Beier Beirette loves Italy
Lomography Xpro Chrome 100 on Beier Beirette
You gotta love the many photographic relics of the past. Here’s an interesting photo set by our reader hailing all the way from Italy,Elisa Bastianello aka tagliatelelatesta on Flickr using the Beier Beirette. Here’s what she had to say:
This camera had a great story, my boyfriend chanced upon it in an old drawer and after some digging, we found out that it belonged to my grandmother-in-law’s late uncle. He was a Catholic priest and bought the Beirette maybe in the 70s or 80s.
I shot these photos in January when me and my boyfriend took a walk at the World War 1 territories somewhere near the north of Italy. We had to cross the wild woods to reach the Tagliamento river and once there, I told him to jump up and down…and he did! It was so funny, lol.
For more info on the Beirette check out this link here.
Well, you know the drill…don’t forget to visit Elisa’s Flickr stream and say hi!
Very Expired Film in a Very Old Box Camera
Kodacolor Gold 200 GB (expired 1989) on Savoy 620
I got my Savoy camera for about US$20 from etsy, not exactly a super buy, but it was advertised as being in very excellent condition so I thought why not as I had a bunch of expired 620 film in my fridge waiting to be used and no 620 camera in possession (at that time, now I own about 5 of them ;P ). The plastic lens on this camera really gives your images a nice luminous layer to tone down the sharpness, really rocketing you back into time.
Sure you have the Holga or the Diana that also sport plastic lenses, but the lo-fi effect those lenses give your images I feel is a modern kind of vintage. What you get with cameras like the Savoy, Ansco Panda, or the Kodak Brownie for example is retro in its purity!
Just look at the images above, I have made a modern day Kuala Lumpur in 2012 appear to look like what it would have 40 years ago. The expired film definitely helped here with the grain and the brown and golden tone very prominent of Kodak Gold films even today. I’m very happy with my results here and can’t wait to try to force some 120mm rolls into the Savoy.
Box cameras usually come with fairly small apertures of f/11 or smaller, and a shutter speed of about 1/125, so it is somewhat difficult to shoot in lowlight, especially if there is no bulb mode, like with the Savoy. An easy way to still shoot in low light is to shoot multiple exposures of the same scene but just make sure you have your camera either locked on a tripod or on a very stable surface to avoid image shifts.
I still have a bunch of box cameras to test out, it’s going to be quite a ride, I am sure.
-eleanorrigby236
The Savoy is a cheap plastic camera famous in the 1960s for its futuristic look (spot the outer space orbit logo!) and shiny front. It was available in multiple colors from mint green, which is seemingly the most common, grey, red, and navy blue from what I have seen online. All in all it’s a very smart looking, easy to use box camera.
How to make your otherwise drab and mundane photos interesting?
Agfa RSX II 200 on Ensign Ful-Vue
Bored with your photos? Running out of places to shoot?
The solution is simple, really. Go for double/multiple exposures and if you’re feeling adventurous, intentionally make yourself a fat roll to get some delicious light leaks on your shots!
The first two photos were taken in the heart of KL near the Central Market / Masjid Jamek and I assure you that I’ve gone for a photowalk there for no less than four times in 2011 alone!
These were also shot on the same roll, the last 3 frames in fact and due to some fat roll action, I’m left with these light leaks! They definitely weren’t intentional but they sure made my otherwise repetitive images all the more interesting.
And you guessed it, it’s the same old abandoned house in Bangsar as featured in my Lensbaby post earlier.
Oh, btw, I was told by a fellow photographer who frequented the place that about 4 weeks ago during an outing (at 2am!!) they actually saw not one but TWO entities floating around the compound! Have you heard of Pontianaks before?
Sickkk!!
-delusiana
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On Facebook we share our surprising finds and our latest buys ;) Look what I just found in an Ansco Panda box camera I got a few months back. I am hoping that the previous owner forgot about the roll and left it in there some few decades ago. Stay tuned to find out what’s on the roll.
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-eleanorrigby236
Meow, if you love Kodak!
Kodak T-Max 400 on Diana 151
(self-developed: Ilford Ilfosol 3, 1+9 at 6 mins)
Even Sora wants you to know that our beloved Kodak is here to stay and that FILM IS NOT DEAD!
-delusiana
Ensign Ful-Vue, my new hero!
Ilford HP5+ 400ISO on Ensign Ful-Vue Box Camera
(Self-developed: Ilford Ilfotec DD-X, 1:4, 9 minutes)
So here’s the test roll for my cute frog-like vintage 1950s box camera, the Ensign Ful-Vue. This is actually the 2nd incarnation of the Ful-Vue, made in Great Britain during the post war era - its large and bright viewfinder making it one of the best cameras at it’s time. Despite its pseudo TLR looks, the Ful-Vue is actually a very simple box camera with a pull-out lens for close up shots, as seen in the last 2 pictures of this set.
Composing pictures with the viewfinder needs a little getting used to but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy. I bought this camera from Charlie Wray, who’d written that wonderful piece on the Leica M6 last month.
There is a noticeable stain in the first 2 shots which I think is probably due to the dust on the lens but I’m not complaining, I think it made my shots look super retro. :D
I didn’t actually research on this camera until after I’ve developed this roll, I thought that you had to pull out the lens to shoot, which resulted in the soft focus in the first 4 shots and the sharper images in the last 2. But I’m not complaining, not a bit!
A little bit on the location of the shoot, this was taken at an old abandoned colonial bungalow in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur - a favorite haunt of local film photographers, so much so that the lady who lived next door actually asked why so many of us are fascinated with the place, lol.
-delusiana
Spirit Photographs of William Hope
These photographs of ‘spirits’ are taken from an album of photographs unearthed in a Lancashire second-hand and antiquarian bookshop by one of the Museum’s curators. They were taken by a controversial medium called William Hope (1863-1933). Later in his career as a “spirit photographer” he was exposed as being a fraud, using a technique of superimposing images onto his subjects to create these bone-chilling, ghastly images.
Fake or not, I think he did a pretty good job, and all done in the era where Photoshop and computers were not at his disposal. I think this ought to be included in our Inspiration section for those who dabble in alternative photography or print their own images. Head over to the National Media Museum Flickr for more of Mr. Hope’s sinister spine-tingling photos.
As we’re on the subject of ghost photos, here is also an interesting article on New Scientist discussing Ghouls on Film : Ghost or Glitch. Have a pleasant ghost-free day, my friends!
-eleanorrigby236
620 cameras = L.O.V.E!
Shanghai GP3 Negative 100 on Kodak Duaflex II
The Kodak Duaflex II is a recent addition to my growing 620 box camera collection. As with the others, I love this camera for its simplicity and vintage charm.
Produced between 1950 and 1954, the Duaflex II was a very popular camera, constructed of aluminum and plastic with a fixed single element 75mm f/15 Kodet lens. (There is another version with a focusing lens)
Small, but with a bit of weight, the Duaflex is easy to carry around and a lot of fun to use. A bright bubble viewfinder, winding knob, and shutter button is all there is to it! And, it takes double exposures. :)
The Duaflex II takes twelve 6x6 images. For my test roll, I chose Shanghai GP3 100. For this camera, I re-spooled the 120 film onto a 620 spool. (Its easy! See my note about re-spooling below).
I’ve only used Shanghai in old box cameras, so can’t really speak to this film other than I do like the results I’ve gotten in these cameras, and the Duaflex is no different. You’ll see in some of the images there is black speckling; this is an occasional issue with Shanghai, not the processing. I like the texture the speckling adds in landscape shots.
I love taking double exposure images, and if a camera can take them, I’ll shoot ‘em…I can’t help myself. On my next roll I’m going to try taking more “regular” shots, if I can…just to get a better idea of what this camera does.
About Respooling:
With a little practice, re-spooling 120 film onto a 620 spool is easy! There are a number of online tutorials.
I have a couple of 620 cameras that will easily accept a trimmed-down 120 spool in the feed, but for the rest I’ve found re-spooling to be easier than the additional grinding and sanding needed to make a 120 spool work. I practiced with a dummy roll in the light before graduating to a changing bag. Now I have the hang of it, each roll takes me around 10 minutes, and I know it can be done in less. If a 620 camera I’m interested in has a spool, I’m more likely to get it, and I’ve accumulated extras from eBay. Just remember to ask for your spool back when you take it for developing!
-Stephanie
Bierette V test shots by Acid Saturation!
Scotch Colour 100 on Bierette V
This little 1964 German viewfinder camera with its E. Ludwig Meritar 45mm f/2.9 lens is a real cutie!
It gives a lovely dreamy look to the images and the relatively wide aperture is nice to use this effect in available light shots, like the abandoned market and the inside of the bus. Mine is a little tetchy as you can see from the split frame with the car and the flowers, which is actually one of my favourite shots from the set as the subjects are so different.
The film is Expired 2000 Scotch Colour 100 which I picked up when I bought my Zenit E. This is reputedly (from what I have found on forums) re-packaged Ferrania Solaris; the colour casts from the old film and this old camera have made some lovely images!
-Christian Bodden
edit: To those curious, here’s a picture of the Bierette V that I googled up, heh.
-delusiana
Fat rolled?!!
Fuji Reala on Diana no. 151
So this was the 2nd test roll I loaded in my vintage Diana camera, and it got fat rolled! I should probably tape the film leader to the receiving spool to avoid the roll from unwinding. Anyway what I did when I realized it was fat rolled was to tighten the roll in a dark environment: in my case, I had to make do with whatever was available to me at the time so I shoved my hands in my handbag and had my partner throw a black cardigan over them. Yup, unfortunately this happened to me in the car! Luckily the leaks weren’t so bad, huh?
So let’s talk about this Diana no. 151. This camera was made in Hong Kong during the 60’s by the Great Wall Plastic Company in Kowloon. It has 2 basic shutter settings, the I & B (bulb) with 3 apertures (sunny-f19, partially cloudy-f13 & cloudy-f11) - much like the current Diana F+ cameras, except without the 2 pin flash gun attachment.
OK, so we’ve done B&W & color negative. Next up, test shots with a slide film and I’ve just popped an old expired Kodak Ektachrome E100SW for the occasion :)
-delusiana
Oooh Lady Diana, how I love thee!
Kodak T400CN on Diana no. 151
Now I can truly say that I love my Diana!
Yes, the original made in Hong Kong Diana no. 151 circa 1960 is a absolute gem. I’ve stressed before on CGSF that I don’t really care for my Diana F+ deluxe set, never got a halfway decent picture on it. The Diana Mini on the hand, is pretty good (see eleanorrigby236’s awesome Film Soup post). But me being a hoarder couldn’t part with any of my cameras, lol.
Anyway back to the subject, the Diana 151 was modeled based on the Agfa Isoly but with an all plastic construction including the optics. It also takes 16 exposures on a 120mm roll film, just like the Isoly. The test shots above were taken at noon (12pm to be exact, hot!) with an expired Kodak T400CN (exp. 2002) which was the forerunner to the current BW400CN. That means it can be processed with your usual C-41 chemicals like any other old color negative films.
I probably over-advanced the film amidst shooting resulting in the first 2 diptychs but I’m not complaining, I thought they looked great! But I wish the images were larger so you can truly experience the beauty of the shots. The black borders were made in camera, probably because of the built in mask, amazing right?
I’ll definitely be shooting more with this Diana!
-delusiana
Portra 400 Ultra Color is awesome!
Kodak Portra 400UC on Vredreborch Felica
I wanted to test out 2 things today, my new old Diana 151 circa 1960 & a newly hoarded Kodak Portra 400UC Propack. I’ll talk about the Diana in my next post (and I must say that I’m loving it!) so this is all about how I profess my love for the Portra.
Kodak Portra 400UC (UC stands for Ultra Color) is a discontinued film from the Portra family. As all of you might know, currently Kodak only produces 2 types of Portras - 160 & 400. CGSF had already reviewed the 400 in both 120 & 35mm formats, with gushing love of course. Portra is truly the world’s best color negative film, IMHO. So back to the topic, Portra 400UC has long since been discontinued but I managed to grab this highly rare variant from a friend (who’s also a hoarder haha) and to my utmost delight, despite being expired since 2005, is still as brilliant as ever!
Mind you, the first 4 pics were taken at 12 noon, under the hot hot Malaysian sun and the last 3 were taken indoors under natural light (there was a sun roof).
All I can say is “WOW”.
Yes, I love the Portra!
-delusiana
My B&W Tea recipe!!
Shanghai GP3 B&W Negative on Vredreborch Felica
(self developed, scanned in color negative mode)
I initially tried the exact recipe by Firda here on my roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 but I think I accidentally exposed the whole roll while transferring the film to the reel. That or I didn’t cook my baking soda long enough to convert it into washing soda. Another theory is that maybe I didn’t fix and agitate my film long enough. Anyway it came out severely overexposed.
So I tried again with the cheapo Shanghai B&W film mixed in a mixture of Lady Grey, Earl Grey & Green Tea (3:4:1), Vitamin C & cooked Baking Soda and let it develop at 35 minutes semi-standing with only 2 agitations during the 35 mins.
This time I can see images on the film but my roll turned out brownish with a greenish sheen with some red spots all over. Since I didn’t have a scanner, I brought the roll to my local lab and I think he scanned the roll in color negative mode instead of B&W resulting in my funny looking scans! I like it though!
Of course, I could always desaturate the scans to get it in B&W but I prefer to leave it this way since it looks way crazier! Afterall, CGSF is all about experimental film techniques :)
Anyway, here’s a desaturated scan of photo number 3. I realized that my 35 mins with only 2 agitations has caused the film to be underexposed, and 2 hours made it overexposed. So maybe 1 hour semi-standing with 3 agitations would do the trick?
I’m definitely trying this recipe again, maybe vary the developing time, amount of agitation or even using other types of tea to see the outcome. Fun isn’t it?
So have you developed your own B&Ws in tea? Do share with us!
-delusiana
