Yet again, I have no idea why I bought this folding camera. I must have read something about it online, but then forgot to save the article. I do know I got it for under £10 from the bay.

Before I did anything, I checked the bellows, and I found a couple of tiny holes. I used some black fabric paint on those and let it dry for a few days.

It was produced around 1953. In Canada, it was released as the Optina, but it is the same camera. As you can see from the photos, this 6×6 camera has 3 speeds 1/25th, 1/75th, and a bulb. It only has 2 apertures f11 sonnig (to be filled with sunshine) and f6.3 trübe (cloudy, murky, or dim).

I loaded it with a roll of expired HP5 and headed for Lytham St.Annes to meet a friend. Here are most of the results.

As you can see from the results, the lens was very hazy indeed. But my friend absolutely loved the camera, so I left it with her before I even saw the results.

It was a lovely day out, well worth the drive. Then I got to wondering, what if these were the only photos I had of my friend? What if you only had damaged photos of a relative who had passed? What if you did not have the funds or resources to get those photos corrected? BUT, you did have access to AI? Would this be an OK reason to use it?

I decided to ask the internet. I took two of the photos above and asked ChatGPT to improve them. In less than two minutes, these were the results.

The comments were mixed. My friend and my father liked both versions. They both said the original had a ‘dream-like’ quality. Others, who did not know the subject, wondered how accurate the rendition was. I think it is very accurate.

Many people absolutely hated that I had even tried it. I understand that point of view too, but is it the end of the world? About a decade ago, I read a book about AI, when it was much less sophisticated. It was very interesting. I was advising a student on a project, and he had already made up his mind that AI meant the dawning of the Terminator. I tried to explain it was already here in some simple things we didn’t notice, like traffic control and supermarket stock control. Nothing I showed him or said would move him away from the Terminator scenario. The book had a big effect on me and my outlook on the future. Then again, I have always loved technology. I used to write programs for the ZX Spectrum for fun. My first job was as a computer programmer on a youth training scheme, and I was the first person on my street to have a CD player. My friends would come around to see the reflective discs; they were so pretty.

Anyway, of course, by the very nature of this blog you can see I like more traditional things too. So, in that regard, I want to tell you about a zine I bought on the trip. A real-life artist, not a drop of AI in sight.

I loved his work in this zine, you can see more of it at this website. Unfortunately, not all the links on the site are working- it is not you. Enough of them are working that if you want your own copy, you can contact the artist.

In other news, someone offered to buy this website today, which I found a bit odd. This website is my personal diary; it records my photographic journey. It is not a buying or selling site. There are a few things for sale, but it isn’t something I am focused on. As I have mentioned before, the site is ultimately for me. I do get some money from advertising, but not a lot, and a lot less recently due to AI, which is ironic given the subject of this post.

In even other-er news, on Wednesday I am going into hospital for an operation as an outpatient under general anaesthetic. I will go in the morning, have an operation, then go home in the afternoon, when I have recovered from the anaesthetic. I can’t drive the next day, to be safe, but I hope to be back at work on Friday. I posted about this as an Instagram story. Maybe that was why I received the offer? The email did mention they wanted to keep the site going??? I used to talk about stopping it in the first few years, but not for a long time. Anyway, I am having an operation on Wednesday; it should be routine. It will be paid for by the lovely NHS; it is to remove a lump in one breast; no cancer cells have been found. I am not worried, and neither should anyone who reads this, but if you do feel something is out of place, get it checked out as I did.

See you on the other side 😉