02 July 2009

Old slides




On the day of my wedding (February 2009), my dad gave me a shopping bag full of slides. Originally I had asked him to bring down some boxes of slides he bought in Hong Kong in 1984, which I used to enjoy looking at as a wee tyke - I thought it'd be fun to have a look, but mostly I wanted the tiny plastic projector he bought with them. However, somewhere along the line he also dug up another, much larger, and far more important box of slides.

You see, the slides were taken by my great grandfather, and feature images of my dad & his family in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Unfortunately I lack a projector to view them large (dad forgot to bring this down), and my flatbed scanner just doesn't cut it. The above images were attempts to scan with a flatbed - not totally flash, but a start.

These are probably some of the few images in existence of my dad as a child. Photography wasn't a huge part of nan & pop's lives when their kids were growing up.

It's nice to have a photographic link to the past. Dad says his nan & pop (ie. my great grandparents) used to go for a Sunday drive with their grandkids quite regularly. In fact the first slide I looked at I instantly recognised as a view of the Great Western Tiers from the Bracknell area. I hope to find a few more gems when I get them scanned (whether I buy a cheap neg scanner & do this myself, or have them done by the local photo chain, I haven't decided).

27 June 2009

Agfa Isolette: focus ring reborn

A few weeks ago I picked up an Agfa Isolette II, a wonderful German 120 folder from the early-mid 1950s. It all seemed in relatively good condition until I did a bit of research & found there are a few common problems which plague these cameras: the bellows leak, and the focus ring gets stuck.

Fortunately, the first was solved by a liberal application of liquid electrical tape, and being super gentle when folding/unfolding the bellows (if I fold them up at all, which I try to avoid).

The second wasn't so urgent, as the focus ring still moved with a fair bit of pressure. Bit annoying when you want to take up-close photos as well as landscape shots, though. So last night I thought I'd have a go at fixing it myself. Virtually all I did was use a very fine paint brush (and a bit of folded card) to scrape away some of the Agfa "green gunge" (the grease used to lubricate Agfa cameras tends to turn into a thick, sticky green gunge over time), then used the same brush to apply olive oil to the thread. Mind you, I used the tiniest amount of oil possible, as I have heard that the oil can get into the lens or (much worse) onto the aperture blades, causing major problems. Then I just worked the focus ring a few times between close-up & infinity to get the oil into the right spots.

It seems to work fine now, quite smooth - and no oil on the lens or aperture/shutter.

NB: I take no reponsibility if anyone tries this method to fix the focus & it turns out badly! I was doubtful it would work at all, I'm pleased with the result but still expecting I've fucked up somehow that I just haven't realised yet.

22 June 2009

It's alive!

After a bit of fiddling about on the weekend, I discovered a wonderful thing: the match-needle light meter on the Zeiss works. Both of them, actually. But only in "A" mode. I'm not sure whether this was a decision made in the design process, or whether it's just a quirk it's developed over the last 40 years. Could be either, and as someone who refuses to read the manual in depth, I may never know...

I'm pleased - while I have a light meter on the way, it does mean that I won't have to rely on carrying it with me in future. I'll just have to bear in mind that it's not an aperture-priority mode - which I use mostly when the Minolta isn't sulking - it's a shutter-priority automatic mode. It'll take a little getting used to, and I wonder whether I'll still be thinking in terms of depth of field rather than speed of subject...

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In other news, I completely fucked the first film I put through the Zeiss. Tore it clean in half, as it were. I wasn't aware (translation: i didn't read the manual) that I needed to turn one of the locking screws on the bottom to "R" before rewinding.

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as you can tell, I like to learn things the hard way.

16 June 2009

Bakelite Beauty, Petrograd & old Ukrainian film...


Today's purchase ($10) was that bakelite beauty, the Kodak Brownie 127. The 127 refers to the type of film these cameras take, which I believe Kodak stopped producing in 1995. Thankfully, I'm lead to believe some Eastern European film manufacturers still make the stuff (how I will navigate online ordering in any language other than English is another matter), and if you're keen (but not keen enough to buy 127 film & then argue with your local camera chain about developing it) you can slot in some 135.

I'm not a huge fan of "toy" cameras. I do own both a Fisheye 2 and a Holga, however with me the novelty wears off eventually. The Holga has had about 6 films through it in my 7 years of owning it, and the Fisheye is still nursing a roll of expired film that I started at Christmas. So I guess it's more a using them thing. I like the look of the Brownie 127, it reminds me of a radio (c. 1950s) I once saw at the family shack. So it's worth the relatively small outlay for that alone.

WHilst in the shop that lead to the purchase of the Brownie, I took a squizz at a pair of folding cameras they also had for sale. One was a Penguin (? never heard of it until today), the other was a something I had heard of (UK brand?), but can't for the life of me remember now. Both were in pretty poor condition. The second seemed to be functioning okay, but $50 for something that is more rust that camera is a bit much.

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Yesterday I was so close to buying a Moskva 5, but in the end decided that I still haven't seen results from the Contaflex & Isolette, and only one roll from the Zorki - so perhaps it wasn't a wise idea to compound this by adding another camera to the pool. What I did decide is that a light meter would drastically increase the chances of getting good results (or at least well exposed) from those cameras. So, thanks to confdntart, I have a Leningrad 4 light meter on the way.

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Oh, and I ordered some Svema 64 film as well, expired in 2004. I figured it would be good to get into the spirit of Red Oktober by shooting film from a former Soviet Union manufacturer, in a camera made in the USSR.

31 May 2009

I've crossed the line...

It occurred to me yesterday that I am now past the days where I would buy some film if I wanted to take some photos, and spend the rest of the time without any film in the house.

Now, I have about 25 films in reserve, and the thought of actually using them all up upsets me. It's now important to me to maintain a healthy stock of films just in case. I've hardly taken any photos in the past 3 months, but that's not the point.

23 May 2009

Agfa Isolette II


Latest acquisition - Agfa Isolette II, 6x6 120 folding camera from Germany.

From a small second hand shop in Longford, for the princely sum of $35. I'd never been in the shop before, and it was more of a last minute decision, and we weren't hoping for much. However, this was in a cabinet on the counter, and scattered around the shop were a variety of Brownies (in good nick), some Kodak 127 cameras, and some more (much rougher looking) folders.

I know very little about these cameras, but I've always wanted a folding 120 cameras as they are so easy to carry. I was carrying my Zorki at the time, which just made my coat look ridiculous. This will be much more practical.

I also look forward to having something that takes square images! I might have to invest in a film scanner, because I don't trust the local camera monopoly to scan them properly - last time I had 120 developed & scanned, the images on the CD were distinctly rectangular...

Post: After a bit of searching on teh net yesterday, I've discovered these cameras are notorious for their leaky bellows. Especially seeing as they're now in their mid 50s. I've tried liberal amounts of nail polish, and might try some electrical tape (liquid or real) as well. Not sure I can afford a new set of bellows just yet...

19 May 2009

Mode: Acquire

Recently I've just been buying film, not shooting it. Apart from the brief hiccup that was International Commie Camera Day, I haven't taken a single photo, let alone had anything developed.

Anyways, in the latest instalment of my saga to give the local photography chain store a "go", my order of Pan F came in...in 120. Useful, seeing as I don't own a manual 120 camera. I doubt the Holga would deal with a fim so slow (or more correctly, I wouldn't have the patience to make it work). So it'll be another week or so now. Patience, patience. I did buy some Fuji Pro 400H to compensate, although I am still also waiting for the 800Z to come in.

Honestly, it would be much easier for me just to go to the Fuji Pro Shop in the UK, but the postage cost annoys me a bit. If I had someone to go halves with, I wouldn't hesitate...

07 May 2009

What's in my cameras?

I have a habit of putting film in a camera & then not finishing it for a while. Probably because I have several cameras which all have their own quirks & character, so they don't suit all situations. Not a particularly committed photographer, am I? True, I do leave film in the camera for a while...unless I have a specific purpose, like International Commie Camera Day.

Anyways, the purpose is to remind myself of what I have in what, and maybe shame myself into doing something about it:

Fisheye2: Agfacolor 200
Minolta*: Fuji Reala 100
Pinhole: Agfacolor 200
Holga: Fuji Reala 100
Zeiss Ikon: Agfacolor 200
Vilia: Fuji Neopan 400
Zorki: nil.

* not working at this stage anyway, so finishing off the film will be dependent on me getting it going again.

I've been wanting to put some 220 into the Holga upside down to play with the redscale thing, but as I'm only 3 frames into the Reala, it'll be a while before that happens. Ditto with the pinhole - I'd like to try redscale in that, but as it's super-basic, I have NO IDEA how far I am into the roll - or even if the results are worth developing. I think I tried some star trails & night-time stuff with it last winter, but I really can't be sure.

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In other news, I visited Stallards the other day to see if my Pan F & Fuji Pro 800 had arrived, and the order hadn't even been placed. Hmph. It'll have to wait until next pay now, but that's okay - no rush. As long as I have the 800 before we go down the west coast (the extra sensitivity will help), I'll be happy.