Small Towns in western Washington: Pe Ell

Pe Ell is a former lumber town in Lewis County, Washington. It is on the Chehalis River. Heading downriver from town, the river flows north, then, via amazing twists and crooks, east to the city of Chehalis, then back west towards Grays Harbor. 

Main Street is, well, the main street. It is also Route 6, which takes you from Chehalis to Raymond. Most drivers just zip on through town. If you are a bicyclist, you can ride on the Willapa Hills Trail from Chehalis to Pe Ell. West of Pe Ell, the trail has not been fully developed yet. 

Let's take a quick tour of Main Street.

Traditional commercial buildings on Main Street at Sixth Ave.

This big wood building was once a hotel or boarding house. One Facebook post noted that a bank once occupied part of the building. It has a modern metal roof, so the owners are taking care of their historic property.

The Pub and Post Office are functioning, but what might have been a garage or car showroom to the left is boarded up.

The liquor/grocery store is at the corner on Route 6 where you turn right to head west towards Raymond. The overhead traffic signal is the only one in town.

The former gas station is across the street from the grocery/liquor store. The motoring machinery on display must change occasionally. The Willapa Hills Trail is beyond the fence in the lower picture.

 

Later, I will show some black and white frames from southwest Washington, including more in Pe Ell.

 

Technical Note

 

I took most of these photographs on January 14, 2026, on Kodak Portra 160 film. The light was soft and overcast, so colors are muted. I used my Zeiss Ikon ZM camera with a 1950 Leitz 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens. This was my dad's Summitar lens, and has been with us around the world. With a genuine Leitz LTM-M adapter, it mounts and focuses perfectly on the modern M-mount body. It is impressive optical quality for a ƒ/2 lens computed in the late 1930s. This unit has perfect coating, but I still use a hood to prevent flare.

Zeiss Ikon ZM rangefinder camera with 1950 5 cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens

On the Waterfront: Port of Tacoma, Washington (Tac 05)

I like Tacoma more and more. There is so much interesting photographic material there. On an overcast day in September (2025), I drove to the Port of Tacoma with my Hasselblad and Kodak Panatomic-X film (yes, the real Panatomic-X). We will start with two photographs from the Foss Waterway and move east into the more industrial part of the port. 

Foss Waterway

Foss Waterway and East 21st Street Bridge and Tacoma Dome (Rolleiflex 3.5E Xenotar lens)

The Foss Waterway is the channel closest to downtown Tacoma. Because of its proximity to the city, most people only see this waterway, not the ones in the industrial port further east. There is less industrial activity on the Thea Foss now than 20 and 30 years ago, and marinas occupy some of the channel. More photos of the Foss Waterway are in my 2024 article.

Foss Waterway and Murray Morgan Memorial Bridge
(Kodak T400CN film, Leitz 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens, yellow filter) 

Port of Tacoma

Heavy lift cranes, Lower Turning Basin (250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens)

Former boat yard launch rails, view looking northwest to Commencement Bay
(80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar-CB lens, yellow filter)

Alexander Avenue E at E 11th Street
(250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens, yellow filter)

Tank cars, Alexander Avenue E, view northwest
(250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens, yellow filter)

Cranes from Lincoln Avenue (250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens)

Landscape Bark Company, Lincoln Avenue (50mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens)

Landscape Bark Company, Lincoln Avenue (50mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens)

This company crushes and grinds a lot of bark. It was Sunday, so I could set up my tripod on the sidewalk in front of the property.

Standby for more Tacoma waterfront and industrial in the future.

Tech Note

This is my 1960s Carl Zeiss 250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar-C lens. It compresses the view, as you see in some of the photographs above. This was one of my most amazing bargains: $87 for a magnificent piece of West German mechanical and optical engineering. This is a 1960s single-coated version with chrome barrel. It uses Bay 50 filters, which are inexpensive now compared to the Bay 60 filters that fit most of the newer Hasselblad lenses. 

Even the shutter on my bargain lens did not need an overhaul. The slowest speeds are probably a bit slow, but it barely affects exposures (i.e., 1 sec. may be 1.5 sec. - so what?). When using this lens, I always mount the camera on a tripod. With Panatomic-X film, the exposures are in the 1/4 or 1/2 sec. range.  

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

It was time to exercise my 1950 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 five 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. And I can use the Summitar lens on the more modern Leica M bodies. 

Really Good Things in Small Packages: The Leica IIIG Camera

Background

The stock market behaved as every economist predicted in response to the chaotic tariff regulations. Our family assets sink with each burp of the markets. That is sure making America great again...... The popular photo blogger, Kirk Tuck, recommended folks buy any cameras they might want immediately. Hmmm.....  

I like that advice!! I suffered another bout of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and ordered a camera I have thought about for some years, the Leica IIIG rangefinder. A sale of Leica goodies at Tamarkin Camera in Chicago was too good to resist. The 'Bay lists tens of IIIGs for sale, mostly from Japan. But the Tamarkin price was a bit lower, and all his camera bodies have been checked, cleaned, and adjusted as needed.

The Leica IIIG

The IIIG is the last iteration of the famous Leica thread-mount camera line. Leica made this beauty from 1957 to 1960, with production of only about 40,000 units. Ernst Leitz GMBH had recovered from the war and was selling their top quality cameras and lenses around the world. Leitz had introduced their fantastic M3 camera in 1954, and the IIIG was their last and most sophisticated version of the older thread mount series. Unlike all the previous III models, the IIIG had a viewfinder with movable frame bars to show the coverage of a 50mm lens. It was a major improvement, although not nearly as sophisticated as the finder in the M cameras. Mike Eckman dot Com has a more detailed summary of the IIIG and the historical context of the industry then.

Framing the scene that a lens will project on the 24×36 mm piece of film is always imprecise with viewfinder cameras. In the past, I have been frustrated with cameras that have a viewfinder only, such as my Voigtländer Vito BL, Kodak Retina IIa, and Leica IIIC. Depending on where I placed my eye, the frame shifted left or right. The projected frame bars in my Leica M2 and Canonet cameras are a major improvement in aiming more accurately. Therefore, my new IIIG provides this improved function also (see, I just justified GAS). 

 

Leica IIIG viewfinder windows including small window to illuminate viewfinder frame bars

Like the older thread-mount cameras, the IIIG has two shutter speed controls. The dial on the front is for B (bulb) and 1 to 1/30 sec. The dial on the top controls 1/30 to 1/1000 sec. The self-timer is the lever on the front. 

Immaculate engraving and machining

The IIIG is somewhat of an anachronism today, being a mechanical camera that takes film and has no light meter. But it is more compact than my M2 camera, has a hand-crafted jewel-like precision, and has a fun factor that today's electronic cameras lack. And film has certainly enjoyed a revival compared to the early 2010s. Whether it lasts, I cannot predict. 

Loading contemporary film from current 35mm cassettes requires some preparation. You need to trim the film leader to have a tongue about 10cm long, similar to the way film was supplied in the 1960s. You load the film from the bottom. Lacking a back film door, the body is especially rigid.

I already had three 50mm thread-mount lenses that I used with my 1949 IIIC: 

• 1950 5 cm ƒ/2 Leitz Summitar (in the photos above)
• 1962 Soviet 50 mm ƒ/2 Jupiter-8 (a Sonnar type of lens)
• 1950s 50 mm ƒ/1.8 Canon (late production model) 

So, of course, too many camera toys....   

Note: In 1999, Leica issued their superb 50mm ƒ/2 modern Summicron lens in a thread-mount version. Hmmm... 

Olympic Peninsula, Washington

On a sunny and cheerful April day, my wife and I set out north into the Olympic Peninsula. I mounted my 5 cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens (in the family since 1950) on the body and loaded a roll of Kodak Portra 160. Leitz designed this 7-element lens before the war and continued production until 1953 or 1954. My example is coated and unscratched. I measured light with my Gossen Luna Pro digital meter, set at Exposure Index 100. Here are some examples. Please click any picture to see details.

Hunter Farm, Rte 106, Union

Fix me up, Center Road, Quilcene (1/250 ƒ/5.6)

Fixer-upper house, Center Road, Quilcene

Waiting for repair with a bit of fungus, Rte 101, Quilcene

Skeleton man on patrol, Quilcene

Also waiting for repair, Rte 101, Quilcene

Rte 101 bridge over Hamma Hamma River (1/125 ƒ/8.0½)

Motel, Rte 101, Lilliwaup (1/60 ƒ/4.0½)

Country store, Rte 101, Lilliwaup

Oh, oh, no coffee here, Rte 101, Lilliwaup

Summary

OK, I am thrilled. This  IIIG certainly passes the test. The body looks great, the finder is clear and clean, film spacing is even, and exposure is uniform across the frame (meaning the shutter curtains are running smoothly). 

The old Summitar lens is contrasty on a bright sunny day. The center of the frame is high resolution. But it has serious field curvature and is not as uniform across the frame as a modern lens. On the scale of internet display, the frames look fine. The entire package is fun to use, with a mechanical watch-like precision. 

My recommendation:  Buy a Leica thread-mount camera and get back to the basics of film photography! Have fun! 

Reading

One of the best reviews of the IIIG camera is by Mike Eckman. 

Appendix - Leather Case

Genuine E. Leitz case for Leica IIIG with short or collapsing lens

Tamarkin Camera included a traditional ever-ready ("never-ready") leather case. Such cases were ubiquitous pre-1975 or so, but they fell out of favor with most photographers. I had enormous bulbous leather cases for my Nikkormat and Nikon F cameras in the 1970s. 

I stopped using cases for most 35mm cameras years ago. However, the one for my Retina IIa was useful and compact, and the rectangle one for my Rolleiflex 3.5E adds almost no bulk. Despite the criticisms, cases can be handy because you can walk around in a rain and protect your camera. The camera remains easily accessible. And, you can toss it into a backpack or the floor of your car, and it will be reasonably padded. 

The case above is beautifully made of molded brown leather. And this one still has good stitching. It is a compact model with short lens snout, probably intended for collapsing lenses or a small unit like the 35mm Summaron. My Summitar fits when collapsed. 

Leitz also made taller cases that, I assume, were designed to hold the camera and a mounted selenium light meter.

Would this be handy for a bicycle outing? The leather straps are old and need to be replaced for safety, and a light meter will need to be in another pouch or a pocket. Hmmm, something to consider.