Cooper-Young

19 Cooper-Young

There are many iconic places in the historic Cooper-Young neighborhood in Memphis Tennessee; this is not one of them. The Cooper-Young office has this mural that I have not heard about and the neighborhood does not seem to use in its promotion.

I remember when they built the heated gathering area in front of the mural, but I have never seen it used. Maybe Cooper-Young just never invites me to the gatherings.

This photo however was one of our historic neighborhood that I made with my 1912 Carl Zeiss 180mm lens. Walking around with this bellows and lens I set up across Young Avenue and focused in on the mural. 

In my collection of lenses, this one has a classic look. It is small, brass and I have attached it to a cheap focusing bellows with dual expansion rails. The aperture closes is a tight circle and 16 blades. Wide open the lens is only f 6.3 but it closes down to around f32. 

The lens is the real highlight. The year 1912 means that it was most likely built at the historic Jena factory. I have another Carl Zeiss lens from 1914 that lists it was made in Dresden. The Jena factory was the largest camera manufacturer in the world at that time.

I have another Carl Zeiss 180mm lens. I am currently working to clean and develop a mount for it. The second 180mm lens was built in 1957 and is easily 5 times the weight of this lens. It is also much larger, f2.8; it is a Sonnar design and clearly marked Jena, it was built before German reunification.

I really wonder what history this little lens has seen since 1912. I would love to know what it has made photos of and where it has journeyed to. I wonder if there is any magic in the hand-ground glass that is projected in new images and shadows of the past in the photos that I will take with this lens.

Legacy lenses: https://www.flickr.com/gp/timmwheat/x1LW63 

Photowalk: https://www.flickr.com/gp/timmwheat/m1K7R5 

2020 Soulsville: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmR1EqLx 

2020 Garden Walk: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmMSNRgk 

2018 Cooper-Young Fest: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmnBdZUs 

2018 Garden Walk: https://www.flickr.com/gp/timmwheat/LV8A5j 

Cooper-Young: https://www.flickr.com/gp/timmwheat/Ghg319 

Cooper Young Fest 2017