Many Cameras

Gallery: Coronet Flashmaster

Firda Beka — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:54:00 +0000

I found the Coronet Flashmaster at the local antique market last month and got my husband to get it for me for Christmas. It’s a simple, point-and-shoot, medium format, bakelite camera from 1950s with no settings whatsoever. I thought I’d run a test roll through it, to double as a test roll for a new batch of C41 developer/fixer that I was going to mix. The film I used was Kodak PPF 100 that expired, oh, only 12 years ago.

Obviously, I’d forgotten a lot about C41 processing after not doing any of it since last summer. The results show that many things that could go wrong during the processing did go wrong. But thanks to the crappy lens on the camera and the light leak in the top left corner, I still like some of the shots anyway. Hope you do too!

And thanks to this roll, the second roll of film I developed with this batch of developer/fixer this morning turned up just perfect. Can’t wait to scan and share!

Solo | Brownie Hawkeye Flash

Firda Beka — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Solo passed away today at age 25. He was one of the donkeys at the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada. I’m saddened by his passing but glad that I caught this moment in his life on film and that I have this picture to remember him by.

Bulb Exposure | Brownie Hawkeye Flash

Firda Beka — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:41:00 +0000

Just wanted to show what could be accomplished with a Brownie Hawkeye Flash on Bulb mode. It’s about a 1-minute long exposure. The film I used was probably the discontinued Kodak Portra UC (I used to shoot with this film exclusively before it became really difficult to find).

This is one of the reasons the BHF is my most favourite box camera ever.

Water Skis | Sawyer’s Nomad 620

Firda Beka — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:37:00 +0000

The Sawyer’s Nomad 620 is a rather bulky, bakelite camera with cool-looking design on the front plate (Google Images). It was made in the USA in the 1950s, I believe. The camera’s manufacturer was the original maker of the View-Master line of products! I find that last piece of information rather interesting.

The camera takes some pretty sharp pictures despite its plastic build. Check out my Flickr set for samples. I’ve only used this camera once because, well, it takes 620 film and I’ll need to respool 120 film to use it, which I’m always too lazy to do. Too bad, huh? The picture above of vintage water skis in the boathouse up at the cottage is actually one of my favourite pictures I’ve ever taken on film.

I must’ve got this camera from an antique mall because it doesn’t look like the kind of camera I’d get off of eBay. I only buy the more popular cameras from eBay because they usually come with a hefty price tag at antique malls. The least popular cameras are usually the other way around. Priced unreasonably on eBay (they’d call it RARE) but come cheap at antique malls. Go figure!

Old Timey | Ansco Shur Shot

Firda Beka — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:26:00 +0000

The Ansco Shur Shot is my first box camera. Picked it up from one of those antique barn places out in the country for, I believe, $5. I took it with me to a cottage weekend with friends, not expecting to get any good shots from it, but for a simple box camera from 1948, it performed rather well. The picture above is my favourite from the one and only roll I’ve ever shot with it. I love how timeless it looks. It could’ve been taken in the 1950s!

This Morning Sky | Polaroid ProPack

Firda Beka — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:56:00 +0000

I was about to list this Polaroid ProPack camera for sale on Etsy, but then I took some shots with it and fell in love with the results. Now I’m not sure I want to sell it.

I’m such a camera hoarder.

Happy 11/11/11! | Hasselblad 500C/M

Firda Beka — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:13:00 +0000

Taken with the Hasselblad 500C/M, Ilford HP5+ developed in peppermint and green tea.

Gallery: Hasselblad 500C/M

Firda Beka — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:43:00 +0000

I took my Hasselblad 500/CM loaded with a roll of Ilford Delta 100 for a walk downtown this past Sunday just so that I could develop it with my 4-Tea-C developer that most of you have probably read about over at the fantastic Cool Girls Shoot Film tumblr. I must have over-agitated the tank a bit because the roll ended up being a little overdeveloped. Hence the big grains. As for the black area on the left-hand side of each photo, that’s what you get for putting 500ml of developer in a tank that takes 550ml.

You may have noticed the lack of black spots in the pictures from this batch. Well, I ran the developer through a strainer twice. The first time when I transferred the solution from the saucepan to the measuring cup and another time when I transferred it from the measuring cup to the developing tank. Caught a lot of fine tea residue the second time around. Can’t say that I like it better without the black spots, though. It just looks like there’s something missing.

If you have any questions about b&w film developing with 4-Tea-C, please feel free to ask. I’ll try to answer your questions the best I can. Keep in mind that I’m neither the most consistent nor the most precise or scientific film developing person out there. I just like to experiment and do things differently each time. I am that adventurous.

French River | Polaroid Land Automatic 100

Firda Beka — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:43:00 +0000

Once upon a time, I bought cameras just for the sake of adding quantity to my camera collection. Not really for using. The Polaroid Land Automatic 100 was one of such cameras. Only two years ago did I realize that this camera takes the widely available Fuji FP-100C film! But to get the camera to take modern batteries requires a bit of hacking. Luckily, I’m married to a brilliant engineer who kindly did the hacking for me. And that is how this camera became my second favourite Polaroid camera after the SX-70.

Fallen | Pentax SP-1000

Firda Beka — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:36:00 +0000

Bought the Pentax SP-1000 from a garage sale on some sideroad in the country. I think we paid $15 for it. Anyway, one of my husband’s best friends got married that same day so I took the camera to the wedding, shot a roll of film with it, stuck the pictures in a scrapbook once developed, and gave the newlyweds the scrapbook as a belated wedding present. I think they liked it.