Footloose in Houston in the early-1980s (TX 01)

Blog note

Dear Readers, this will be the start of a series on Houston and south Texas. I have hundreds of negatives from my previous life when I lived in Houston but will never have time to scan them all. Two months in Houston in late 2022 gave me a chance to explore the city again. There is so much to see!

I photographed in the Texas Panhandle in the past as part of my Route 66 project, at the Rio Grande border and Big Bend, and in Galveston. If interested, please type "Texas" in the search box. I will start numbering this new series to keep track of these SE Texas posts. Texas is endlessly fascinating. Enjoy the ride! 

Introduction

In the early-1980s, I worked in the oil industry and lived in West University Place, a quiet enclave within Houston, Texas. Having moved from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, Houston was a culture shock for us (more so than Athens, Seattle, Providence, and other cities where we had lived). Houston was a new, noisy, vibrant, flashy, and disorganized city, so different from staid and traditional 350-year-old Boston or 3000-year-old Athens. West University Place was perfect, an established neighborhood with mature trees and handsome mid-century cottages within walking distance to restaurants, stores, and Rice University.

Our comfortable little home in West University Place, still extant but different paint. It had genuine wood floors and plaster walls. (Kodachrome 25 slide)

Downtown Houston

When I was in town (meaning not offshore), I explored and took pictures. Having a "real" job, I bought a Rolleiflex 3.5E camera at Southside Camera Center (long gone) and updated my 35mm equipment. I also took two full-semester photography classes at University of Houston from Dr. Suzanne Bloom. Here are a few examples from my early explorations.

The Houston skyline in 1980 from Glenwood Cemetery (Nikon 105mm ƒ/2.5 lens, Panatomic-X film)

Glenwood Cemetery is still a peaceful green relief from the highways and noise of the city. Today, many more skyscrapers fill the sky. I will show a recent picture from the same location later. 

In 1982, downtown Houston still had the look of "old American city," with grungy discount shops, loan stores, old-line clothing shops, and mature companies dating back before WWII.

Main Street view north (Panatomic-X film, Rollei 35S with ƒ/2.8 Sonnar lens)

Waiting for the bus? Or just hangin' around?

Elegant professional ladies with Samsonite briefcases. Wearing stockings? 

Cheerful gents

Main Street was boisterous and busy during the day. But after about 6 pm, Houston rolled down the shutters and the inner city became quiet. Few people lived downtown then, and office workers drove off to the suburbs. Today (2022), the downtown has apartments and restaurants, and the warehouse district just east of downtown is being redeveloped with very nice townhouses.

Abruptly, in typical Houston style, a furious rain storm engulfed us. What fun.

I took these 1982 photographs on Kodak Panatomic-X film with my Rollei 35S compact camera. I bought it in September of 1981 for $141 at Southwestern Camera, 1416 Main Street (now a parking lot). Rollei had just gone through bankruptcy and reorganization, and Southwestern was selling off their stock of Rollei products. This little camera, with its excellent 40mm ƒ/2.8 Sonnar lens, served me well for many years, especially when I was traveling. I convinced two coworkers to also buy Rolleis. 

In 1982, you could still buy a brand new twin-lens reflex Rolleiflex 2.8F or 3.5F from the New York vendors. Why didn't I jump on the opportunity?

You will see more Houston photographs in the future. 

Rollei 35S with 40mm ƒ/2.8 Sonnar lens, body made in Singapore (from Wikipedia). It used 30.5mm filters, which were hard to find.

GAS ATTACK: Camera Catalogs from an Earlier Era

Dear Readers, while trying to purge junk from my endless stuff-filled closets and bookshelves, I found camera and photography catalogs that had tempted me with the expensive items they advertised. I sent a big box of these catalogs and brochures to a Photrio reader who paid for the postage all the way to Poland. Below are the front covers of some of the more interesting ones. 

Enjoy and do not get GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome - a mental state demonstrated by severe lack of self-control amongst all photographers). Or do get GAS; you will rarely see such fine mechanical craftsmanship in consumer products today. Prices for most film cameras, especially medium-format, are rising rapidly as of 2022. If you want a body, lens, or accessory, buy now. Film has revived, and very few new film cameras are being built today. 

Eastman Kodak Company

Eastman Kodak made everything for the photographic trade. They were the behemoth of the industry. Their beautiful and precise Retina cameras came from their Nagel-Werke subsidiary in München, Germany. I have only used one model, a handsome little IIa. The lady in the book cover above is holding a rigid body model IIIS, in production from 1958-1962. These were precise and capable, but I have read they are very complicated internally. Retina production finally ended in 1967, a victim of the Japanese camera onslaught. 

Victor Hasselblad AB

Hasselblad's 6×6 medium format cameras became the tools of choice for American wedding, portrait, and industrial photographers from the 1960s through the beginning of the digital era, around 2000 or 2005. The lenses were the finest available from Zeiss in West Germany. They were seriously expensive when new. If in good condition, even 1960s Hasselblad lenses are fully usable now. Recently prices have have revived with the new enthusiasm in film. I wrote about their very informative instruction booklets in a 2020 article.  

Mamiya

Mamiya (in 1993 Mamiya-OP K.K.) made five or six different types of medium format cameras, all  very successful in the U.S. market. Many American photographers preferred Mamiya because the prices were lower than Hasselblad and the lenses were excellent.

Many wedding photographers worked with the rugged and versatile C220 and C330 twin-lens cameras. This C330 and the simpler C220 were much larger and heavier than Rolleiflex or Yashica TLRs, but the Mamiya offered interchangeable lenses. Neat engineering. 

The superb RZ67, the successor to the RB67. Both were big and heavy, most suitable for the studio, but I have known field users with strong arms. Studio photographers liked the 6×7 format and the built-in bellows. For a short while, Mamiya Leaf offered a digital back for the RZ67 Pro IID.

This was the big and sturdy press-style camera that was popular in the 1960s. It was a rangefinder with excellent lenses, 6×7 or 6×9 roll film backs, and many accessories. Nice equipment but seriously heavy! Polaroid sold a modified version with a back for their instant film. I owned the Polaroid-specific version for awhile but did not use it much and sold it in good time, before Polaroid in Massachusetts closed permanently. 

Linhof

Linhof tripods and ball heads are top grade. I have a small aluminum Profi-Port tripod, designed for travel. And I use the Profi II and Profi III ball heads. The big III is equal in rigidity, smoothness, and strength to any other brand on the market. 

Linhof (now Linhof Präzisions Systemtechnik GmbH) in München, Germany still makes their famous Technika large format field camera with a rangefinder to let the strong photographer hand-hold the unit. At one time, Linhof even offered a 5×7" version, which must have been a monster. 

Every Linhof product is spectacularly refined and precise, for a spectacular price. Look at their web page to see what the finest traditional mechanical craftsmanship looks like - and think of what you could photograph with some of this superb machinery. 

The Technikardans were very clever rail cameras that folded into compact packages. A friend used one to photograph the Tiffany windows at the Episcopal church here in Vicksburg. 

Leica

Leica (formerly Ernst Leitz Wetzlar) is another German company famed for precision manufacturing. Many photographers love their rangefinder cameras and the compact and superb lenses. I have used my dad's IIIC and M2 and M3 bodies for decades.

Gasp! The Leica rangefinder that did not look like older Leica bodies. Quelle horreur!

1974 Leica M lenses. All are totally usable to this day.

I was an undergraduate student when Leica introduced their M5 body with its revolutionary light meter on a swinging arm in front of the film plane. The body was larger than the previous Leica M bodies, and ultra-conservative Leica users rejected the new M5. It never sold well. I have read that today, there is only one repair person in USA who will adjust/repair the M5 (Sherry Krauter in New York state). I tried one in the 1980s and agree that it was a big and heavy package.

In 1974, at the University book store, the body was about $700 and the 50mm Summicron another $300, so about $1000 total. My tuition for 3 quarters at Univ. of Washington was $540, so the Leica cost two years of tuition. Hmmm...

Leica has just reintroduced their M6 film body. Thanks to the revival in film use, they can barely keep up with demand, and their M-A, M-P, and M6 bodies are usually out of stock. 

Rollei

For 70+ years, Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke GmbH sold their superlative twin-lens reflex (TLR) cameras to press, studio, and advanced amateur photographers. They used the finest lenses from Schneider and Zeiss. I have used Rolleiflex 3.5E and 3.5F models since 1982. Poor Rollei went through a series of bankruptcies and restructurings after 1982, but they continued making the Rolleiflex until about 2000 (possibly later). 

I remember that in 1982 or 1983, brand new 2.8F models were still listed in advertisements from the New York vendors for about $2000. This was a serious price back then, but after the company semi-dissolved, many of us wished we had bought one. 

The later versions, like the GX above, were criticized for being based on the lighter-duty Rolleiflex T chassis and missing the ingenious film-sensing system. The tooling and molds for the 3.5 and 2.8 F models were destroyed or scrapped during one of the restructurings. 

Rollei's market position in the USA eroded as more and more photographers bought the Swedish competitor, the Hasselblad. To compete, Rollei introduced their beautiful SL66 in 1966. I remember seeing them in camera stores in Harvard Square, Massachusetts, in 1968 or 1969. They cost more than $1000 back then. Not suitable for this high school student. 

Similar to the Hasselblad, the lenses were the finest from Zeiss or Schneider. These are big and heavy cameras. But buy one if you can find a clean unit that was properly treated over the years. Sadly, USA sales were low.

Ingrid Bergman in "Journey to Italy" (1954)

OK, sorry, I could not resist. Here is Ingrid Bergman near Mount Vesuvius with her Rolleiflex. Note the fitted suit and elegant gloves. Why do tourists today (especially Americans) look like homeless people?

Nikon

Nikon lenses as of 1968.

My first "serious" camera was a Nikkormat FTn, which I bought at the famous Lechmere Sales in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1968. I used it in USA, Europe, and South America and even took it hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (I was much stronger then). It never failed or broke. This is still a totally usable and rugged camera. But to operate the CDS light meter, you need to use the Wein batteries because the original 1.35 volt mercury cells are not sold any more.

Dear Readers, this has been our quick tour through the era of superior mechanical and optical engineering. Thanks for riding along. Go ahead and buy some of this classic equipment while you still can. The available stock will diminish as the years go by.

From the archives: Country Stores, Roosters, and other Oddities

Dear Readers, I recently found in my too-many boxes a plastic slide holder with some slides that I sent as a submission to Leica Fotografie International. They never published my essay and returned my slides, but I never got around to filing them away. I decided to scan them first and show you some samples. Store fronts and home-made signs have always interested me. They demonstrate merchants advertising their wares and trying to attract customers, a form of folk-art. So here we go, in chronological order, but no specific geographical order.

Front Street, Morgan City, Louisiana (Leica IIIC, 5cm f/2.0 Summitar lens)

Front Street, Morgan City, Louisiana (Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens)

In the early 1980s, I worked for a marine geotechnical company. We had steamed (dieseled) in to Morgan City after a couple of weeks offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. I had never been to Morgan City before and found the floodwall a convenient viewpoint of the old downtown.

Jerry's, Corpus Christi, Texas (Rollei 35S, 40mm ƒ/2.8 Sonnar lens)

A relative lived in Corpus Christi. This pottery company offered a wealth of garden art. I should have bought that pink donkey, or maybe the leopard.

Galveston, Texas (Leica M3, 50mm ƒ/2.8 Elmar-M lens)

Hurricane Alicia was a powerful hurricane that caused major damage in coastal Texas in August of 1983. The eye passed directly over Houston. We drove to Galveston to see what had happened. Many cottages on the beaches had been damaged, but others, like this beach shop, were intact.

Bremond, Texas (Rollei 35S, 40mm ƒ/2.8 Sonnar lens)

Bremond was a typical agricultural/cattle town northwest of Houston. Even in the 1980s, many of these small towns were quiet, with closed stores along the main strips. That is when I first became interested in photographing urban decay. Bremond looked like it was doing a bit better than many other Texas towns, but I have no idea of its status now.

Mendenhall, Mississippi (Olympus OM1 camera, 35mm ƒ/2.8 shift lens)

In 1990, on my way to Mobile, I decided to stop in Mendenhall and look around. There was an old theater/cinema in reasonably sound condition near the courthouse. Do any readers know if the theater is still existent? (Update: the building burned down.)

Rooster-mobile, Mary Esther, Florida (Olympus OM1, 35mm ƒ/2.8 shift lens)

Mary Esther, Florida, had a rooster car, as well as some pig- and cow-mobiles. And the rooster was built onto an old Chevrolet El Camino. Maybe I should have offered to buy it and drive it home to Vicksburg. El Caminos now fetch serious prices (and a rooster may enhance the value).

Crossroads store, Reganton, Mississippi (Leica, 50mm ƒ/2.8 Elmar-M lens)

The venerable Crossroads store is on Old Port Gibson Road in Reganton, near the Big Black River, about 20 miles south of Vicksburg. I have visited on and off over the years, most recently in 2018.

Biloxi, Mississippi (Leica M3, 50mm lens)

Before Hurricane Katrina, US 90 along the Mississippi Gulf coast featured many beachy shops, including this pink palace. But I prefer the gorilla on Alberti's Italian Restaurant. I wonder if he swam to safety in Katrina?

Snuffy Smith's, Wilmer, Alabama (Leica M3, 50mm lens)

Snuffy Smith's antiques and gasoline was a famous landmark on Moffett Road in Wilmer, Alabama. Classic folk art - I stopped several times to photograph. But the last time I drove through Wilmer, I did not see Snuffy's. Is it gone, or did I just drive by too quickly?

Original Oyster House, Gulf Shores, Alabama (Leica 50mm lens)

The Original Oyster House, as I recall, had excellent seafood (and alligator, if you were interested), along with condiments from Greece. I assume the owners were Greek, which usually bodes well for a restaurant. Is this still existent?

Santa in Seminary (Nikon F3, 50mm ƒ/1.8 Nikkor lens)

Finally, the well-traveled Santa Claus comes to Seminary, Mississippi, via tractor. Good choice in a farming community.

Madison St. (Old Hwy 80), Bolton, Mississippi (Leica M3, Kodachrome film)

Well, Santa can relax with a brew or a Bud at Mack's Cafe in Bolton.

This is the end of our short random tour of southern stores, rooster-mobiles, and other oddities. All photographs were from Kodachrome film, mostly K25. Using Kodachrome was a bit clumsy because you needed to mail the exposed film to one of the few processing laboratories in the United States that could handle the highly specialized processing and dye chemicals. The ISO 25 emulsion was unsurpassed in grain size and resolution. Also, Kodachrome had excellent archival properties when stored in the dark in reasonable climate control. As you can see, the examples above scanned well and the colors are still vibrant.

Sadly, Kodachrome manufacture ended in 2009, after 7 (seven) decades of production. The last processing was in December of 2010 at Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas. The movie, "Kodachrome," is about this last processing and a road trip to Parsons. In the poster, you can see that Ed Harris is wearing a Leica.

From the Archives: Tourist Pics of Vicksburg, Mississippi 1985-1992

While looking through a box of old negatives, I saw a film from my 1985 job-hunting trip. At the time, I lived in Houston, Texas - absolutely flat and topographically boring. But Vicksburg was an interesting place, with its history and its setting on the bluffs above the river. Not knowing if I would move here, I took snapshots around town. This will be a quick tour of some of the places a new resident might see. 

Driving from the east, many visitors first see the Big Muddy from the Mississippi Visitor Center. The scene is timeless - these photographs could be 1985 or 2019. I had driven here from the west and had therefore crossed on the I-20 bridge from Louisiana. In the late-1980s, the old bridge was still open to car traffic.

Walking on the Old Mississippi River Bridge, Kodak Stretch camera

By 1990, as I recall, the old bridge had been closed to traffic, but pedestrians could walk on it. This is a negative from a Kodak Stretch, which was a single-use (i.e., disposable) camera which purported to be a panorama format. That was deceptive: it had a 2-element, 25mm f/12 lens lens that projected onto a narrow strip of the 35mm frame, about 13×36 mm. However, I am surprised how well the Kodak Gold 200 film did with this crude lens. The APS film system also tried this fraud: the so-called panorama was just a thin strip in the middle of the frame. The entire frame was exposed but the processing lab automatically printed the thin strip.

Mississippi River north of the old bridge, Kodak Stretch camera

Mississippi River Bridges, Vicksburg, Fuji GW690II camera

The view from the overlook north of the Visitor Center is different now because the Ameristar Casino is in the foreground at the river's edge.

Mississippi River, Kodak VPS film, Rollei 35S camera, 40mm Sonnar lens

This is the bend in the Mississippi where the Yazoo Canal comes in from the north.

June 1991 view of former Vicksburg Hospital, Fujichrome 50, 4×5" Tachihara camera, 180mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar IIN lens

View north from Vicksburg Hospital, Ektar 25 film, Fuji GW690II camera, 90mm lens

In the 1980s, the old Vicksburg hospital was a concrete shell, standing where the police department is now located in a modern building. The view north to the City Hall and Post Office was rather boring. The architectural abomination on the right is now BancorpSouth Bank, but I am not sure what it was called in the 1980s.

Continuing north, this is a view of Clay Street at the intersection with Monroe. The Aeolian Apartments in the upper center were still rented as apartments in 1992.

This is Walnut Street looking north. I am not sure which of these houses are still extant.

Washington Street view south, Rollei 35S, 40mm Sonnar lens

Grove Street from Washington Street, Rollei 35S, 40mm Sonnar lens

Velchoff's Corner Restaurant & Miller's Still Lounge formerly occupied the building at the corner of Washington and Grove Streets (Summerlin and Summerlin 1995). I only ate there once and cannot remember when it closed. Look up Grove Street and you can see a car repair shop on the left. That building is gone, and again, I do not recall when it was demolished. The lot on the left was once occupied by the Masonic Temple, which was torn down in the mid- or late-1970s.

In front of the 61 Coffeehouse, view north, December 2018, Ilford Delta 100 film, Voigtlander Vito BL camera

61 Coffeeshop, 35 mm f/3.5 Super-Takumar lens, Pentax Spotmatic camera

Today, the corner building houses Attic Gallery and the 61 Coffeehouse. Daniel Boone runs 61 and provides the best coffee in town (except at my house....). And he employs charming coffee ladies. Look north along Washington Street and you see a building in the distance. Decades ago, this was a club and various other businesses.

Washington Street, Kodachrome 25 slide, Pentax Spotmatic camera, 150mm f/4 Super-Takumar lens

No. 913 Washington Street was once an automobile showroom. The second building, possibly a 7-Up bottling plant at one time, was unceremoniously demolished by City of Vicksburg in 2007.

Washington Street, Fujichrome 50 film, 4×5" B&J camera, 20" lens (presently the site of the M/V Mississippi on land)

The 1985 photographs are from Kodak VPS color negative film using a Rollei 35S camera. Its 40mm f/2.8 Sonnar lens was top quality for such a compact camera.

References

Summerlin, C. and Summerlin, V., 1995.  Traveling the Trace: A Complete Tour Guide to the Historic Natchez Trace from Nashville to Natchez. Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville, Tennessee.

UPDATE 2021. Here is a photograph on the Mississippi River Bridge during the 2021 Bricks & Spokes bike ride. This is one of the few times that the bridge is open to the public. It is fun to bike over the river.