Saturdays Online: Experimental Cameras I Have Known........

Experimental Cameras include the expected offerings from Holga or Lomography.  But I'm also including unusual 'found cameras', any plastic camera and some odd little 35 mm cameras that have passed my way.  Click on the links to see example images from each camera type.

Okay, lets start with the obvious, Holga.  But there are many Holgas, and I have two types:  The standard Holga 120:

and the Holga Panorama Pinhole:

See last Year's Pinhole Day Photo here.

The Lomography Fisheye:

An Old School Plastic Camera, the Kodak Dualflex.  Taking a page out of the TLR family.  I had read about someone finding their grandmother's camera (with film) in a closet and developing it to find a whole new perspective on their grand mother as a young woman.  Great romantic Story, but the results of my experiments were lacking.  Seems like I never posted anything from this camera.  I'll take another look through my files.

The Kalimar Wide-X, a found camera.  Literally found in the trash.  The focussing lens had a crack, and the camera was very hard to load properly:

But it still yielded some results that were good enough to lead us to buy it's modern cousin the Lomo Horizon Swing Lens Panorama.

The Kodak Pocket Camera:

I bought this when I lived in New Orleans (Pre-Katrina).  I was afraid to walk around with a 'nice camera' and this slips neatly into the pocket.  Takes decent photos for a plastic lens camera.

And A silly little "Mini Diana" that shoot 110 ( a format I've never tried before).  It came as a bonus gift when I bought the Horizon.  So what the heck.....I'm testing it now.

The film cartridge actually forms the camera back.  

Sounds like a recipe for light leaks.

Cameras that I own as novelties but have yet to use:

Zero Image Pinhole:

This camera was part of the 3-D printing trend.  We'll try to focus on using it for Pinhole Day 2017.  And the same is true of the Ilford Camera Obscura (below).  Of course there is no reason to wait for Pinhole Day.  So we will try to use it sooner.  It is 4X5 format, probably why I haven't tried it yet.

In future weeks, We'll take a look at some Experimental Methods I have known.

Film Test Part II: Add some Fuji?

I know, not fair double teaming........But I happened to have some Fuji Superia 200 (their cheap film) in the Kodak Pocket Camera and decided why not shoot the same scene.  So here we go, results not a cut and dry as the first, but the Ektar green is still not the actual green of my lawn and foliage; neither is the Fuji.  So you know who wins by a hair.....E100VS.

First the Fuji Superia 200:

Next Kodak Ektar 100:

And the winner by a hair, E100VS:

Ektar and the Fuji film are more similar.  Both are colder films (e.g. notice the color of the pavement in the background).  Now the pavement isn't pinkish either, but the over all color balance of the E100VS is still truer to life.

Faith on Film: Palm Sunday Processions

Our Church in New Orleans, Grace Episcopal,  had a traditional Procession of the Palms.

 Our Priest at the time, Rev. Wayne Wright is currently the Bishop of Delaware.

It seems to be the current practice to have a child make the symbolic ride.

This morning we are in Boulder following the same tradition..............

More from St Louis #2

More from our All Saint's Day tour....and a younger, thinner me. Although the hairstyle is making a return this Christmas.

















Also, a younger, thinner Donald. with his favorite Lodge symbol of the Woodsmen.













And below, the pocket 35mm Kodak camera that took these and last Sunday's pix. I never felt safe wandering around New Orleans with a 'nice' camera. In a town where people could be killed for $10, looking too much like a tourist in non-touristy areas was a bad idea. So I bought this camera just for New Orleans.





This camera is a likely descendant of the old Kodak 35mm reviewed recently by The Photophile

Faith On Film: All Saint's Day

In honor of All Saints Day, Dia de Los Muertos, Day of the Dead, or what ever you call it in your culture, scenes from of my Cemetery Series.

I'm slowly making my way through tons of my old works. I found some Pre-Katrina New Orleans photos from All Saint's Day, when there are tours of the historic cemeteries. One of Donald's friend loved cemeteries, so we all went together.........









The Catholic Church was actually recording the All Saint's Day Cemetery Service; notice the sound man holding the boom.





















Traditionally, in New Orleans you were entitled to your space for a year and a day. After that your remains were pushed to the back of the crypt and into a pit. Nowadays you still only have a space for a year and a day. But I'm not sure where the bodies are sent now......

This is a typical family crypt interior.












Typical modern crypts are built into walls. But families still maintain their individual plots.



















A modern family crypt: Boissiere
















Final resting place of a wealthier 'resident'.





















The unfortunate need for a Police presence. because New Orleans was never a safe place, even Pre-Katrina.