. I’ve had quite a few new pieces arriving over the last couple of months, but someone posted a shot of a Sea Dweller earlier and I happened to stumble across it as I was having my morning surf (no, that’s not a euphemism). Anyway, I was soon retrieving the Pelicase from it’s cubby-hole and putting my Triple 6 on in place of the Tuna that’s been glued to my wrist for a while.
As the new camera arrived this morning, I thought “why not”…
I’ve made a bit of a fool of myself lately, with a flipping spree that went along the lines of Monster – Tuna – Monster – Tuna – Monster – Tuna – Tuna. Well, that’s not quite right because the final Tuna is staying, and that’s because I eventually followed my heart and went vintage again. This one’s a 7549-7010 from 1978 and it’s absolutely amazing!
It was actually the first of Seiko’s shrouded divers, designed by Ikuo Tokunaga (Tokunaga-san was the chief designer of Seiko’s Professional Diver series) but what little information is archived away in the (no longer available) Tokunaga Watch Museum. However, it can still be accessed thanks to the amazing Internet Archive Wayback Machine, from which the following has been “rescued”:
The first professional quartz diver’s watch model of 300m saturation diving specification in Japan. The movement is (the) 7549 caliber which has 5 years battery life. There are 17 new technologies, such as L shaped glass gasket structure, glass screw ring fixing structure, twin side shield crown structure, special elastic strap made from polyurethane rubber same as 600m professional diver’s watch.
The interesting thing in that passage for me is the reference to Seiko’s pioneering L-shaped glass gasket, which is – still – the reason that Seiko’s professional/saturation divers avoid the need for a Helium Escape Valve (HEV) which you’ll find on pretty much all the the “oppositions” watches. Anyway, I can’t begin to describe how lovely it is, but here’s a few quick shots to show off the really nice lume on the dial. Apologies too, but it’s a very reflective crystal and requires more time and attention than I could give it right now.
