New Construction, Old Camera - Kodak Brownie Reflex Synchro

The Washington DC Metro has finally come to Northern Virginia. Not yet all the way to where I live, but it is now in Reston. Below, you'll see a few pictures of the construction going on around the new Wiehle Avenue Station on the Metro's Silver Line.

As in my previous two posts, these were made with the Kodak Brownie Reflex camera. (Click Here) to read a little about that camera. I picked mine up for $10 in dirty, but good working order.

 

Wiehle Station Construction, by Reed A. George

Kodak Brownie Reflex Synchro Camera, Efke 100 Film (127 size)

 

 

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More From the Brownie Reflex - The Corn Crib

A while back, I posted a slideshow of images of an old corn crib on the property where I work. (Click Here) to see those, shot with Nikon SLRs (both a 50 year old Nikon F and a brand new Nikon Df).

Here are two more shots of the same building, photographed with my $10 Kodak Brownie Reflex, on 127 Efke 100 film.

 

 

Rather dark and moody. I like them.

 

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Brownie Reflex 127 - Some Results

Remember when I posted the question pondering why cheap old cameras are so much fun? (Click Here) if you don't remember, or want to see what the Brownie Reflex looks like.

 

Here are a couple of results from my first roll of Efke 127 (I bought it a couple of years back), developed by Dwayne's. The first is just an odd perspective of the new Metro station in Reston, Virginia. I actually like the way the film exposure numbers show up at the top (who knows why?).

 

Metro, by Reed A. George, Kodak Brownie Reflex Camera

And here's a scene you may have seen before, as I shot it with both the Brownie and my new Nikon Df. (Click Here) to see the Df version.

End of the Season, by Reed A. George, Kodak Brownie Reflex Camera

 

I like the randomness of shooting with very basic old cameras. They're cheap, and I think at least as much fun as shooting with a Holga. Once you've loaded film, the only variable in your control is composition. Exposure and focus are fixed.

This Brownie Reflex was $10, and cleaned up very nicely. However, getting 127 film is not easy, and it's expensive ($11-$12 per roll, twelve exposures). The only place I know to get it reliably is The Frugal Photographer (frugalphotographer.com). I bought a few rolls last time, including some black and white and some color.

 

You can still get 127 developed with no problem. This time, I used Dwayne's. But, I'm not as happy with their work as I am with The Darkroom (thedarkroom.com). Just my opinion. It's good to have them both as options.

I've got a few more images to share from this first roll, so stay tuned!

 

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Dusk at the Old Homestead - Outside El Reno, Oklahoma

Nikon Df, Nikkor 35-70mm f2.8 Lens at 35mm

iso 1600, f4, 1/30 sec.

 

I made my trip to Oklahoma with only one lens on the Nikon Df. I must say that I found it slightly limiting, but also liberating. No decisions to make, no fumbling to change lenses.

 

I made this shot right after sundown. I couldn't find the right spot for my tripod, as I was shooting from the roadside, and there was a fence in the way. So, I cranked the Df up to 1600 (no problem at all for this camera), leaned on a fencepost, and shot.

 

Can you imagine the stories this old place could tell?

 

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Nikon Df With Lenses from all Nikon Ages - Many Great Example Images

As you may know, I've recently acquired a Nikon Df. I'm thoroughly enjoying shooting it with lots of different lenses, from old pre-AI to the latest models.

 

Nikon Df with Nikkor-P 105mm f2.5 (pre-AI) Lens

Image Source: http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/newproduct/20131127_625119.html

 

(Click Here) to see a post on a Japanese site with great sample images from a large selection of Nikkor lenses. The photo above is included there, and I think it's beautiful.

 

The funniest thing is how I found this site. There's a forum post on Rangefinder Forum referring to this page. One of the comments on the post says that these examples remind the writer of how soft the pre-AI 105mm lens was. Cracks me up. (Click Here) to read that comedy.

 

Just goes to show you that you must judge cameras and lenses for yourself. If something works for me, I couldn't care less whether the majority of people opining online agree with me.

 

I need more time to get out with my new Df! It's such a wonderful camera.

 

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Playing With An Old Image - Pigeonholed

It's fun to go back and see what you were shooting several years ago, and with what gear.

 

Here's a shot I made ten years ago with my Nikon D70 (my first DSLR) and Nikkor 70-300mm ED lens:

 

Pigeonholed, by Reed A. George, 2004

 

I decided to play around with it a little in Snapseed on my iPad. Here's what I came up with:

 

Pigeonholed, Ten Years After

 

I understand that many will prefer the straight, original shot. For me, it depends on my mood. Tonight, I like the dark, slightly ominous version.

 

That old D70 was really a decent camera. Nothing to compare to my new Nikon Df, but still quite a camera. And the 70-300 ED lens was a pretty good zoom, too. Now I have replaced it with the VR version, which is even better.

 

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Final Round of Found Prints from The Gilded Flea

I've made two posts already of found prints and an internegative that I recovered from my friend's antique shop "The Gilded Flea" in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. (Click Here) to go to their website; they have tons of amazing stuff.

 

Here are some more prints that I picked up on my visit. I selected them just because they interested me.

 

Can anyone guess why I liked this one? The lady with the Polaroid, of course. She's even got her flash bulb pointed to the ceiling for bounced flash. I bet her shot came out great.

And who can argue with "Rockley Music Co.?" Apparently, they also sell Frigidaire appliances.

 

On the back of this print, it says "It's running fine now."

 

And finally, this one. Hey, honey, come sit in this tree so I can take your picture!

 

Thus ends a round of found prints from the past. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I did.

 

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Found Prints - Two Shots of a Soldier at Home, and the Concept of Association

Following on my post two days ago of old pictures I found in my friend's antique shop The Gilded Flea in Harpers Ferry, WV, here are a couple more that drew my interest.

 

Of course, any picture of someone with a camera from back in the day interests me:

 

Soldier With His Camera

 

I believe that's probably a Kodak Duaflex, but can't be sure.

 

Here's another picture of the same young soldier:

 

Heading Out

 

I sure hope his little sister in the background got to see him again.

 

One thing that strikes me about both these pictures and the ones I posted two days ago is association. I have a close friend who's a Paleontologist. I learned from him the value of finding multiple fossils that are known to have come from the same organism, or sometimes multiple organisms interacting. That's called an association. I submit that association in old photographs is equally important.

 

These pictures would make great starting material for a fictional story. Maybe I'll write one.

 

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Old Polaroids - and a Surprise

I love to look at old photographs. A couple of weeks back, I visited my buddy's unique antique shop, The Gilded Flea, in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

(Click Here) to check out The Gilded Flea.

Anyway, as you can guess, I found some interesting old pictures there. Here are two that were close together in the box. I was pretty sure they belonged together, but not sure.

 

 

Two Polaroids

 

That looks like one mighty proud fisherman, and a nice trout, too!

 

Further down in the box, I found a single 4x5 negative - the same two images, together!. This is what it looks like, scanned on my Epson V750:

Scanned 4x5 Image of the Polaroids

 

I suppose it may not have been unusual to use a 4x5 camera to make an internegative of Polaroids, so that you could reprint them and send them to your friends. I thought it was pretty cool to find this along with the originals.

 

Finally, I got to looking at the picture on the left and noticed the calendar. Scanning the Polaroid at high resolution, I was able to see this:

 

I'm pretty sure it indicates that the picture was taken in 1954 (possibly '64?). Certainly in April.

 

It's really fun and thought-provoking to look at old images like this. I can imagine so many alternative stories that led the people to these images.

 

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Fifty Years of Nikon

Camera images from nikonusa.com

 

I am turning 50 years old in December, just two months away. I'm not too hung up on age, but 50 is a big one. Half a century.

 

I just pulled the trigger on the purchase of a Nikon DF (sold refurbished direct from Nikon). I thought long and hard about that investment, since I already have attention deficit problems with my existing cameras, and like to focus on particular cameras, at least for some period of time. But, the DF is just too attractive for a photographer like me. Familiar controls, real knobs instead of (or in addition to) menus, married with amazing digital sensor technology, and the ability to use any of my Nikkor lenses to boot.

 

So, I'm thinking that I may pair up my new DF with a camera that was around and in use when I was born, my Nikon F film SLR with plain prism. I don't know exactly what the project will be yet, but it will take advantage of fifty years of Nikon SLR technology, in my 50th year of life.

 

Stay tuned!

 

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Old Lenses, New Bodies - I'm Not the Only One

 

Lotus, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica 135mm f4.5 Hektor Lens

iso 200, f8, 1/125 sec.

 

I read an interesting post by Bill Fortney, about his experience of selling off his collection of Nikkor Ais lenses at some point in the past, in favor of more modern Nikkor lenses and digital equipment. Apparently, Bill had the good fortune of being a rep for Nikon, and therefore found the opportunities to again purchase his old favorite lenses, rebuilding his collection.

 

(Click Here) to read Bill's story and see some of his images.

 

Bill now shoots a Nikon D800 DSLR, but using his favorite manual focus lenses. Not one to avoid new technologies, Bill also shoots a modern Fuji digital body, the XE-1, with current Fuji lenses.

 

I think the lesson here is that a great lens or camera is timeless. Yes, newer, even better technology may come along, and if you get the chance, you should try it. However, think carefully before letting it replace an older kit that you've been happy with, made good pictures with.

 

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This Would Make a Great Skeletons From The Closet Camera - Crazy Fedya Shares Some Zeiss Ikon Tenax II Pics on Rangefinder Forum

Image Source: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131173

 

When I read Crazy Fedya's post on Rangefinder Forum this morning, I was intrigued by a model of Zeiss Ikon camera that I had not seen before, the Tenax II.

 

(Click Here) to see the post on Rangefinder Forum. There's another nice shot there, too.

 

Since my Skeletons From The Closet camera for March was the Zeiss Ikon 120 folding camera with f3.5 Tessar, I thought the Tenax II may be comparable. Crazy Fedya's has a Tessar f2.8 lens, uncoated (made in 1939). By the way, if you haven't tried shooting with an old uncoated lens, you owe it to yourself to try. One of my all-time favorite lenses is a Leica Summitar 5cm f2 lens, which is uncoated. It's tough to explain the look, but I'll be happy to show you in upcoming Whole Lotta Leica posts - I'll definitely be featuring that lens soon.

 

I love square format images, and usually that's an immediate clue that the camera is a medium format camera, usually shooting 2 1/4" square images on 120 film.

 

Then, I did a quick search on the Tenax II and found Mike Elek's post about his:

 

(Click Here) to read Mike Elek's excellent post about the Zeiss Tenax II. You MUST click through the first page to see a great series of Mike's images with his Tenax II, which has a Sonnar f2 lens. Even nicer than the excellent Tessar!

 

But here's the surprise - for me, at least. The Tenax II shoots 35mm film! That's right, it makes 24x24 mm. images on 35mm film. How cool is that? Boy, I'd like to have one of these.

 

And more surprises - this was actually a system camera, with interchangeable lenses. A quick look online tells me they're somewhat uncommon, and can be quite expensive.

 

So, I'll keep the Tenax II in the back of my mind - if I ever find one for a reasonable price, I'll try out square format imaging on 35mm film.

 

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Before and After - Some Fun With Snapseed

Here's a rather pedestrian shot of an old telephone pole that I recently took in New Hampshire.

Before - Old Telephone Pole, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8

iso 200, f8, 1/125 sec

 
I really like the details in the pole, and the old wires hanging down. But, it was literally in the middle of a swamp, and I couldn't get a better perspective on it.
 
I decided to play with the image in Snapseed on my iPad.
 
(Click Here) for info on the mobile version of Snapseed.
 
Anyway, I did a few things to the image in Snapseed. First, I converted it to black and white, then, I used the tilt and shift function to restrict focus to the center of the pole, then I applied some "grunge," and finally an organic frame and a little grain. Here's the result:
 

After - Disconnected, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8

iso 200, f8, 1/125 sec

Manipulated in Snapseed

 
I don't always go for manipulated images. And, I absolutely hate working at the computer as compared to being out using my camera. However, in this case, I think a few minutes on the iPad absolutely transformed this from a boring image to something at least a little intriguing.
 
All things in moderation, I suppose.
 
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Mike Johnston of The Online Photographer Shares Some Lumix DMC-GF1 Shots of the Abandoned Pabst Brewery

 

Abandoned Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee, by Mike Johnston of the Online Photographer

Image Source: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2012/05/the-abandoned-pabst-brewery.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FZSjz+%28The+Online+Photographer%29

Mike Johnston of the Online Photographer has posted some great images from an abandoned Pabst beer brewery in Milwaukee, WI, USA.

(Click Here) to see Mike's post on the Online Photographer blog.

Mike's images were shot with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 at iso1600 - a real stretch in terms of image quality for that camera. Of course, at the resolution of small online images, they sure look great. Mike reports that the noise would make printing of them pretty tough.

Mike toured the building with photographer Jack MacDonough, and includes a shot of Jack working with his Leica S2 on a tripod in his post. That's Mike's favorite of the bunch; it's my favorite, too.

We have all made the mistake of going to a great location without a tripod. Mike made that mistake (admittedly), but pulled through pretty well with his GF1, if you ask me.

I've written in the past about the photographic allure of abandoned places and things.

(Click Here) to see my last post on the subject.

The subject still intrigues me.

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