Category Archives: Books and Stuff

Found Magazine – Camera Buyer

Books and Stuff, , , ,

Every now and then I have an urge to sort things out. Sort out stuff that is clogging up space, make room for new stuff, get rid of things I will probably never use again. This is especially true to books. I rarely keep novels, I keep most photography books. I get invested in books and take my time reading them, savouring all the emotions they evoke. But that means I rarely read something twice. There just isn’t time for that. I can think of two books I have read twice, Hot Zone and Bid Time Return. Nothing to brag about.

My father is different. He can read the same book, complete the same jigsaw many times. Weirdo. Anyway, that means we have piles of books all over the house. Yesterday was the day I decided to sort mine out and suggested he did the same with my help.

While rummaging through some Wilber Smith books, I found this…

How did this end up there? It wasn’t something I would have bought at that age, my dad couldn’t remember it, but there it was. I was tempted to put it on eBay, I was clearing clutter after all. Then I remembered who I was and had a word with myself.

It is an interesting little magazine. Some of the advice it gives holds true today.

Plus the advertisements are really interesting, oh the prices of film, £1.20 including postage for a roll.

And of course it is full of reviews, with technical details and original prices.

Looking at all the cameras and reviews has given me a bit of gas so for now I will keep it nicely on my shelf with my other photography books and magazines.

Then at some point I will scan it and make it available for others, but that would destroy the spine and your resolve to avoid gas.

Upcoming Events

Books and Stuff, Thoughts and Musings, , , , , , , , ,

This week has been quite busy photographically for me. Firstly I went to Blackpool to visit the exhibition which has moved there from London. While there I was invited to give a talk about film cameras on the 4th October. I haven’t planned yet what I will talk about as I was just asked. But I will explain the process I used to produce the photos in the exhibition. I will also take along some cameras to show how I have reskinned some in various designs.

Here are some examples.

The other announcement is that I will be at the vintage fair in Wakefield on the 12th October. I will have a few cameras to sell, plus other odds and ends. Last time it was there I spent most of the time chatting and convincing people that film is still alive.

Please come along and say hello, there will be a few bargain point and shoots to buy. Anything I sell me allow me to buy more film and enjoy my hobby a little longer.

Fantastic Plastic Book

Books and Stuff, Thoughts and Musings, , , ,

I have finally finished the book about Frank Hurley. It was a heavy read. I don’t think I will read another biography for a while.

So now I have picked up this book…

I am thinking about the cameras I want to take to Japan tomorrow. I have to take my Nikon D750, but what camera for fun?

I have a suitcase with at least 5 cameras in it safe with a friend in Japan. Inside is a 35mm SLR, a TLR, and compacts are easy to get. So a toy camera seems the best choice at the moment….I am ignoring the golden half I know is in the case too.

I thought I would look through this book for inspiration. I do have the Diana F+ with an Instax back, plus the super wide and slim which I have yet to test. I don’t want to fill up my luggage with cameras I own in case go shopping for some bargains.

If you could take one camera for fun, what would it be?

Book: Frank Hurley, a photographer’s life

Books and Stuff, , , ,

I have been reading this book for a while. It is thick, heavy in terms of size and readability. Honestly, I am amazed by his life and what he went through to get his photos, but I will be glad when it is over. At least I can sit outside and read for a while. Actually the book reminds me of a TV series I just watched called, Chimerica. It was about a photographer who manipulated a news photo. Well, so did Frank. Many of his photos were composites.

What are you reading?

Sale at QEGS Antiques Fair

Books and Stuff, , , ,

I am very excited to announce my first ever live sale.

On Saturday 2 March 2019 I will be at QEGS Antiques Fair selling cameras and accessories.

So far I have a variety of approximately 30 cameras for sale. I should be sharing the space with another seller who will have other cameras on offer. I will also be selling keyrings, handmade straps, a few magazines, and a selection of books. Plus there will be many other stalls to peruse with a wide variety of none camera related items.

Why? I am selling most of my camera collection to focus on using a few cameras that I really love. So you could benefit, get yourself a tried and tested camera.

Come along for a day out in Wakefield. Even if you don’t buy something from the fair you could visit The Hepworth or West Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Developing Issues and Darkroom Courses

Books and Stuff, home processing, , , , , , , , ,

I recently switched from using Kodak D-76 to Ilford Ilfosol 3 to develop my films. I tended to reuse the D-76 and got used to that process. What I didn’t know or read was Ilfosol was a one use only developer. So when I started developing my own film again, the first one was great. The rest got lighter and lighter, tremendously so. I was increasing the developing time, thinking it was my fault. It was, but not in the way I thought. After the 3rd roll, I went back to the bottle and read the instructions…one use. Crap.

I managed to get images from all the rolls with a fair amount of post-processing, but they were obviously not the best negatives I have ever seen.

It was disappointing as I had just come back from Iceland and had been to a gig in Manchester.

For the busy negatives, they are OK. But the ones with sky you can see a definite issue.

The gig film was the last one I developed before checking the instructions. I actually thought it was blank and didn’t take too much care of it once I took it out of the wash. When it was dry, I saw a reflection of a faint image. To be fair the location was very dark and the singers were wearing black, but still, I expected more.

The first person with the drummer is from Hater, and the lady in the hat is Jennifer Castle. I actually liked both artists though they were quite different. I used my Nikon F2 for both locations, the gig used Ilford Delta 3200 pushed to 6400.

Luckily I did take a medium format and a digital camera to Iceland. I read the instructions again before I developed those…no development needed for the D750. If you want to see more results from that trip you can check out the iBook.

Screen Shot 2018-11-09 at 13.57.44

 

Download it on iBooks. (There are some errors in the description which I have corrected, but the new version has not updated yet.)

 

 

 

 

While I was contemplating the development issues I received an email from an outfit in London. A darkroom! Or rather a Bright Room. They run courses on developing and have darkrooms to hire. I am thinking I might take a trip to London and include this location as a stop. You can never stop learning apparently. But wait, they have a pop-up van…maybe they can visit me and some friends??

Delving into their website more, there is an Artist series, where you learn directly from an artist to see how they work. That is just up my street. OK time to save or sell more cameras to try one of those.

They did tell me they will be starting an online gallery on the 30th November 2018, but I haven’t been able to find a link online for that. Sounds interesting though as I love looking at other photographer’s work. I will look back at the end of the month.

I am glad I can develop my films again, I am relieved I know what the issue I was experiencing actually was.