South Park Neighborhood, Seattle, Washington (Sea 09)

Seattle's South Park district is a compact neighborhood tucked between the west side of the Duwamish Waterway and the bluffs that rise steeply to Highland Park. The main thoroughfare running north-south is 14th Avenue South. Several Boeing factories are next to the Duwamish, and Boeing Field is across the River. 

South Park (from Google Maps)

The earliest European settlers settled the bottomlands along the Duwamish river in the 1850s. In the late 1800s, South Park was an agricultural community of Italian and Japanese immigrants. Industry developed along the banks of the waterway in the 1920s, with Boeing's first factory just to the north. World War II brought rapid growth of aircraft at Boeing Field and shipyards along the river. In the 1960s, the area began to attract Hispanic immigrants. 

During my short time looking around in October 2025, I could see the strong Hispanic influence in the stores and restaurants. Here are some examples.

Unicorn Ranch, 9021 14th Avenue S

The owner here had some interesting sculpture on the Unicorn theme.

Multiservisios, 9011 14th Avenue S (21mm ƒ/4.5 Zeiss Biogon-C lens)

Multoservisios, 9011 14th Avenue S (50mm ƒ/2 Summicron-DR lens)

Werner's Auto Repair, 9001 14th Avenue S (50mm ƒ/2 Summicron-DR lens)

Werner's Auto Repair (25mm ƒ/4 Snapshot Skopar lens)

Time for lunch, 8709 14th Avenue S (25mm ƒ/4 Snapshot Skopar lens)

Closed shop (24mm ƒ/4 Snapshot Skopar lens)

Pros Tires, 8620 14th Avenue S (25mm ƒ/4 Snapshot Skopar lens)

This ends out too-rapid cruise through South Park. 

I took these photos on Kodak Portra 160 film exposed at EI=100. I used my Leica M2 camera with 21, 25, 35 and 50mm lenses (yes, I take too much equipment with me on an outing). 

The 50mm lens is the ƒ/2 Dual-Range (DR) Summicron from 1968. This is version 2 of the Leitz Summicron series. It was made as either a single range focus body or a more complicated dual-range version. I rarely use the close-up function, but take the goggles with me in the camera bag. 

Many photographers love the way that these Version 2 lenses render their subjects, especially portraits. Mine has pristine coating and is totally clean inside. The contrast is a bit softer than modern lenses. 

50mm ƒ/2 Summicron-DR lens with close-up goggles to allow close focussing

This lens will mount on all of the original film M bodies, the M3, M2, M4, M4-2, M4-P, and M6. I have read that it will not mount on the digital Ms, but do not have details. It will not mount properly on the Zeiss Ikon ZM camera, and the goggles would not line up with the finder windows. 

The Leica IIIC Explores Olympia with Ektar 100 Film (Oly 23)

It was time to exercise my 1949 Leica IIIC camera. An overcast morning in May of 2025 provided perfect soft light for Kodak Ektar 100 film. I have found the Ektar to be a bit garish in bright sun, but in overcast, it brings out the colors. Also, my mid-century 50mm Summitar and Jupiter-8 lenses are lower contrast than modern multicoated optics. In gloomy light, the Ektar tends to look blue through the Summitar, so when I scan it, I pull down the blue curve a small amount. 

Gull Harbor Road

I met the gent who owns this funny little electric car. It is a post-1979 Comuta-Car. Sebring, Florida–based Sebring-Vanguard made the original CitiCar from 1974-1977. Commuter Vehicles from California bought the design and manufactured the Comuta-Car from 1979 to 1982. Eight 6-volt lead-acid batteries supply power for the electric motor. The fellow said his purple car does run.

I think Toyota manufactured this little Chevrolet. It did not look too derelict. 

46th Avenue Northeast

Bigfoot is awaiting

This is a nice traditional wood barn. But beyond it is a modern steel building. I like the textures and patina of wood. I might have photographed the elusive Bigfoot.

Shinckle Road Northeast

The little coffee stand at 3525 Shinckle Road has been unused since at least 2022. It was originally on this lot because the street address on the door is correct. The A-frame house has a lot of roof area. This type of design works well in a locations with heavy snowfall, but that does not apply to Olympia.

Lilly Road

Hmmm, I could clean off the mildew and convert this bus into a camper. 

Slightly rough house, Lilly Road

West Bay Drive

Detroit iron in storage shed near Tugboat Annie's Restaurant

Kiddie car at warehouse

Tech Note

I took these photographs on Kodak Ektar 100 film with my Leica IIIC camera and a 5cm ƒ/2.0 Leitz Summitar lens. This is a 7-element coated lens designed before WWII. This lens is a rare one with no haze or scratches in the coating. The camera and lens have been to four continents and served the family for 75 years. How many other consumer goods can claim such a service life? I measured light with a Sekonic L318 light meter.

Leica IIIC and 5cm Summitar lens in extended position.
The large front glass is known for having a soft coating, but this one is still pristine.

Issue: When I used this Summitar lens on a Leica IIIG camera, the resolution was distinctly better than when mounted on my old IIIC. Also, the right side of each frame is out of focus. It is difficult to see the problem on the scale of internet display. Something is amiss with the lens mount. Some technician a long time ago may have lost some shims, and the mount is not quite correct. But it could take a lot of labor to get it right, so this IIIC will become a glass case display. I have more than enough 35mm cameras to keep me occupied.  

Good things in Small Packages: the 25mm ƒ/4 SnapShot Skopar lens in Tacoma, Washington (Tac 04)

Dear Readers, another confession: Once again, I suffered from GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). It is hard to resist, like trying to avoid chocolate or bacon. Just before the de minimis exemptions ended in August 2025, I ordered a Voigtländer 25mm ƒ/4 SnapShot Skopar lens from a Japanese vendor. The lens arrived at my door in three days! *

Cosina in Japan makes these modern Voigtländer lenses. The company has licensed the famous name since 1999, but the current production has no tangible relationship with the venerable German company from the early 20th century. Voigtländer (Cosina) is one of the few companies that offers some of their new lenses in Leica thread mount (LTM).** 

Cosina introduced this little lens in thread mount around 2000. It is zone focus only, meaning it is not connected to the camera's rangefinder. I originally bought it to use with my Leica IIIC but am using it more often on my Leica M2 with a M-LTM adapter. The lens is tiny and convenient to toss into the camera bag. For framing, I use a 25mm Voigtländer auxiliary viewfinder that mounts on the camera's flash shoe.

* I plan to not order any more photo equipment from Japan or China until the confusion around the tariffs is cleared up. 

**  Other modern LTM lenses, all discontinued:

• Around 2022 or 2023, TTArtisan in China sold a version of their little 28mm ƒ/5.6 lens in Leica thread mount. It is discontinued, and if you can find one: $$$.
• In 1999, Leica issued their superb 50mm ƒ/2 modern Summicron lens in a thread-mount version. Gorgeous. It is now a serious $$$ collectors' item.
• In 2000, Pentax issued their SMC Pentax-L ƒ/1.9 43mm Special in LTM. This is also now a collectors' item. 
• Ricoh remounted their 28mm ƒ/2.8 lens from their GR camera in a barrel with thread mount.
• Avenon (manufacturer unknown) offered a 28mm ƒ/3.5 lens in the 1980s. 
• MS-Optical remounted some Contax 28mm ƒ/2.8 lenses in LTM. Availability unknown. 
• Light Lens Lab made a 35mm f/2 Collapsible Eight Element lens in 2019.

---

Tacoma

I first tested my SnapShot lens on my Leica IIIC in Olympia. Later, I mounted it on my M2 body using a M-LTM adapter and went to Tacoma. The light was subdued, perfect to show colors on an unused wood warehouse on East D Street.

East D Street view north

Murray Morgan (11th Street) Bridge over the Foss Waterway

 This historic warehouse was built in 1900. It suffered a fire in July of 2025. I could not find much information on the building's origins or original purpose. One comment in redditt (always of dubious authenticity) claims it was the Western Iron and Wire Works in the 1920s. It has become a canvas for graffiti artists, with some surprisingly skillful creations.

This building is an interesting canvas. I may return with my 4×5 camera and black and white film.

Steel warehouse, 701 East F Street

There are many other warehouses and industrial sites in the harbor area, but most are just modern commercial sheds. 

Geek Stuff

25mm ƒ/4 SnapShot lens mounted on my Leica IIIC camera

This is a well-engineered little optic. The markings are legible, and it feels good. Some reviewers complain of mis-alignment (decentered elements) in some samples, but mine appears to be correct. I think this lens shines with close-up and mid-distance topics. Highly recommended!

I took the photographs above on Kodak Portra 160 film. Glazer's Camera in Seattle, Washington, developed it in C-41 chemicals.

Looking wide in Olympia with the Voigtländer Snapshot Skopar lens (Oly 22)

The Voigtländer 25mm ƒ/4 "Snapshot" Sopar lens is a little gem of an optic for Leica thread mount (ltm) cameras. It is zone focus only and does not couple to the rangefinder. But estimating the distance is not a problem with a lens this wide. This lens is modern and multi-coated, in contrast to the many mid-century ltm lenses that are on the market. Many of them have haze, fungus, scratches, and damaged coatings, and were made before lens designers had access to computer optics programs to optimize performance. 

Here are some examples from May of 2025 in and around Olympia, Washington.

Olympia Outskirts

Woodard Bay Conservation Area, view north (ƒ/11)

Rainbow Rails and West Bay, view north from 4th Avenue Bridge (ƒ/8.0½)

Guard shack at former wood mill, West Bay Drive (1/100 ƒ/11½)

Unused wood chip conveyor belt, West Bay Drive

Downtown Olympia

Alley parallel to Washington Street (1/40 ƒ/8)

Railroad bridge over Capitol Lake

About once a week, a train trundles over this bridge and heads west to an industrial area in Tumwater. 

Slightly redecorated 1984 Volkswagen Westfalia Camper near Capitol Mall (1/60 ƒ/5.6½)

"Oly Girl" at her best

Summary:  This is a handy little lens with good optical output. The plane of focus curved in towards the photographer, so you need to be aware of this curvature when composing. Being multi-coated, it creates bright and contrasty color, at least on Kodak Ektar 100 film. The lens appears to resist veiling flare. It has a more contrasty and modern look than my Summitar and Jupiter-8 lenses, both of which are much older and have more primitive coatings. All in all, recommended if you are comfortable with estimating the focus and the ƒ/4 aperture. 

With the use of a Leica M to ltm adapter, I can use this SnapShot Skopar on my Leica M2 camera. 

(Standby for more examples in the future.)   

2025 E. Washington Road Trip 05 - Farms and Basalt Country in B&W

The big open country of Eastern Washington invites black and white photography. It is a relatively new photographic terrain for me, although long-term readers may remember that I took a September 2024 trip to eastern Washington. Here are some scenes from my 2025 trip.

Spokane 

Centennial Mill (50mm ƒ/1.8 Canon lens, dark yellow filter, 1/125 ƒ/8)

This immense concrete monolith is the former Centennial Mills on East Trent Avenue, built in 1940. After several mergers, Centennial became part of part of the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) corporation. The mill is now unused. It dominates the skyline east of downtown. What a view you would have from that tower.

Reardan

Reardan (50mm ƒ/1.8 Canon lens, dark yellow filter)

Here are more of the silos that dot the skyline throughout eastern Washington. Most now are made of concrete or steel. The wood silos from the early 20th century have mostly succumbed to fire. 

Davenport

Farm off Rte. 2, Davenport (Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens, dark yellow filter, 1/125 ƒ/5.6)

Davenport is in open farm country. This farm still had a traditional wood barn with shingle roof. But many farms now have modern steel buildings, which I find are not nearly as picturesque.

 

Grand Coulee

Midway Avenue, Grand Coulee (Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens, 1/250 ƒ/8)

Beer store, Coulee Boulevard, Electric City (Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens)

The towns near Grand Coulee still have a bit of company town appearance. The dam certainly is a monumental engineering achievement. 

Ancient Lakes 

The Ancient Lakes occupy one of the huge coulees created during the great floods. They are near Quincy, Washington, just east of the Columbia River. The trails are easy to walk. As you enter the valley from the west, the basalt cliffs loom over you. The coulee feels lonely and remote, although the surrounding plateau is farmland and vineyard.

Basalt boulder that tumbled from the nearby cliff, Ancient Lakes Trail (Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens, yellow-green filter)

Ancient Lakes Trail, near Quincy, Washington (Canon 50mm ƒ/1,8 lens, med. yellow filter)

Basalt columns near Deep Lake, Dry Falls State Park

Mabton

Grain silos, Rte 22, Mabton (Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens, orange filter, 1/250 ƒ/5.6)

This ends our short tour through eastern Washington in farm and basalt country. I took these pictures on Kodak T400CN film. The film was expired, and Photoland at The Evergreen State College grossly underdeveloped it. Therefore, some of the frames do not have the full tonal range and are grainy. I like C-41 film because the ICE tool in my Nikon Coolscan 5000 scanner can clean up most scratches and chemical blobs. But for 35mm film, I will return to using fresh black and white film (such as Tri-X or Acros).

Technical Note

I took most of these photographs with my 1960s Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 Leica thread-mount lens. This is a nice example of 1960s Japanese optical and mechanical excellence. The one had intact coating (rare) and no internal haze (even more rare). When I bought it, the seller disclosed some fungus. Don Goldberg (DAG Camera) cleaned it and reported that it was intact. Unfortunately, many (most?) of these 1.8s are ruined. Some lubricant internally outgassed and etched/hazed the inner elements permanently. Such a pity. The Canon ƒ/1.4 thread mount lenses seem to have survived in better condition.