Back to Basics

The best thing about digital cameras and the computer technology that goes along with them, is that you can cram hundreds maybe even thousands of images on a single media card. A wise man once told me of digital photography "Electrons are free man, shoot it till ya get it."

It's true...you can shoot and fill your card full of 300 images and hopefully capture 10 good ones in what I call the modified Rambo "shoot'em till ya hit 'em" sort of routine. The other option, you can slow down a bit in your shooting and get more good photos than bad. Really think about what you are shooting and make it count. Even though you have 4 gigs of memory to play with, maybe in any given day you only shoot 30 shots, but since you slowed down a bit and really looked at what you were shooting, 25 of your 30 came out well! It's a good thing!

A great way to practice this new outlook on photography is to bust out the old 35mm film camera and run some film through it. When you only have 36 frames to work with, you will tend to slow it down a bit and use them much more wisely. Plus if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know I'm a big fan of film.

 

So get out and shoot, take your time, and make 'em count. I would love to see what you all come up with so feel free to drop me a link in the comment section of any of the posts on the blog.

Geek Hardware: The Antique Store Brownie Hawkeye

What is it about an old, rusted, ugly camera that I just adore? Is it the history? Is it the $20.00 price tag? Is it the fact that it uses film instead of a sensor? Is it the fact that I can tear that sucker apart and do just about anything to it and I won't feel bad if I break it?....well...it's a little of all of those things. :)

Over the course of the past couple of years I have found myself buying up every cool old camera I can lay my little hands on. I have amassed quite the collection. The cool thing is...all of these old cameras work! In my collection I have Kodak Box Brownies that are nearly 100 years old. I have a great old 8x10 view camera that I saved from extinction (and have lovingly named Ruby) and a few Polaroids that will probably never see use again! But y'never know!

Using my blog as a platform, I would like to introduce you to some of these vintage light catchers and show you how cool old technology can be!

First, let's talk Brownies.

This guy is a Brownie Hawkeye. They were made between 1949 and 1961. There are TONS of these little guys all over the place. They make 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" negatives (GET OUT OF YOUR RECTANGLES! Squares are where it's at!!!) on 620 film....wait...620?!?! Do they even make that anymore? Nope, not so much. BUT, fear not my friends, all it takes to magically transform a roll of 120 film into 620 is a nail file and a little bit of time. Just file down the edges of the spools on your roll of 120 until you are left with just a little bit of plastic above the top of the rolled film...and that's really all it takes. You can also procure old 620 spools and re-roll your film...but that's for the super involoved. Plus, my way saves you TONS of time and aggrevation.

Another great thing about this particular brand of Brownie is that the lens can be flipped around to create a very ethereal look for your photos. As soon as I get my hands on another one of these babies, I will mod it with the flipped lens so I can have one of each!

Many times you will find this camera with a flash..the kind we saw in movies from the 50's and 60's. Big bulb, loud pop, tons of fun, your friends will love it.

So, my friends, next time you find yourself in an antique store, or at a yard sale and see a hawkeye, just know that it's an awesome camera that could use a good home! You CAN get film for it and use it! So get out there, and get shooting!