Friday 31 December 2010

End of Year

Well, the 52 weeks have gone, and I've managed to keep up, using a different film camera each week.
My renewed interest in using film has led my to acquire several more cameras this year, and together with my existing collection, I still have quite a few to use.
I plan to continue into 2011, but maybe not quite so strictly on one camera a week.
Watch this space.

photo from week 52 - Ica Ideal


Mop with a fly on his nose, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
This will be the last photo I upload this year, so I've chosen "Mop" my ventriloquist's dummy, who is my buddy icon here, and also on Flickr and Facebook.
He was a Christmas present from my Aunt Daphne more than 40 years ago, and as she died last week aged 91, this image is dedicated to her.

photo from week 52 - Ica Ideal

Another long exposure (10 seconds) so deadpan expression and stiff pose!

photo from week 52 - Ica Ideal


elderly teddy bear, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This week I used another expired film, this one a mere 30 years past its use by date (compared with 60 years last week). There is quite a lot of blotchiness and streaking, but the images are still there.

Monday 27 December 2010

photo from week 51 - Eljy (type 4)


Santa on his sleigh, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
Santa on his 21st century sleigh, raising money for Edale Mountain Rescue.

photo from week 51 - Eljy (type 4)

The exposure was approximately 15 seconds, hence the rather stiff pose.

Wednesday 22 December 2010

photo from week 50 - Voigtlander Bessa 1


Millennium Square Leeds, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

A cross between sculpture and architecture in Millennnium Square, Leeds.

photo from week 50 - Voigtlander Bessa 1


Corn Exchange Christmas Tree, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

The Christmas tree in the Corn Exchange, Leeds.

photo from week 50 - Voigtlander Bessa 1

This week's refelected self portrait was taken in the Tower of Steel at the Royal Armouries at Leeds. The light at the bottom of the tower was quite dim, and this was taken near full aperture (hence shallow depth of field) and with a shutter speed of 1 second, so even leaning against a pillar, I was unable to eliminate camera shake completely.

photo from week 50 - Voigtlander Bessa 1


car park, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
The continuing snow has reduced my range of possible subjects, this was taken in the car park at work, there is some definate camera shake evident.

Saturday 18 December 2010

Week 51 - Eljy (type 4)


Eljy (type 4), originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
This is a tiny little camera, made by Lumiere in France in the late 1940s. It uses a proprietary film format, taking 8 exposures on a roll of 30mm wide film.
The lens collapses into the body when not in use, and the viewfinder even has parallax correction for closer subjects. Although the shutter speeds range fro 1/10th to 1/200th of a second, they all seem to be the same now.
We'll soon see if there was any life left in the 60 year old film!

Eljy (type 4) with film

Lumipan film


Lumipan film, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

I'm using this 60 year old film in this week's camera, it's quite possible there will be nothing on it!

Sunday 12 December 2010

photo from week 49 - Olympus XA2


Rotunda, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

photo from week 49 - Olympus XA2

This week's mirror self-portrait.

photo from week 49 - Olympus XA2


clock tower, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

I was quite pleased with the tones I got with this redscale film, clear blue skies and bright sunshine seem to give the best results.

Saturday 11 December 2010

Week 50 - Voigtlander Bessa 1


Voigtlander Bessa 1, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

I've had this camera a long time, I don't remember where I got it, but I don't think I paid much for it.
It takes 8 6x9cm exposures on 120 rollfilm, originally it would have had a mask to allow 16 6x4.5cm exposures, but this is missing, though the viewfinder still has the appopriate supplementary window for this format.
The Bessa 1 was made for a number of years, I think this one dates from the late 1930s or early 1940s.

Friday 10 December 2010

photo from week 46 - Pentax Auto 110


Wolseley Road Mosque, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

photo from week 46 - Pentax Auto 110

There is both poor focus and camera shake in this one - a lesson perhaps not to use giant gloves to operate a tiny camera!

photo from week 46 - Pentax Auto 110


angel, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
This one was taken with the 50mm lens (equivalent to 100mm on a 35mm camera)

photo from week 46 - Pentax Auto 110


killing time, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
Finally got the negatives, scans and prints back today. This was a Konica 200 film that expired a few years ago.

Saturday 4 December 2010

Week 49 - Olympus XA2


Olympus XA2, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
The Olympus XA2 is a fully automatic compact 35mm camera with a 35mm f3.5 lens. The top of the range XA has a rangefinder, and the relatively rare and expensive XA4 has a 28mm macro lens. The XA2 is the workhorse of the range, and is widely and cheaply available in black, I have three black ones, the cheapest was £1.50, the most expensive £7.99. The red ones are rarer, and there was also a blue model and one in "champagne" (off white).
It is an excellent little camera, and while there is no manual overide, the auto shutter speeds are from 1/500th to 2 seconds, so the camera can be used in a wide range of lighting conditions.
As befits a red camera, I am using a redscale film this week.

photo from week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I


framed tree, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
A distant tree framed by two closer trees.

Wednesday 1 December 2010

photo from week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I


rare breeds, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
Two of the animals on display in Graves Park. Both of them look very cold.

photo from week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I

This week's "hat" is in fact the cover for a cheese board.

photo from week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I


cold sheep, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
I couldn't help feeling sorry for these sheep, they looked very cold!

photo from week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I


sycamore pair, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.
Not surprisingly, snow features heavily in this week's photos...