Tag Archives: box cameras
Brownie Flash III on Fuji Acros 100
There isn’t an outing in this house that doesn’t involve at least four cameras each (per adult) and one each for at least three of the children… That’s a *lot* of cameras…
And there’s a danger with this modus operandi: one tends to forget which camera does or doesn’t contain film.
I had assembled my photographic equipment for our walk the other day: my Halina Paulette, Bencini Comet IIS and my Lomo Lubitel 2, when another appeared on my ‘pile’ – a Brownie Flash III. I asked Jem if he’d put it there and he told me he’d noticed it had a ’4′ in the red window. Eek! That meant it had film in it and I had no recollection whatever of when or where I had loaded it and taken the first four shots. The only thing I did know (because it was another of our ‘live and learn’ moments) is that it was loaded with Fuji Acros 100… because I had put a sticker on the bottom of it saying so.
So, now that we’re up and running with our own developing, it seemed prudent to finish the film as quickly as possible and get it processed.
Of the mere eight shots that a roll of 120 yields from a Box Brownie, only four and a bit really came out. Despite the fact that the camera had been stored in its original canvas case, the film had still deteriorated and there’s serious fogging throughout, totally destroying two shots, making the third unusable, but the other five came out with varying degrees of success.
My lessons for today, then, are:
- Remember which camera is loaded.
- Make sure you use it till it’s done.
- If you store it for a while without using it, make sure you cover the red window with electrical (or similar) tape.
One of them, however, came out beautifully in spite (or maybe because) of the deterioration. One of our favourite photographic spots:
Cathedral Cloisters
A Tribute to Alice
Here is a shot of Alice from a roll of HP5 taken with the Kodak Brownie Six-20 model D, of which I have two copies procured from a local antique shop, neither costing more than the price of a lifestyle coffee in the city.
Alice is a great photographic subject, which somebody pointed out to me yesterday. It is not that I’m unaware of how strong and refined she is. Her calm, poise and her peaceful nature are easy to get used to, but they sometimes really show in a photograph too.
I will put up a few more shots from this roll later. It is remarkable to consider that the camera is several decades old and hasn’t even been particularly valued or cared for in most of that time. I have much more expensive and high-end cameras than this but even so, they can’t compete with some of the old-timers for sheer style and elegance.
A bit like Alice in fact.
