weekly Asha Film 52 with 52 Different Cameras Challenge WEEK 52: Completed!....

[Asha]

Just got to find a decent place that does decent scans and processing as I don't have a scanner. The camera hasn't been used for ages so will be interesting to see how the stuff comes out!

I'm afraid I can't help you there .....I'm sure there are plenty of other members who can though.............You don't fancy taking the plunge into starting your own processing at home??....very satisfying when you see the results emerge, albeit a little time consuming!

 

[michael23]

No room I'm afraid! Need a bigger house! My dad has a load of processing stuff from years ago, it would be pretty cool to do it.

 

[Asha]

No room I'm afraid! Need a bigger house! My dad has a load of processing stuff from years ago, it would be pretty cool to do it.

.....I live in a reasonably large appartment but nonetheless space is always an issue....Everywhere is taken over with photography items/equipment of some description!

I consider myself very lucky that I have a mrs who likes to see me enjoying myself and therefor accepts that i have effectively turned our home into a photography museum!!

Is there no access to darkroom facilities in a local college near you ....Perhaps they open their doors to joe public like they do here ...sadly over here they demand a high price to gain access but maybe in the UK it's a different set up??

 

[RaglanSurf]

I much prefer the first one but it does look a little 'hot' to me, although that could be my monitor.

And that is one hell of a camera, I do like to think that when you take these old cameras out to use you dress in period costume and sport a huge waxed moustache

 

[michael23]

.....I live in a reasonably large appartment but nonetheless space is always an issue....Everywhere is taken over with photography items/equipment of some description!

I consider myself very lucky that I have a mrs who likes to see me enjoying myself and therefor accepts that i have effectively turned our home into a photography museum!!

Is there no access to darkroom facilities in a local college near you ....Perhaps they open their doors to joe public like they do here ...sadly over here they demand a high price to gain access but maybe in the UK it's a different set up??

I would imagine it is pretty much the same here to be honest. My wife is quite happy too for me to have the stuff. It took me a while to gather the fd bodies and lenses, and even though I hardly use them these days, I do not want to see them go. Will just have to buy a bigger house when I win the lottery at the weekend

 

[Asha]

I much prefer the first one but it does look a little 'hot' to me, although that could be my monitor.

And that is one hell of a camera, I do like to think that when you take these old cameras out to use you dress in period costume and sport a huge waxed moustache

Thanks for your comments Nick.

The highlights are a little hot ...I could have adjusted them at scanning stage but decided to leave them "as shot"....I may make a slight adjustment before I print it!

With doing long exposures, I am often reliant on waiting for softer/weaker light.
The light for No1 was very sharp and the minimum shutter speed I could attain was 3 seconds. Sounds a lot but even using a digital stopwatch it can be hard to judge correctly when removing/replacing the lens cover. A half second too long or short can make such a difference to the end result....I'm still quite pleased with it though.

That particular camera extends to 36 inches between the front and rear standards....as you say, one hell of a camera.

As for my clothing and personal appearance......Mmmm I think that's better kept under wraps ( for the moment anyway!!)

 

[The goblin]

I like the first shot with the strong light streaming through, I think it adds atmosphere.

I sold my old film EOS 500 a few years ago, good job as I take about 80 shots sometimes to get one decent one:bonk: I'd be rubbish with this!!!

 

[Asha]

I take about 80 shots sometimes to get one decent one:bonk: I'd be rubbish with this!!!

Just like me then

Yes the light in No1 makes it more dramatic I think and thus more atmosphere.

I can see me returning to reshoot with a hope of getting the light of No1 and the composure of No2

 

[Asha]

Week 8
About time I showed a pic of myself taken by my better half.

Shot at 2012-03-06

The camera used was this Coronet Midget:

Shot at 2012-03-06

http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Coronet_Midget_&_Cameo

Unable to obtain 16mm roll film, the easiest method is to cut sheet film to fit the camera and tape film backing paper onto the inside of the rear door to cover the red window.

Obviously this only allows for one shot but it gives a result on a negative that measures 13mm x 18mm !!!

Fixed F/10
Fixed 1/30 second
Adox CHS 100
Ilford Chemistry
Canoscan 8800F (4800ppp)

 

[The goblin]

Nice to see the man behind the camera collection

Although it looks like you have fencing or something growing out of your left ear

What a cute little camera though.

 

[Asha]

Nice to see the man behind the camera collection

Although it looks like you have fencing or something growing out of your left ear

What a cute little camera though.

LOL I didn't notice that growth until you mentioned it.....Looks to be a piece of debris (hair or something) that's got in at the scanning stage.

Yes these little midgets are kinda cute.....I don't know if you read the link, but amongst other info, it states that these were gifts with cereal packets back in the 1930's and early 40's.

 

[The goblin]

No I hadn't read that, I wouldn't mind a free camera with my cereal!

 

[Bilko]

Those wee cameras are great.

 

[Asha]

Those wee cameras are great.

Yes out of all the cameras I have, my mrs likes the coronet midgets the most ...It's a lady thing I think although I do agree that they are pretty smart.

Unlike her I don't think I have a particular favourite camera...I enjoy them all, even those that can be a sod to use!

I have other subminiatures which i hope to be using during this challenge now that I have decided to do each of the 52 weeks with a different camera!

 

[Asha]

Week 9
Week 9
Having decided to use a different camera for each week, instead of running a roll of film through them all, I am going to use up the out of date sheet film that I have and cut it to fit whichever individual camera, blanking out the red window with backing paper like I did with the coronet midget.
For a tacky moulded plastic camera with a fixed focus plastic lens and fixed shutterspeed, I didn't expect much of a result for this week but managed to get these two town clocks in Old Nice.
The clock tower belongs to a church but the building in the foreground is derelict, only the basement been used by the council to house street cleaning equipment!....a real shame but it's just one of many empty old properties that could be renovated if only someone would put up the finances.
What drew me to the shot was the fact that despite the building been in need of some tlc, the two clocks were both showing the correct time.
The shadows to the left are from scaffolding on an adjoining building.

Shot at 2012-03-12

Camera used:
Kodak Brownie Vecta

Shot at 2012-03-12

Fixed F/14
Fixed 1/30 second ( I think!)
Adox CHS 100 ( shhet cut to 127 format size)
Ilford Chemistry
Canoscan 8800F (2400ppp)

 

[Asha]

Week 10

Hats and Bags....One of the boutiques in the heart of Nice
Many of these old cameras had fixed or very limted shutter speeds/apertures.
This being typical F/11 1/30 sec ....not the best of shutter speeds to take a handheld shot!
tried cropping the picture slightly to remove the belisha beacon reflection in a shop window to the right but it made the scene look too cramped overall so left it as is.

Shot at 2012-03-12

Taken with this early version (C 1943) Ensign Ful Vue camera

Shot at 2012-03-12

Fixed F/11
Fixed 1/30 second
Adox CHS 100 ( sheet cut to 120 format size)
Ilford Chemistry
Canoscan 8800F (2400ppp)

 

[Asha]

Week 11

Caught up with my weeks at last!

Purely by chance came across this guy standing in Place Garibaldi in Nice trying to gain support from people and issuing leaflets explaining that there are other methods of producing electricity other than by nuclear power. Translated, his board reads "Between nuclear and the candle there is intelligence"

Shot at 2012-03-12


Shot using one of my Kodak folders:
Six-20 Kodak Model C

Shot at 2012-03-12

Have used this camera before by respooling 120 film onto 620 spools but for this shot I cut sheet film to fit and just took the one image.

A little light entry but not unusual for most of the cameras in my collection.


Fixed F/6.3
Fixed 1/50 second
Adox CHS 100 ( sheet cut to 120/620 format size)
Ilford Chemistry
Canoscan 8800F (2400ppp)

 

[The goblin]

Hi Asha, it's amazing that both those clocks say the correct time!

I like the atmosphere of the bag photo. It amazing how nowadays we buy apps for our phones to get this aged effect!

Would you not crop the left side of your protestor to remove the area where the light got in?

Do you seriously have enough cameras to use a different one every week?

 

[robhooley167]

Do you seriously have enough cameras to use a different one every week?

If not, can always buy more

 

[martsharm]

This is great stuff. Both the photos and the cameras have such a lovely character; all different. A nice way to make the modern world look retro!

 

[Asha]

Hi Asha, it's amazing that both those clocks say the correct time!

I like the atmosphere of the bag photo. It amazing how nowadays we buy apps for our phones to get this aged effect!

Would you not crop the left side of your protestor to remove the area where the light got in?

Do you seriously have enough cameras to use a different one every week?

Hi Marsha,

Thanks for dropping in .....hope you're feeling brighter!

The clocks....a little bit like "Back to the future" Just need a suitable mad prof and some lightning

The bags...as we all know, retro at the moment is in big time.......I don't personally follow fashion, I just happen to keep up with it by accident purely by still possessing stuff from different eras....can't wait for the 80's to come back in

The light entry....not sure wether I would crop it or not tbh. Possibly if I was to print it. I do have a soft spot for liking photos very much as shot with as little pp as possible although even for me cropping is hardly major pp .

Enough cameras?.....oh my tbh i don't know exactly how many i have....without any doubt enough to shoot a different one each week if I can get 52 of them to operate something like. Cutting/manipulating film to to fit them is time consuming in itself. The real headache arises where many have shutter, aperture, focus or serious light entry issues. What I often do find difficult is finding a suitable subject when there are limitations to the camera.....often I'll find an ideal scene and the lighting will be wrong or the focal length won't suit or the cameras focus will be blocked at 7ft ......all part of the fun but does at times push my patience.

 

[Asha]

If not, can always buy more

I keep telling myself that I can't buy more, yet only a few days back I picked up a Canon AV-1 Came across it on fleabay, no bids on it, needed a good home so took the plunge....I have "saved " so many cameras and given them a new lease of life its unreal.
I'm sure they would thank me if they could talk

I really need to get a complete photo with all my gear ...I know with the cameras, projectors, lightmeters; old films, self timers, tripods, labo stuff etc etc there is in the region of 300 items which is why I really need to stop picking up bargains but when there's an old box brownie going for a couple of quid, restraint is difficult!

 

[Asha]

This is great stuff. Both the photos and the cameras have such a lovely character; all different. A nice way to make the modern world look retro!

It's the fact that the cameras are all different ( even those that are similar in style have their differences) which makes taking shots with them so interesting for me.
Naturally i yearn for good quality images but often just getting some of the cameras to produce anything at all is pretty amazing.

 

[RaglanSurf]

Great work Asha, I very impressed with your 52, your camera collection is much more diverse than mine, makes for much more variety in the end shot.
I really like your approach of cutting sheet film to fit your odd cameras. Do you tape it into place to stop it moving? And how do you process such small negs like the Midget ones?

 

[Asha]

Hi Nick,
Well it was down to your encouragement that made me decide to use 52 cameras in the first place....Made work for me have but have to confess I'm enjoying it

Cutting the sheet film:
Bear in mind I don't have a dark room so have to mess about in a changing bag...somewhat interesting/frustrating at times!
Firstly I cover the red window of the camera on the inside of the camera door using old backing paper from film stuck down with gaffer tape. One time I did cover the window from the outside and learnt the hard way that the gaffer tape can cause damage to leatherette when removed!
I use templates for the cameras made from cardboard although I must admit that something more solid (perspex perhaps) would work better as it is too easy to cut through the cardboard template when cutting the film in the dark!
Often several pieces of film can be obtained from one sheet but don't forget which way up you have the emulsion side!
Sometimes the film will sit in the camera in such a way that it cannot move.
In those where the film can slide about, I place a couple of tiny slithers of cellotape inside the camera like little tabs sticking up from where the spools reside. Once the film is in place, I simply bend the tabs over so they hold the edge of the film.
Only requires a tiny bit to stop the film moving around.
Once the shot has been taken and the film removed for developing, I immediatley remove all the cellotape/gaffatape etc ....I don't like to leave it i place longer than necessary.

As for developing tiny bits of cut film such as little strips for the coronet midget, the problem is how to ensure they stay inside my patterson tank when changing chems etc.
I use 35mm film canisters!
Complete with lid, take a drill to them and fill them with holes.
Ensuring that water will flow in and out of them without restriction.
Be sure to rub down any burr etc especially from the inside where the film will be.
The piece of film now goes into the canister which in turn goes into the tank.
Develop in the same way you would tacos or roll film.

Simple but it works a treat

 

[RaglanSurf]

Brilliantly simple and ingenious, I'll have to give it a go.

 

[Asha]

Brilliantly simple and ingenious, I'll have to give it a go.

If you have cameras that may be "dodgy" when it comes to being lighttight then the cut sheet film can save you a small fortune.

After wasting many a full roll of film in cameras that i believed to be lighttight, only to be rewarded with a complete strip of totally black negs, I decided that i had to find a cheaper way of testing cameras outdoors. In addition it was extremely frustrating to spend time and effort into obtaining a full 8 or so shots only to end up with no images.

The idea of using cut film in all my cameras if i felt the need only came about after realising that's what i had to do for the sub miniatures seeing as roll film for them is no longer produced.

As it is, sometimes I only wish to grab one shot with any given camera and don't want the wait of several weeks to run the film off before i develop hence this method pays off.

Generally i use Quarter plate, 9 x 12 or 4 x 5 sheet film as it is reasonably cheap and will all cut down and work in most medium and small format cameras including 116/616, 126, 127 and 110 !!

Give it a go .....nothing to lose really

 

[michael23]

Well done on catching up with the weeks. A great set of pics.

 

[Asha]

Well done on catching up with the weeks. A great set of pics.

Thanks Michael...It is very easy to drop behind and so much harder to catch up!
Glad you're still enjoying the shot's that I'm managing to get.

 

[Asha]

Week 12

Took a ride along the coast to Antibes to capture this weeks shot.

I'm quite pleased with this result .....

The painting in the foreground had a mosaic style to it which threw reflections from the sun in all directions....I was expecting flare across the lens but it looks to have turned out ok.

It is the artists ( Henri-Edmond Cross) interpretation of how the scene looked in 1908.

Shot at 2012-03-28

Camera used:
No1 Kodak Folding Autographic Series III (c.1930)

Shot at 2012-03-28

Aperture F/32
Shutter 1/50 second
Fomapan 400
Ilford Chemistry
Canoscan 8800F (2400ppp)

 

[michael23]

That's turned out well, I like it.

 

[Asha]

That's turned out well, I like it.

Thanks Michael.....I think I could be tempted to print this one A4

 

[RaglanSurf]

Love it, brings back great memories. I last went to Antibes in 1987, camped at a little campsite on the road to Biot, drank a lot of wine, eat a lot of bread and cheese and smoked a lot of Gauloise. Happy days

 

[Asha]

Love it, brings back great memories. I last went to Antibes in 1987, camped at a little campsite on the road to Biot, drank a lot of wine, eat a lot of bread and cheese and smoked a lot of Gauloise. Happy days

......and now you've matured into an old git like me!! and enjoy a good cognac instead of wine as your tipple??!! Good on ya!!

24 years is a long time!..... I suspect it's changed quite a bit since 1987 but it's still a beautiful area.

Glad you like the pic...one of my better efforts I think!

Took nearly half an hour to get the shot as I was constantly fighting with people wanting to be directly in the frame!!

The number of times I get asked if I'm a pro tog......occasionally I say yes just to impress! lol

 

[Asha]

Week 13
The police aren't generally too accomodating when it comes to having their photo taken but once they realised it was with a camera dating back possibly 80 years, they kindly obliged once they adopted their "cool" look sunglasses!
The sun was low in the sky which made my shadow fall in the frame but I don't think it ditracts too much. Also caught someones legs to the right of the picture.
The background is quite busy but with these cameras beng pretty much based on sunny 16 rule and the largest aperture often being F/11 or F/16, blurring out the background is impossible ( without pp!).
This shot had to be stopped down to F22 in order to get the exposure correct given that the camera only has one instant shutter speed of approx 1/50 sec

Shot at 2012-04-02

Camera used: No2 Kodak Box Brownie ( a lovely blue version...they were available in several diferent colours!) c.1929

Shot at 2012-04-02

Aperture F/22
Shutter 1/50 second
Fomapan 400
Ilford Chemistry
Canoscan 8800F (2400ppp)

 

[michael23]

Hi Asha, I like that, good of them to pose for you! The shadow and legs don't bother me.

 

[Asha]

Hi Asha, I like that, good of them to pose for you! The shadow and legs don't bother me.

Thanks Michael.....they remind me of a tv program i used to watch as a kid "CHiPS" I think it was called .....American motorbike police!

 

[ChickenDipa]

Really great shot! It does look as if its a scene from Chips or something.

 

[Asha]

Really great shot! It does look as if its a scene from Chips or something.

Thanks Alex......was quite a cool program wasn't it?!!
Glad you like the shot ......fortuanatley the camera i had with me was fixed focus and pretty much point and shoot other than set the aperture to cope with the light levels.
If if it had been one of the more complicated cameras then i would have missed the oportunity as they were on a call very soon after this shot was taken.

 

[The goblin]

I think week 12 is a cracking shot, so much to look at but not too much to be distracting: thumbs:

Well 13 - how cool do they look? I used to LOVE watching CHiPS! I think this image works really well. I didn't notice the background as the cops fill enough to keep you looking.