I got this miniature camera Gucchi after all the troubles,
but something unexpected happened involving this camera. It was in the
middle of the Pacific War. I liked to photograph landscapes and was shooting
madly the changing appearances of my town due to the worsening war-time
situations. We had a bomb shelter in our courtyard in which my family evacuated
on the night of the huge air-raids of Kochi city in July 1945. Only one
photo of this shelter taken by this spy camera remains in my possession.
The yellowed tiny photo reminds me of the dark days in the miserable and
tense war-time situations.
One fine day, from a small hill in the city I was taking
photos of the city through which Kagamigawa river was flowing. I heard
from behind "Stop it! Show me that camera" in a demanding scary
voice. Turning around, I saw a man with a threatening look wearing a hunting
cap. He was a member of the Tokko police force specially formed to control
treasonable thought. Because of prevailing spy activities by America, the
police and military were on the high alert. Especially, taking panoramic
photos was strictly prohibited. The policeman knew I was not a spy because
I was a junior high school student. I was taken to the special police and
had the film confiscated after reprimand. It happened 6 months before the
huge air-raids of Kochi city.
We were running a paper mill and during the war it served
as a kind of munitions plant. Speaking of spies, we happened to be drawn
into a horrifying incident because of this. I will tell you about this
later.
Since my first encounter with a miniature camera when I was
an elementary school student, my association with them had continued for
many years. I got hold of almost all miniature cameras released both in
Japan and overseas and enjoyed using them. This helped me to get to know
Mr. Hajimu Miyabe, a pioneer in this field, and took charge of illustrations
in his book "The World of Miniature Cameras". Later, this led
to the naming of Minor Planet "Minox", a world famous miniature
camera.
Many of the miniature cameras have disappeared with times,
but there is one camera still in use after 50 years have passed. It is
"Gami 16" released by Galileo Optical in Italy. This 16mm film
camera has has fast optics as well as unique and excellent mechanisms.
But it was priced as high as that of of Leica or Kontax, which was comparable
to the cost of building a house in those days. No matter how much you wanted
to get one, it would be completely out of your reach. However, thanks to
the rising value of the yen and other favorable circumstances, I was able
to purchase it from a second-hand shop. At first I was so excited that
I held it close to me even while I was sleeping. Instead of taking photos
with it, I adored its beautiful and refined design by simply looking at
it.
Open the front cover as wide as 180 degrees and you will
see the lens and finder. At the same time this motion will wind the spring
motor enough for three rapid-fire shots. It used a self-winding mechanism
because batteries were not used in those days. The lens is a sharp Estimar
25mm f1.9. Parallax is automatically corrected up to 50cm and a yellow
filter is built in. The 30-exposure film is contained double cartridges.
The shutter is automatically locked to prevent any accident if the film
is finished or slides off the film mask. The shutter covers a wide range
from Bulb and ? second to 1/1000. As the light sensitivity was commonly
a maximum of ASA100 in those days, the exposure meter is not compatible
with ASA400 film. It is unthinkable and miraculous that a camera made half
a century ago is still in good shape and works perfectly well. As you can
imagine, 16mm-wide films for this camera are no longer available either
in color or monochrome. I designed a special cutter to make 16mm film out
of 35mm film.
I will show you below the first photo of a starry sky taken
with this superb camera and "home-made" film. Developing tanks
and enlargers specific for this camera were manufactured initially, but
unfortunately, they are no longer available. Even if a problem occurs,
a repair cannot be made in Japan because of the unique precision mechanisms.
In order to have it repaired, you might have to call for help of the chairman
of the Galileo Company, "Mr. Galileo".
The camera I acquired second-hand in 1979 contained an undeveloped
film magazine. It is likely that the previous owner sold the camera with
the exposed film in it. I had the film developed and found many pictures
of landscapes somewhere in the South Pacific, unknown islands, port towns,
an island with a white lighthouse, etc. It seemed that a wealthy tourist
with this camera had traveled leisurely around the world on a luxury cruise
ship.
However, several years after that, when I visited islands
of New Caledonia following Halley's Comet in 1986, I saw the same scenery
as the one in the pictures left in the camera. It was the white lighthouse
on Amedee Island. This huge lighthouse said to have been built by Napoleon
III and the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere until the end
of the previous century. Halley's Comet, the comet of the century, must
have been shining above this lighthouse. It must be a sight worth a million
dollars. My Gami 16 saw this sight again. It was a camera which could perform
such miracles.
The Amedee Lighthouse as seen by Gami 16 and
Halley's Comet shining above it.
At New Caledonia on April 8, 1986.