Sunday 27 November 2011

Week 100 - Watch Pocket Carbine

Watch Pocket Carbine by pho-Tony
Watch Pocket Carbine, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This is the 100th week of the project!
I was hoping that I might have a 100 year old camera to use, but none are quite that old, though this one was introduced in 1911 and remained in production for a decade or more.
At first glance it appears to take 120 roll film, but the spools are narrower than standard 120, more like 620 spools, though this format was not introduced until much later. The camera had one wooden spool in it, and I was able to re-roll a film onto an old 620 spool to make the supply side. The way the old wooden spool engages with the wind-on knob is not compatible with the 620 spools, so it was lucky the old one was there.

Saturday 26 November 2011

photo from week 99 - Paxina

walking the dog by pho-Tony
walking the dog, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This is a disused and derelict laundry near where I live. I waited until there were no passing cars, and luckily at that moment a dog walker appeared.

photo from week 99 - Paxina

The camera has 2 focus positions, 1-3m and 3m to infinity. I was about 60cm from the mirror, giving an effective distance of 1.2m, so I used the smallest available aperture and exposed the scene for around 10 seconds using the "B" setting and a tripod.

photo from week 99 - Paxina

Sycamore in the mist by pho-Tony
Sycamore in the mist, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
The cross processed Fuji Velvia slide film has a pleasant orange/red/purple cast to it. This photo was taken on a foggy afternoon, at times the sun briefly became visible through the mist.

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Week 99 - Paxina

Paxina by pho-Tony
Paxina, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This is a 120 rollfilm camera, it takes 12 square photos per roll. It's fairly basic, but does have 2 shutter speeds plus "B" and has 3 apertures using the Waterhouse stop method. The lens panel collapses into the body, and when closed it fits in a largish pocket without too much trouble.
I've loaded it with some expired Fujichrome Velvia ISO100 slide film, which I will cross process at home in C41 chemistry.

photo from week 98 - Durst Duca

sycamore by pho-Tony
sycamore, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
It seems that my changing bag is far from a dust free environment!

photo from week 98 - Durst Duca

This camera has a fixed shutter speed and aperture, so can't be used indoors, meaning that my reflected self-portrait had to be taken in a window of the local college..

photo from week 98 - Durst Duca

snicket by pho-Tony
snicket, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I only managed to get nine exposures this week, re-loading the Agfa Rapid cassettes is a bit hit and miss, this time I obviously didn't load enough, but the resistance had got to the level where I was going to damage the film if I tried to cram any more in.

Sunday 13 November 2011

Week 98 - Durst Duca

Durst Duca by pho-Tony
Durst Duca, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I left my final decision about the choice of this week's camera until I saw what the weather was like, we have had a very gloomy week, and this camera, with a fixed shutter speed and aperture needs good light. Saturday morning was sunny, so the Durst Duca got the go ahead. There are only 12 exposures per load, which is just as well, as we are now back to very dull conditions.

Saturday 12 November 2011

photo from week 97 - Pentax S1

One advantage of using an SLR for the mirror self-portrait is that I can be more accurate with the focus and so use a wider aperture to allow a hand-holdable shutter speed indoors.

photo from week 97 - Pentax S1

three sparklers by pho-Tony
three sparklers, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
Several seconds hand held exposure, using a Sigma 24mm lens, with the aperture set arounf f11.

photo from week 97 - Pentax S1

Passing Through Tudor Square by pho-Tony
Passing Through Tudor Square, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I chose to use this camera this week partly as there would be fireworks and other outdoor events to photograph, where I might be able to use long exposures to good effect, but this one was taken using the slowest shutter speed I thought I could get away with hand-holding. At full aperture, f2.2 I used 1/30th sec. Even with ISO400 film, it is somewhat underexposed.

Sunday 6 November 2011

photo from week 96 - Sprocket Rocket

The Freak by pho-Tony
The Freak, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
Time exposure of a spectacular white knuckle fairground ride, the shutter was open for about 20 seconds.

photo from week 96 - Sprocket Rocket

Now I know from first hand experience why the early Victorians always looked so po-faced in photographs. The need to keep still (in this case for 30 seconds) made it difficult to keep anything but a straight face.

photo from week 96 - Sprocket Rocket

zombie by pho-Tony
zombie, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I took most of this week's photos at "Fright Night", an annual halloween event in Sheffield city centre. I made full use of the camera's multiple exposure capability and "bulb" setting. For some of the shots I used an electronic flash gun with coloured filters in front of it.

Week 97 - Pentax S1

Pentax S1 by pho-Tony
Pentax S1, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This 35mm SLR dates from the early 1960s. It came from a local charity, and at £30 was not a bargain, but a reasonable price. The camera is entirely mechanical, so there are no electronics to go wrong. Everything seems to work OK and I've loaded it with some Fuji ISO 400 film.

Saturday 5 November 2011

photo from week 95 - Zeiss Ikon Kolibri

under Hungerford Bridge by pho-Tony
under Hungerford Bridge, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I didn't think this octogenarian camera would like the rain very much, so I stood under Hungerford Bridge to take this photo of the South Bank with the Houses of Parliament in the distance.

photo from week 95 - Zeiss Ikon Kolibri

This was taken using available light with the slowest shutter speed I thought I could get away with, it is somewhat underexposed, and further complaicated by having accidentally triggered the shutter while setting it.

photo from week 95 - Zeiss Ikon Kolibri

South Bank Centre by pho-Tony
South Bank Centre, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I took the Kolibri with me on a day trip to London on a very wet day, there were plenty of puddles and reflections. The film was Efke 100 black and white film which I developed in Ilfosol 3.