Finally got the shelves up for my vintage camera collection (a small portion). It’s nice to have the properly displayed instead of tucked away in a box under my bed.
Cameras from top to bottom left to right:
- Kodak Tourist
- Kodak Six-20 Junior
- Contaflex
- Kodak Vigilant Six-20 Junior
- Kodak Duaflex II
- Kodak Instamatic X35
- Kodak Brownie Bullet
- Argus 75
- Polaroid SX-70 (non-working)
- Kodak Retina
- Argus C3
- Polaroid SX-70 (working)
- Kalimar Reflex
- Kodak Brownie Bullet II
- Ricoh S2
- Kodak Hawkeye
- Yashica TLR
I also hang my race medals from these shelves, but I’ll spare you those for right now.
My photo is featured on the Flickr photo blog today
This is totally blowing my mind right now.
My photo is the top one, in case you were wondering.
The last photo taken with my Canon Rebel XT.
Of my new Canon Rebel T3i.
UPGRADE!
Camera: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT Aperture: f/5 Exposure: 1/40th Focal Length: 30mm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I finally ordered my Canon t3i yesterday!
I got just the body, because I already have a kit lens and I don’t need another one of those laying around. I bought it on Amazon.com and saved myself about $80 on the camera price! PLUS - free two day shipping with Amazon Prime. </swoon>
I decided I wanted another lens too, specifically a fixed focal length 50mm one. With the money I saved on the camera I could get this lens:
I got that beast for $100. Yeah, I’m good like that.
UPS says my packages will be here Tuesday. I’m not really sure how they calculate two day shipping, but since I ordered it on Sunday, and stuff doesn’t ship until Monday, I’d say that’s next day shipping. Unless UPS has some sort of ninja sunday shipping shenanigans going on. Which I would be okay with.
The air conditioning is so cold in this building my fingers are having a hard time typing.
I’m finally breaking down and purchasing a brand new camera, a Canon T3i, soon. Soon, as in within the next week or so. I’m beyond excited, and I can’t stop having dreams about it’s sexy body and the feeling of it’s plastic and leatherette under my finger tips. I can’t wait to feel the weight of it around my neck with it’s wide obnoxious strap, that will probably cut into my shoulder so I’ll end up getting rid of it. But still… I can’t wait.
You could totally help my buy it by contributing to the ‘Cara finally gets a new camera’ fund…via paypal… using corrinajo[at]gmail[dot]com as the recipient. You know, in case you wanted to help a girl out.
Wandered around Detroit this weekend with these two bad boys in tow.
While at my Father’s wake my aunt gave me an old camera she had laying around her house collecting dust. This Pentax ME Super still works, and comes with three lenses. I need batteries and film, and then I’m taking this beast out on an adventure.
June 12, 2011: Day 299
Pentax ME Super
Meet the Pentax ME Super! One of three new additions to my camera collection, care of my awesome Aunt Bonnie. She had three vintage cameras laying around collecting dust, and thought there was no better place for them to live out their lives, then with me. Whoever had this before she acquired it, was amazing. They had 3 lenses, accessories, and even kept the original receipt!
Oh yes please!
Only one problem, when I looked through the viewfinder, I didn’t see anything. At first I thought, “ha, silly Cara, you left the lens cap on!”… right, like I would make that mistake. Turns out the mirror was flipped up and the film advance lever was stuck, as was the film rewind button on the bottom.
Look at that black void :(
I did not accept those things as a reason to not use this camera. Luckily I’m not afraid to take things apart and poke around a little bit. I took off the bottom off by removing the three, tiny, tiny, screws on the bottom.
Somewhere in the bottom left by the film rewind spool thinger (I’m not so good with the technical words), is a little tab that got stuck on the film advancement. I moved the tab, and advanced the film, and things got unstuck! Just like that. The film advanced, the film rewind button became unstuck, and the mirror dropped back down.
Like. A. Boss.
So now, the only thing it needs is fresh batteries, a good cleaning (see that foam gunk), and a roll of film.
Thanks Aunt Bonnie, for making my shitty week a little better.
Sometimes a girl just needs a romantic, candle lit dinner with her cameras.
May 2, 2011: Day 259
Windmill with Holga 120N on Fuji Velvia Slide film.
September 2007.
A freakishly warm April day, topped off at 84 degrees! This meant I got to wander around Clawson taking photos, this time with my ‘new’ Kodak Retina lla,
April 10, 2011: Day 225
Taking photos with this baby right now!
Film Camera Project
As you probably know by now, if you follow my blog, I have a camera collecting sickness. I can tell you when and where it started too. March 2006, with a Polaroid 420 Land Camera I got for $0.79 at St. Vinny’s Thrift Shop in Marquette. I frequently shopped at St. Vinny’s and loved to look at the old vintage cameras they had behind the glass and thought “what would I ever do with that, it’s not ‘cool’.”. One day I saw this Polaroid sticking out of the camera bin with all the other cheap 35mm $0.50 cameras. I figured, what the heck, it’s only $0.79! After much research I found out what type of film it needed, where I could get it, how to take photos with it, etc. One of the arms had broken for the bellows and I had to super glue it back together, but it worked.
(The first photo I took with my Polaroid 420 Land Camera once I got film.)
I took about 10 or so packs of film with that camera, carrying a timer and a trash bag around with me when I would go out photographing things. I learned about Polaroid transfers, how you can get the emulsion off the photo paper and put it on something else. I also did some Polaroid Negative Transfers, which was tricky to do while wandering around taking photos.
(Polaroid Emulsion Transfer with 669 color film. Sorry for the horrible scan)
The point is that this $0.79 camera changed everything for me in terms of photography. I had a new taste for photography. I wanted to know about all types of cameras, all film types, uses, everything. I appreciated the differences that the camera had on the film and realized that the camera and the photographer make the photo worth while. I can achieve that grainy, soft blur, vingette look that people try to duplicate in Photoshop with one click, on a camera from 1953 that cost me $4. You should be pretty jealous of that.
(Taken with a Holga 120n that I threw down three flights of stairs. Not Photoshopped.)
Over time I started collecting cameras, from Polaroid to Kodak to that one off brand no one ever heard of. A lot were gifts, most are from thrift stores or antique shops, and a few are from ebay. But all of them are mine, and I know all of them like they are my children. I know how to open one of my Polaroid SX-70s because the mirror is stuck flipped up, and how many turns it takes in my Kodak Brownie Bullet for one exposure of 35mm film (it’s supposed to take 127mm, but I modified it).
(You can see the original Polaroid 420 Land Camera towards the center with the blue flash bulb on it.)
My collection has grown to nearly 50 film cameras. I have always wanted to use every single one of them, but never had the time or the money to do it. With my Photo a Day project I’ve found the perfect opportunity to do it. This summer I plan on purchasing bulk roll film in 35mm format, and a large quantity of 220mm film for my 120/220/620mm format cameras.
I will take photos with all of them (With the exception of a lot of the Polaroids, and the ones that take 126 film)
I will process the film myself, then scan it into my computer, and show you guys!
I will eventually make prints of my photos when I get a bigger place and can set up my dark room again.
I’m not sure how this project will work with my photo-a-day project, but I’m hoping to take that day’s ‘photo’ with my film camera and then post both versions once they’re scanned. But who knows, I might just do my own thing with the film cameras. I’ve always wanted take photos of my cameras in weird places, like at the playground or in the grocery store, but I’m a strange lady.
Meet two new additions to my camera collection. A friend of mine knew my love for cameras and had a few collecting dust he thought would be better suited with my family of cameras.
February 8th, 2011: Day 176
Seeing all the tiny bits it takes to make your camera is fascinating!
…and a little frightening.
I knew cameras were complex, but damn!
