Former H. J. Mills Paper Box Company

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The Box Man's Legacy: How H. J. Mills Went from Match Boxes to a Parking Lot There is a community parking lot in downtown Bristol, Connecticut, that does not look like much. Cars pull in, cars pull out. The lot sits in the middle of the business district, unremarkable by any measure, crossed underneath by a culverted stream called Ivy Brook that runs east to west beneath the pavement. For twenty-three years before the asphalt went down, this ground held a burned ruin, then a vacant lot, then weeds so thick and deep that homeless people took shelter in them. Before any of that, for 120 years, it held a factory. The man who built that factory also ran a newspaper, served in the state legislature, belonged to the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Bristol Lodge of Elks, and the Hartford Gun Club, and died in 1933, leaving behind a house that still stands on Summer Street. His name was Herbert J. Mills. His company made cardboard boxes. And al...
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Sharp Shooter Super-Takumar Asahi 55mm 1:2


Pollinating Bee Inside Flower
Shot all these photos wide open at f/2.

Yellow Daisies Behind Backyard Fence
No editing was done in the post. Straight RAW and unprocessed.


You can't go wrong with a Super-Takumar lens. Sharp images, sharp contrast, and crazy bokeh. I purchased my 55mm copy (a steal) for around $23.00. The lens does have an inordinate amount of these white particles sitting on the back element lens but you would not even know that if I did not reveal this tragic flaw. The pictures here would not even show any discernable trace of particulate in the way. The quality make and feel of Super-Takumars is phenomenal. If you are not into manual focus lenses and believe in the auto-focus Gods, a Takuma inside your camera bag is worth a bit of space any day. I recommend getting yourself a copy in the 50mm, 55mm, and 135mm. Matter of fact any will do. These lenses perform like champions. If the postman would hurry up and deliver my takumar 135mm I can get outside and test it out.



Purple Cluster of Flower Heads
Very willing flower buds and bee subjects for my shoot today.

Round Bokeh Flower Buds
The blues and purple colors really stand out. Deadly sharp.

Hovering Bee Pollinating Flower
A bee among young flower buds. 

🔭 Do You Shoot with the Super Takumar 55mm?

Have you used this classic Asahi lens on a modern digital camera? Share your own sample photos, adapter recommendations, or comparisons with other vintage 55mm glass. Your experience helps fellow photographers discover and appreciate these old lenses.

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