A good friend, a lifelong professional photographer, still had his old film camera kit from back in the early 70s. We share a fondness for old tech, and hang onto things longer than most rational people. When he saw that I was playing with my grandfather’s Grayflex, he offered to give it all to me. Just wanted to see it used again. I had some old computer hardware I no longer use, so we worked out a nice barter.
When I went to pick it up, I found a whole pile of stuff in boxes. He threw in a bunch of other old gear, too: Developing tanks, a darkroom timer like the one I had, light kits, a meter, cases, even the original boxes, film, winders, some Holga plasticams, etc.. Quite a haul.
I won’t have film developed from this for a few more days, but the camera is an amazing piece of brilliant engineering. Like the Grayflex, there are no electronics. Everything is mechanical. And it’s completely modular. The film backs are interchangeable, and can be removed mid-roll so that different types of film can be used for the same shots, moments apart. The view finders are interchangeable, as are the lenses and even the focusing ring. The dang thing weighs 4 pounds.
I’ll be posting photos from this one soon. This will be fun.
This old house is oriented on the cardinal points – the word oriented derives from “facing east” – so around the equinox, the sun shines straight through the house at dawn. It’s especially dramatic in Spring, when the trees are still bare.
I love these remnants of old analog time. A more primal rhythm than the digital clocks that measure out our days, one that doesn’t run on batteries.
Speaking of analog, this is that old borrowed camera. It belongs to an artist friend, the one who painted the large canvas over the sideboard in the living room, of the field on fire. Doug’s wife, Giselle, actually. Usually it’s sitting on a shelf in her studio, next to bees nests, bird bones, fox skulls, and painter’s palettes covered in wax.
She has a new show up this month in Charlottesville, that we really, really like. Each piece is a pastiche of map details and gold flake land masses floating in pale blue seas, all covered in wax encaustic.
Selfies are a real challenge. Guess at focus and framing, guess at exposure, trip the shutter with a long cable, and hope for the best.
I’ve started getting back the first photos from that old Graflex camera.
These Black and White images were all shot on Ilford HP5.
I say first photos, but it’s 75 or 80 year old camera. It took a LOT of photos through the 40s and 50s. Then a few more in 80s when it was handed down from my grandfather to me, and I first played with it in college. So these are the first photos taken with the camera in about 40 years.
I no longer have my darkroom equipment, or even a scanner, so sent the film out to a mail order place in California. They develop the film and post the high res scans online for download. I should get the film back in a few days. It’s a good way to see if the camera still works, before considering replacement of any darkroom supplies.
I had no idea if any of these would come out. What a pleasant surprise.
The camera has certainly been through a lot over the better part of a century, including a fire. It was stored in a camera bag on a shelf in my office. The bag melted, along with everything else on the shelf. But what was inside the bag was remarkably well preserved. A few accessories were stored in tubs in the basement, and those came through fine, aside from some mildew. It’s all been sitting in the new bookcase for the past two years, and looks nice there; but I grew increasingly curious to try it again recently. Mostly inspired by reading the remarkable autobiography of Sally Mann, Hold Still.
But wow, it still works amazingly well. The light meters are toast, so I have to take readings with my phone and translate, sort of. And the mechanics of all the old analog dials and knobs and buttons is a charming challenge. But it clearly works.
I still get confused. There are so many things to remember. More than once I got everything carefully set up and took the shot, only to realize I forgot to remove the protective light shade from the film pack. So no exposure.
Or forgot to wind the film between shots, resulting in double exposures. Some of which are interesting duds.
Or trip the shutter by accident, while trying to figure out the cable release.
But overall, it’s amazing how well the camera still works. I sent out another three rolls today. They should be ready in about a week.
It’s definitely not an “everyday shooter” but fun to experiment with. A creative diversion from the easy and always perfect iPhone photos, the magical camera always ready in my pocket.
I’ll also be curious to see what’s on the rolls of those expired-30-years-ago rolls that I shot when Doug and I first went out with it. Those won’t be ready for another month or so. A couple of those rolls were already exposed, and may have been shot by me long ago, or even by someone else – I won’t know until I see the results, if any.
