New Project: Old Camera Series: Long Island City on the Agfa Isolette II

I recently used the Agfa Isolette II as part of the New Project: Old Camera series. A medium format folder camera with no internal light meter, it uses 120 roll film and slides easily into a pocket (a large pocket, but still, a pocket). This particular camera belonged to my mother's father and I felt especially honored to be using it.

Jury Duty in Chinatown on the Minolta SR-T 101

I recently had the pleasure of being summoned for jury duty in Chinatown. I brought my new-old Minolta SR-T 101 35 mm camera with me (acquired at the camera sale bonanza at Housing Works) and bought film during my lunch break. When I realized that the film would have to go through the scanner, I shot through the entire roll on the fifteen minute walk back to the courthouse. It was a pretty fun exercise on an extremely hot summer day in New York City.

Happy Halloween!

For the last forty years, "West 69th Street from Broadway to Central Park West is transformed into a big Halloween Trick or Treat Party. The neighbors decorate their domiciles, don full costume regalia, and some turn their living rooms into haunted houses for the little ghosts and goblins to traipse through. It is a great place to take your kids on Halloween."

The Weblicist of Manhattan

New Project: Old Camera: The Canon T70

These were taken with a Canon T70, which I was given for free on Friday when it looked like there was so much corrosion that the camera was inoperable. A little screwdriver action, some rubbing alcohol and new batteries seemed to do the trick. I took these on a 12 mile run on Saturday. Even though this isn't a camera I already had, I'm putting it in the New Project: Old Cameras series. It's a fun little camera to play around with.

New Project: Old Cameras: No. 2 Cartridge Hawk-Eye Model C

The third camera I took out from its place on the shelf and used for the Old Cameras Project is the No. 2 Cartridge Hawk-Eye Model C by Eastman Kodak. The No. 2 was manufactured between 1926 and 1934 in the US and uses 120 film. I have no idea where I got it but it looks like it was never used - in fact, if they still made such cameras today, I would have a hard time convincing someone that it was actually from the 1920s or 1930s. I should have done a little research before I took it out for a spin, however, as the fixed-focus lens is designed to keep objects between 6-8 feet away from the camera in focus, something that would have been handy to know. Out of all the images that I shot, there is really only one that I like - and it's pretty blurry. My other issue was that I could not see through the "finder" at all, making shooting a pretty interesting endeavor. Additionally, I realized I was likely making a few double exposures as I was flipping the shutter both up and down for each shot - it only needs to be released once. Here are two of the photos:


All and all, I had a great time using it. I am kind of excited about trying to use it again - now that I understand how it works a little better. More information on the No. 2 can be found here.

Photo of the No. 2 Cartridge Hawk-Eye Model C by formica via flickr.

New Project: Old Cameras

Recently I was bemoaning my lack of space (tiny apartment, two dogs, one cat, one baby and one husband) when my mother noted that I have an immense array of old cameras on "display." She wondered why I didn't put those into storage along with my winter coats and various other items (like an ancient typewriter) that I have no room for but can't, for the life of me, part with. I was, of course, horrified. Why, I use all of those cameras, ALL OF THE TIME. My mother raised an eyebrow, "Really?" OK, so, no, I rarely, if ever, use any of them.

So, I have decided to embark upon a new project - I am going to use each and every one of these cameras and write about the results here.

First up: the Mamiya 645. I used this when I first purchased it, maybe twice. I was actually looking for a medium format that produced square images. The Mamiya is medium format that produces 6x7 cm images. At the time, I found the Mamiya heavy and intimidating (I ran around with my trusty and extremely light Pentax K1000 - which I used professionally and probably would have continued to do so if I hadn't started doing sports photography which required the switch to digital). Since I took it up again, however, I am loving the detailed images it produces and the fact that it's all manual. I recently developed the second roll I shot with it from possibly 9-10 years ago. Great details, great lighting (oh, how I love film). I shot a new roll of the bambino but found the manual focusing a bit tough (I'm out of practice) when you are trying to capture your delightful, yet squirmy, wee one. Two examples:

The bambino.

And this was taken when I first purchased the camera but never developed the film.

Next up: The Polaroid Automatic Land Camera 100. I'll be hunting down the 4.5 v battery and some Polaroid 600 film (and Fuji 100). The camera that I am most coveting right now? The Polaroid 600SE. It's a beauty.