Great Photos - Simple Cameras: From Holga to Pinhole: An Alternative Approach to Creative Photography

Great Photos – Simple Cameras

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Bernd Daub

Great Photos – Simple Cameras

From Holga to Pinhole: An Alternative

Approach to Creative Photography

Bernd Daub (http://www.Lomography.meinatelier.de)

Editor: Gerhard Rossbach

Copyeditor: Jeanne Hansen

Layout and Type: Nadine Thiele

Cover Design: Helmut Kraus, www.exclam.de

Printer: Tallinna Raamatutrükikoja OÜ

Printed in Estonia

ISBN 978-1-937538-02-6

1st Edition 2012

© 2012 by Bernd Daub

Rocky Nook Inc.

802 East Cota St., 3rd Floor

Santa Barbara, CA 93103

www.rockynook.com

Copyright © 2012 by dpunkt.verlag GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.

Title of the German original: Gute Fotos – simple Technik

ISBN 978-3-89864-783-0

Translation Copyright © 2012 by Rocky Nook. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Daub, Bernd, 1954-

Great Photos - Simple Cameras: from Holga to pinhole : an alternative approach to creative photography /

by Bernd Daub. -- 1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-937538-02-6 (softcover : alk. paper)

1. Cameras. 2. Photography, Artistic. I. Title.

TR250.D28 2012

771.3--dc23

2012009973

Distributed by O‘Reilly Media

1005 Gravenstein Highway North

Sebastopol, CA 95472

Many of the designations in this book used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are

claimed as trademarks of their respective companies. Where those designations appear in this book, and

Rocky Nook was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps.

They are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefi t of such companies, they are not intended to

convey endorsement or other affi liation with this book.

No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form,

electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval

system, without written permission of the copyright owner. While reasonable care has been exercised in

the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or

for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

v

Table of Contents

Preface 1

Introduction:

Creativity without a Straitjacket 3

Chapter 1 SUC 11

SUC 26

SUC: Black-and-White 28

SUC: Color 29

SUC: Crazy Film 31

Chapter 2 Greetings from the Far East 33

HOLGA 56

DIANA 63

Blackbird, Fly 68

Chapter 3 Oldies 73

Kodak Brownie No. 2 85

CERTINA 88

BELLA 66 IIa 90

Chapter 4 Canomatic 95

Motorized film advance 109

Focus-free color lens 109

Interchangeable lenses 109

Aperture control 109

Zoom lens 110

SLR viewfinder 110

Ergonomic grip 110

Indicator light 110

vi Table of Contentsvi

Self-timed shutter release 110

Side flash system 110

Chapter 5 Pinhole Cameras 113

Holga Panorama 131

DIANA Pinhole 134

Pancakes 135

Zero 2000 138

Chapter 6 For Do-It-Yourselfers 141

P-SHARAN 163

HOLGA DIY KIT 165

Recesky 167

Chapter 7 Good Intentions 171

LOREO 212

DIANA Lens 214

Lensbaby 216

Making Filters Yourself 219

Chapter 8 Storage Media 227

Loading 35 mm Film 232

Loading Roll Film 234

Chapter 9 Simply Digital 239

TECHNAXX X1 259

Digital 261

SLIM 5L-II 262

Chapter 10 Finale 267

The Lab 268

Scanner 271

The Fast 274

The Pleasant 275

The Versatile 276

Image Editing 280

The Finished Image 282

Table of Contents vii

Afterword 285

Acknowledgments 286

Appendix 287

Prices 288

Websites 289

Youtube 290

Index 291

1

Preface

What’s your preference: simple or complicated? Most people would say simple. Why

make life more difficult than it needs to be? Who wouldn’t prefer an easy, uncompli-

cated life? The simpler, the better, without question—right?

If you take a closer look at our everyday lives, though, you’ll see that they’re anything

but uncomplicated and that we actually are confronted with the opposite: complexity

instead of simplicity, multiplicity instead of minimalism, a worried mind instead of a

carefree one. We live in a time of advanced technological complexity that has so en-

riched our lives that we try to emulate its dynamic in our personal lives. Much of our

stress and obligations are heaped on us from outside sources; it’s hardly possible to

buy public transit tickets from a person at a counter or on the bus anymore. You must

instead buy them from an automated machine that can present a real challenge for the

uninitiated. Our jobs further create unavoidable burdens, and as if that weren’t enough,

we throw on plenty of additional obligations in our personal lives as well. Instead of the

quality of life afforded through simplicity, we opt for countless features of complexity

that we actually believe make our lives better.

The complexities start to mount first thing on a workday morning with our clock radio

that is supposed to wake us gently from our slumber with a slowly increasing volume.

In addition to playing the radio, our alarm clocks also need to be able to play natural

sounds and our favorite MP3s. Furthermore, they should kindly remind us in program-

mable time intervals that we still haven’t woken up to the previous signal. Finally, they

should be able to project the time directly onto our ceilings (in either 12- or 24-hour

mode) so we know that we’re already running late. At this point, it’s time to inform our

boss and colleagues with our smartphones that we’re behind schedule. The traditional

way to do this would be to make a call, but nowadays people rely on shooting off a

quick text message instead. We can even opt to send a picture, showing us with dark

rings around our eyes and disheveled hair. Now real expediency is needed. We move on

to our automatic coffeemakers that are programmed to run at just the right moment

with a customized amount of water and correctly ground beans to produce the ideal

personalized beverage that will provide us with just enough of that stimulating drug,

caffeine, to help us fight off our need for more sleep.

2 Preface2

Finally we make it to the weekend, which normally gets off to a somewhat simple

start, namely without the alarm clock. We can simply get the sleep that our bodies need.

But the coffeemaker, which has been switched to its weekend program sequence,

unceremoniously brings us back into the daily grind. We turn on our computers—ma-

chines whose full complexity we can only begin to understand because we use only a

small portion of their features. One of those features, the Outlook calendar, is especially

important to us, since we need to consult it before we even eat breakfast so we know

what needs to be accomplished on our so-called day of rest.

But it is not just that we demand an unmanageable range of features from the tech-

nical products in our everyday lives, we also demand that they work perfectly. We have

dismissed a few of the classic sources of anxiety, such as matching the perfect necktie

with your shirt (who wears a tie?), finding a matching handbag for your dress (a sporty

outfit and a backpack are much more practical), and getting the car polished every

Saturday (a hot wax from the car wash every now and then will do). Nevertheless, if you

get the latest tech gear for yourself (during the short window of time that it actually

is the latest tech gear), you simply can’t let its results be outdone. Our most important

home appliance, the television, is simply the purest agony for the human eye unless it

has the latest HDMI technology. Similarly, our ears are not adequately served by sound

systems that don’t have the most technologically advanced, realistic surround sound.

The camera integrated into your cell phone, a feature that now indubitably belongs

on every one of these devices originally designed to make telephone calls, must not

only take pictures, it must take pictures of the highest possible quality. Never mind that

no one really uses these pictures for anything other than to send them to friends who, in

turn, view them on tiny cell phone screens. These images have no need for the level of

quality required for a razor-sharp 8x10 inch print. No one even bats an eye at any of this.

Now we’ve reached the subject of this book: photography. In this realm, too, there

is no limit to the amount of technology you can incorporate into your craft. But you

can also do it simply.

I find the expression “simplify your life” very applicable to the world of photography.

I also like the ironically inverted expression, “Why make it simple, when it could be

complicated?” (read: expensive).

Let’s trade in the stiff suit of complicated photography for the T-shirt and baggy jeans

of a take-it-easy approach to snapping great pictures. I wish you much enjoyment on

your path to creating great photos with simple cameras.

Bernd Daub

3

Introduction: Creativity without a Straitjacket

The constant drive for more complex systems has created a noticeable change in the

photography industry. Manufacturers build cameras with ever more features and func-

tions to remain competitive. For decades now, consumers have grown accustomed to

new technologies developed by product engineers that supposedly make our cameras

smarter. These new features—which we never would have thought useful before—are

now considered must haves. And so manufacturers add new features that often go to

waste because no one finds any actual use for them. For the few functions that pho-

tographers do happen to try and use, the question always comes up, “How does that

work, again?” (By the way, any time I read about automatic smile detection, you can bet

there’s an automatic smile to be detected on my own face.) The wealth of automatic

features on new cameras should allow you to focus all your attention on what’s in front

of your lens; the camera itself should take care of all the nitty-gritty technical details.

But instead, we need extensive user manuals to operate these complicated machines

manually. The ever-increasing page counts for these user manuals indicate that cameras

are getting more and more complicated. Studying the relationship between time and

aperture requires less effort than wrapping your head around how to make most new

cameras operate.

After dutiful hobby photographers have acquainted themselves with all of the so-

phisticated functions that are hidden away in the depths of the camera, then the im-

age itself must also meet high standards. Photographers want to see a return on their

investment in expensive cameras and equipment in the form of professional-looking

images. And this, of course, has primarily to do with the technical quality of the photo-

graphs. Sharpness in the image corners, detail, and optimal (read: standardized) expo-

sures are especially important here. Most photography magazines devote noticeably

more pages to detailed product descriptions and various bracketing tests than they do

to the actual essence of photography, namely the artistic aspect of photography. They

4 Introduction: Creativity without a Straitjacket4

use sophisticated comparative tests to distinguish slight differences that are otherwise

imperceptible by the human eye.

I worry that many hobby photographers who have cultivated their passion for years

are now spending more time thinking about the technical side of photography than

asking questions about image composition, exposure, and so on. They may now have

enough experience to be aware of their priorities, but it’s unfortunate that photogra-

phers who are curious about advancing from snapping basic souvenir photos to cre-

ating interesting images may get the idea that they need expensive equipment and

extensive knowledge to get started. Photography doesn’t need to be inaccessible and

demanding—you can create great photos with very basic equipment. Insurmountable

expenses and confusion need not be a deterrent. This type of photographer needs

only simple machines that won’t cause him or her to get lost in a multiplicity of “help-

ful” automatic settings. It is a great concern of mine to convince people who are inter-

ested in learning more about photography that they can easily start to hone their craft

by following the simple motto, “Jump in and go.” This mentality will also help them to

distance themselves from conforming to conventional photographic practices before

they fall into that trap.

By advancing this message, I don’t wish to marginalize the sense and value of photog-

raphy that is technically advanced. Anyone working on a contract for a client or using

photography as a documentary medium—such as to create advertisements, documen-

tation, and illustrations—really needs an image that is as sharp as possible, is exposed

perfectly, and reproduces information as factually as possible. Departures from this goal

are not acceptable. These types of images are not creative products that have artistic

value, and consequently they are not appropriate subjects for photographic experiments.

Such an image is intended to provide potential customers with a clear representation

of a product. This is the work of a professional photographer working for a client to pro-

vide a professional, objective photographic reproduction, not an artistic representation.

Introduction: Creativity without a Straitjacket 5

Images for illustrated books about geographical areas, such as these closeups of the

Heidelberg Castle, should provide as much information to the viewer as possible—in

other words, a high degree of realism. These images are more than documentary repro-

ductions because they also establish a tone through the treatment of the subjects, the

composition of the images, and the use of color. Even though these images have an

interesting expression, there is no room for creative experimentation.


Yet another type of photography that deserves attention and recognition is fine art pho-

tography. Large-scale negatives that are meticulously exposed with regard to every last

detail can create impressive and moving works of art. Unbelievable attention to detail

and an excellent gray scale range are what makes these images so fantastic. To achieve

these qualities, fine art photographers carry heavy equipment around with them and

invest huge amounts of time to make each exposure then develop and enlarge each

negative in the darkroom.

For these photographers to be satisfied with their results, their images must also be

technically perfect. It’s worth noting that the work of these photographers is demanding.

Not a single step is trusted to the processes of automatic settings; everything is subject

to the scrupulous control of the photographer.

The idea of turning to simpler technology doesn’t have to mean that your high-quality

equipment needs to languish in the corner. The concept of returning to simplicity can be

a welcome change. It may even develop into a regular hobby. Doesn’t a cheeseburger

from a local diner, once in a while taste just as good as a gourmet entrée from a top-

rated restaurant? Isn’t it sometimes fun to rattle through tiny alleyways in a beat-up old


subcompact car that could probably fit into the trunk of some of today’s larger vehicles?

As teenagers, gourmet chefs and drivers of luxury vehicles often visited fast-food restau-

rants and started off with economy cars. Let’s apply the same principle to photography.

“You press the button, we do the rest” was the advertising slogan of Kodak more than

100 years ago. For a dollar, photo enthusiasts could purchase a box, with a level of sim-

plicity not to be beaten, that consisted of the bare essentials of a camera. I’ll discuss this

type of device in more detail later. Taking a minute to consider the technology of the past,

however, helps us recognize how effective people have been at taking pictures with

simple machines. Even today cameras are manufactured that consist of these traditional

and simple designs. They often show a surprising quality. There are differences in terms of

technical image quality, operation, and functionality, but the images from these simple

systems are characterized by a charming glow that is more or less pronounced, depend-

ing on the camera model. This can’t be hastily dismissed as a quality defect. Why do we

look at pictures? Do we admire the sharpness, the lack of vignetting, and the perfectly

straight lines near the image border and then move on to the next image to inspect

the same technical qualities? No, we pay attention to the subject and its photographic

representation. Excelling at this should be the primary goal of a photographer, in my

opinion. The chains of technical requirements can be shaken off. You can also view tak-

ing photographs with simple devices as a form of liberation. Finally the photographer

is an artist with enough creative freedom to turn to the essentials: the subject and its

photographic realization. All of the emphasis is rightly placed on the artistic elements

of an image: composition, lighting, subject, and tone.

I’ll even go one step further: for some subjects you can use elements that deviate

from orthodox beliefs to enhance your images in unique ways. You can use these “im-

perfections” to extend the range of your tools for creative expression. You can use them

to greatly enhance the mood of an image or to differentiate your picture from others. If

there is a reduction of focus in your image, for example, that you initially interpret as a

softening element, you can also use it to create an airy lightness or a dark melancholy.

More expressive images may result because of simpler technologies, not despite them.

A stronger reliance on creativity, as opposed to the technological advancements of your

equipment, is the basic idea of this book.

The following examples describe which subjects lend themselves to this type of pho-

tography and which do not.


This example shows how turning away from conventions of quality can ultimately lead

to a more expressive image. These are images of a watchtower on the Castle Franken-

stein in the Palatinate region of Germany. These ruins conjure up thoughts of the strange

and supernatural. The ghostly image on the right seems to capture these characteristics

better than the more objective image on the left.


The backlighting is the main feature of the previous image. Your attention is drawn pri-

marily to the skeletal frame of the building and the gray values in the plastic sheets on

the sides of the building with the transmitted light of the sun. The detail in the building

frame and the plastic sheets don’t play an essential role in this scene. They may even be

distracting and are therefore intentionally excluded by the photographer.

The main emphasis of this picture is in the details. The interesting patterns in the weath-

ered surface attract your attention and must be precisely depicted so they are adequate-

ly clear. The basic diagonal and vertical shapes and the knob indicate that the wood

belongs to a door, but the door itself isn’t the actual subject of this image. A reduction of

sharpness or any other visual artifacts would be considered imperfections in this image.

Simple photographic systems are noteworthy in that they were developed in a time

when photographic film and analog photography were the norm. With the digitization

of photography, the complexity of cameras advanced substantially. Simple cameras, as

I define them in this book, are hard to find in digital photography. I wish to motivate all

the ambitious analog photographers who have eagerly turned to the new technolo-

gies to fish out their old friends of bygone days, in a nostalgic spirit, from storage in the

basement. They still work, don’t they? And aren’t they still fun?

I’d especially like to speak to younger generations, whose first experiences with cam-

eras and photography were more than likely with digital technology. Dad’s heavy metal

single-lens reflex manual camera is probably associated with a story that starts with,


“Once upon a time.” Well, take another look at that old piece. You might also find grand-

pa’s old camera made of Bakelite1.

Take both of them along with you. And before you even ask, yes, you can still find film

for these types of cameras (take a look at the list of retailers at the end of this book). You

can even find newly developed products! With just a few words of instruction, you’ll be

ready to get started with this camera fit for a museum. I guarantee you’ll attract more

attention in your circle of friends with these dinosaurs than you will with the latest super-

cameras. And everyone, including you, will be excited about the results. It will, of course,

take a bit of time before you get your prints. While the scenes captured with grandpa’s

old Bakelite camera are bathed in a certain nostalgic but quite pleasant glow, the im-

ages from the heavy metal camera aren’t all that bad. You might even say they’re pretty

good—almost boringly good. This can be helped, however, and that’s what I’d like to

describe in this book. Then the next time you get your prints it will be twice as exciting.

For those of you who are committed to digital cameras and don’t want anything to

do with old machines, I have a little surprise just for you. There are some other simple

photographic tools discussed in this book as well.

And now, enough with words. A book about photography should be focused on im-

ages. On the following pages I would like to get you acquainted with images from the

product group that I would like to describe first.

1 Bakelite was the first type of plastic that was mass-produced for industrial products. Today many

people are aware of it only as the material used for the electric plugs of old electric devices.

Chapter 1

SUC

12 Chapter 1 SUC

SUC: Black-and-White

13 Chapter 1 SUC


Chapter 1 SUC 14

SUC: Blackbird

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15Chapter 1 SUC

SUC: Redbird

Chapter 1 SUC 16

SUC: Redbird

17Chapter 1 SUC

SUC: Redbird

Chapter 1 SUC 18

SUC: Redbird

19Chapter 1 SUC

SUC: Nightbird

Chapter 1 SUC 20

SUC: Nightbird

21Chapter 1 SUC

SUC: Crossbird

Chapter 1 SUC 22

SUC: Crossbird

23Chapter 1 SUC

SUC: Crossbird

Chapter 1 SUC 24

SUC: Color (Panorama)

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25Chapter 1 SUC

SUC: Color (Panorama)

Chapter 1 SUC 26

SUC

SUC—it sounds somewhat secretive, but it’s quite simply an abbreviation for single-use

camera. Some people refer to SUCs as “film with a lens.” Whatever you call them, these

cameras exhibit the old Kodak mantra perfectly: “You press the button, we do the rest.”

There is never a need to purchase film separately because it is provided with the cam-

era, ready to use, when you buy it. The price of these cameras is remarkably low, when

you consider that you get film and a camera for around $10, sometimes less. Film alone

costs $4 to $5. SUCs can be the ideal first step toward taking great photos with simple

cameras. These cameras are self-explanatory: aim at your subject and press the button to

expose your shot (without any delay!), then advance the film by turning a simple knob.

Some models also come with a flash. After you press the button 36 times (or some-

times 24 times), simply drop the camera off at the photo lab. A few days later, you’ll

be able to hold your finished images in your hand. I’ve never had to pay an additional

charge to have the film of a SUC developed, but be sure to ask when you drop it off to

make sure. Many photo labs also have return envelopes available for purchase so your

photos will be returned to you.

This simple camera comes in a number of varieties. Aside from classics such as color

film and black-and-white film, there are other film options called Crossbird, Redbird, and

so on. I’ll come back to these films later. For those of you who are interested in shooting

underwater, there are even special SUCs that are watertight. Imaginative manufacturers

also offer SUCs with different exteriors (even customizable ones) and for special pur-

poses. My favorite special purpose for these cameras is at a wedding. Distribute several

such cameras to the guests of a wedding and they can contribute to the wedding picture

album. Of course, you can also use generic SUCs for weddings and other special occa-

sions. To help guests get the idea, though, it’s helpful to get a customized design on the

camera. Companies can also buy SUCs that are customized with their logos.

At their low price, there are no automatic exposure settings available on SUCs. Those

would drive the price of a simple camera up substantially. SUCs transmit light through a

fixed aperture and shutter speed. The intensity of the exposure, in other words, is entirely

dependent on the lighting conditions of the scene. This isn’t as much of a limitation as

you might initially think. Modern films exhibit some wiggle room in terms of balancing

an exposure. Taking pictures early in the morning or late at night, however, can impose

certain limits on your ability to get an adequate exposure. A flash, which is available on

most high-end SUCs, will increase the hours in the day during which you can work. Don’t

plan on using the flash to illuminate subjects that are at much of a distance, though.

Cameras usually come with a recommended range of use for the flash. For shallow sub-

jects, I definitely recommend working within this recommendation. For subjects with

some depth to them, such as shooting at a dining table, the people close to you may

appear in an unfavorable light while those farther away will be dimly lit.

SUC 27

Since SUCs have an integrated fixed lens, you will not have the option of setting the

focal length. Their optical system is set to a hyperfocal distance. They achieve the highest

level of sharpness a few feet in front of the camera lens. According to the laws of optics,

everything that is in front of or behind this point will not be 100 percent sharp. This

blur, however, is undetectable in a range extending from a minimum distance from the

camera (usually specified on the camera) to the horizon. This type of lens is not unique

to SUCs. It is used by any camera that doesn’t come with a focal length setting. Even

photographers with sophisticated cameras use this type of focusing as a snapshot set-

ting so they can spontaneously react to situations without having to lose time to set

the focal length.

After the image counter reveals that you’ve reached the end of the roll, you might

wonder where the rewind crank is. Well, it doesn’t exist! Everything should be easy,

right? The case is designed so the film rolls up into a spool as you advance the film for

each picture, not the other way around. Perfect! “You press the button, we do the rest”,

is especially true here since there’s nothing to do when it comes to rewinding the film.

I previously mentioned that there are different varieties of film that you can use to

expose your images. I’ll discuss a few of them on the following pages.

Chapter 1 SUC 28


These images show two black-and-white films with different contrast behaviors. The

normal black-and-white film on the left exhibits true color tones in corresponding gray

values. The Blackbird film on the right is one of the special effect films offered by Rollei in

its SUCs. It has a higher contrast than the image on the right. The structure of the wall is

emphasized, but at the expense of the gray values in the sky. Determining which photo

looks better is a matter of personal taste.

The very bright and very dark areas of subjects lend themselves especially well to

black-and-white photography because they produce the greatest range of contrast.

Colors that have the same brightness will look as though they are more or less the same

tone on the gray scale. This uniformity is generally not attractive, so you should try to

look at your subjects in terms of bright and dark areas instead of colors; for example, a

light yellow sweater (white) and a dark blue pair of pants (black) will result in an image

with good contrast.

SUC: Color 29

SUC: Color

There isn’t as much to discuss with color-film cameras. As you would expect, these cam-

eras display the colors of your subject authentically, just as you perceive them with your

eyes. To introduce yet another option with SUCs, I decided to use a panorama perspec-

tive for these shots. You can additionally use a standard 35 mm film with this camera.

By switching on the panorama function, a small mask with a narrow slit

drops down over the lens. The exposure area of the film will correspond to

this narrow opening. In combination with the wide-angle lens, this setup

will create an effect that you won’t be able to appreciate fully until the film

is developed and enlarged. You will have a picture that is about three times

as long as it is wide. This format can create attractive results when taking

landscape photos, but it can also be surprisingly effective in other situations.

It affords a completely different perspective of well-known or common

subjects. I took the photo above in a parking garage that I use almost every

day. I’m quite sure that no one else has ever thought that this completely

unremarkable parking garage might be an interesting subject for a picture.

A few passersby shook their heads while I set about my work, but that’s of-

ten a good indication that you’re on your way to getting an unusual shot.

The panoramic dimensions helped make this shot.

Panoramas can create especially interesting and suprising results when

you turn them 90 degrees to take a vertical shot, as seen in the image to

the right.

Of course, you can argue that this type of panorama photography is the

same as taking a conventional image and then cropping it. In principle, yes,

of course, but to avoid ending up with a miniature print, you’ll need an en-

largement that’s worthy of the name—probably about 9×12 in. A print this

size won’t be cheap, and you’d be throwing a large part of the image away,

which is too bad. Some photo labs charge based on the enlargement of the

side of an image and adjust the length accordinly. This will save you some

Chapter 1 SUC 30

money. Sliding down the mask also has a psychological effect, however. Our imagina-

tions are tied in some degree to the standard image formats offered by the camera and

film industries. The only real variable is whether to shoot your images portrait or land-

scape. Additional possibliities usually don’t even come under consideration. But when

we have an alternative before us—in this case, the mask that creates the panorama

format we can see through the viewfinder—we consciously look for scenes that fit this

unconventional format so we can make use of it.

You’ve surely noticed the red light reflection in the middle of the parking garage im-

age. With simple lenses, effects like this are to be expected because of light scattering.

They are not unique to SUCs; they naturally occur with all rudimentary optical systems.

There are sophisticated lens systems to avoid uncontrollable light reflections such as

this, but we want to take pictures with simple cameras. You can control effects like this

by avoiding highly reflective objects and backlit situations. But the effects look fantastic

to me. Instead of avoiding circumstances that cause light reflections, you can use them

to integrate unusual special effects with your subject. The results may be pleasantly sur-

prising. With this particular panorama picture, I hadn’t observed this effect until looking

at the negative. Once I saw this ghostly appearance in the finished image, I really grew

to like it. In fact, I consider it the highlight of this image.

In this book you’ll see several other images in which I have included similar light effects,

sometimes as a coincidental result of the circumstances and other times intentionally.

You won’t be able to see the effect in the viewfinder because it reflects light in a different

way than the lens. This means you’ll have to surprise yourself. Points of light and highly

reflective metal surfaces that mirror the light of the sun often engender these effects.

But be careful! Never look directly at the sun through your viewfinder, not even for a

brief moment. This can cause serious damage to your eyesight—a risk that is certainly

not worth it.

SUC: Crazy Film 31

SUC: Crazy Film

Up until now, I have only discussed conventional film types. Now, however, I’d like to

talk about films that are designed for photographers who like to experiment. These films

tend to defamiliarize the subjects in your images through a drastic conversion of color.

These films are called Redbird, Nightbird, and Crossbird. If you like the effects they create,

you can also purchase these films independent of SUCs. You can find them as 35 mm

film and roll films of other sizes, so they can be used with most types of analog cameras.

Redbird and Nightbird are related to one another. The examples above demonstrate

their different color characteristics. Both are color films that are rolled upside down into

the film canister, but they differ in terms of their light sensitivity. Redbird has a sensitiv-

ity of ISO 400/27°, and Nightbird’s is ISO 800/30°. Nightbird, in other words, is twice as

sensitive. The Nightbird image shows that this film works very well in the late evening

hours, but be sure to use both types of film at various times of the day. What’s exciting

about these films is the shift in color that occurs as a result of under- or overexposure.

A short exposure creates a yellowish cast, while a longer exposure produces orange

and even red and violet color tones. The preceding images show a direct comparison

of Redbird and Nightbird films; they were snapped at the same time of day but reveal

different variations according to their nominal sensitivities.

Backlighting and high-contrast scenes with pronounced low-light areas tend to cre-

ate especially impressive results with these films. The shifts in color can simulate a dra-

matic sunset or create a dreamlike atmosphere when capturing trees, people, and other

subjects as silhouettes against an unobstructed sky.

Rounding out this trio of eccentric films is Crossbird. The first part of its name, cross,

comes from the cross-development process of developing a slide film as though it

were a color negative film. Its light sensitivity is ISO 200/24°. The resulting images have

a sharp contrast and very unusual color effects that are hard to describe. Instead, I have

included several examples in the gallery at the beginning of the chapter so you can

see for yourself. Very colorful subjects are ideal for this film because the color shifts are

readily apparent.

Redbird Nightbird

Chapter 1 SUC 32

Neglected, dilapidated, and dirty conditions—for example, ruins, worn-down build-

ings, old industrial parks, docks, and so on—are often monochrome and usually re-

produce with a dirty green color shift. This effect can really emphasize the tone of the

subject, but the results are not easy to predict. Throw caution to the wind and see what

happens. When working with this film you’ll definitely end up with some winners, but

you’ll also probably create some images that aren’t especially exciting. Scrap these re-

jects and focus instead on your successes.

Crossbird

With that, I’ve reached the end of the first chapter, and I hope I’ve successfully piqued

your interest in simple photography. I don’t want to leave out a quick word about the na-

ture of single-use manufactured goods. Single-use products can be negatively thought

of as disposable products and are accordingly indefensible from an ecological perspec-

tive. And rightly so. After use, it’s very important to dispose of SUCs either by giving them

to a photo developer or by using an alternative recycling option. I encourage everyone

who follows my suggestions above to consider the ecological implications of your work.

It’s important for me to emphasize that I’m not suggesting you use SUCs as a general

substitute for other cameras. It would be nonsense to buy SUCs by the 10-pack and use

them all the time. Conversely, I see them as an opportunity to gain some exposure to

simple photography, perhaps first as an alternative to your regular camera. If you end up

liking this sort of photography, I recommend graduating to a proper reusable camera.

There are a number of simple and adventuresome cameras out there, and I will introduce

many of them in the remaining pages of this book.

Chapter 2

Greetings from the

Far East

3434 Chapter 2 Greetings from the Far East

HOLGA

35Chapter 2 Greetings from the Far East

HOLGA

36 Chapter 2 Greetings from the Far East 36

HOLGA


HOLGA

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HOLGA


HOLGA


Holga-Panorama


Holga-Panorama


DIANA


DIANA


DIANA


DIANA


DIANA


DIANA


DIANA

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Blackbird, Fly


Blackbird, Fly


Blackbird, Fly


Blackbird, Fly


Blackbird, Fly


Blackbird, Fly


Press the button, and you’re finished. Not because all of the variables of exposure are

entrusted to some incomprehensible automatic system, but because the functions

of the camera have been reduced to the basic essentials. This type of technology has

experienced a renaissance in the film photography scene. Near the center of this in-

terest are two much beloved cameras from Asian manufacturers: HOLGA and DIANA.

They were originally developed as cameras for the masses so people of modest means

would have access to affordable photography. These cameras have plastic cases that

are remarkable because they are so lightweight, and you can figure out how to use

them quickly because of their spartan functions and features.

Surely no one imagined that these cameras would gain international fame. However, a

Viennese company with the trademark Lomography, who had already rescued the Rus-

sian Lomo camera from its deathbed and helped it rise to a new success, also recognized

the potential of these likable cameras—HOLGA and DIANA—from the Far East. They

were soon included in the company’s product line. This is how they became ennobled as

one of the tools of the likable and fun photography of Lomography, whose philosophy is

described in 10 rules. The last rule especially pleases me: “Don’t worry about any rules”—a

sentiment that should be applied to all photography in general. Many, many excellent

photographs have been taken because photographers have resisted conservative rules.

Eventually DIANA and HOLGA started to win the attention of photo enthusiasts who

were interested in using the special charms of these cameras as a means to design

creative and artistic photographs. I have the impression that the triumph of digital pho-

tography triggered a countermovement by the remaining supporters of analog pho-

tography. No innovative advancements to tried-and-true products occurred, and the

development of new products nearly came to a complete halt. In fact, as a result of the

focus on digital photography, many of the beloved film products started to disappear

from the market. Photo enthusiasts were staring into an empty future for film photogra-

phy. Searching for an answer, they discovered plastic cameras that, until recently, no one

would have ventured into daylight with. It’s practically unimaginable, but in the blink of

an eye, you can now show them off proudly. The same goes for the images they create.

In addition to the classics—HOLGA and DIANA—a new point-and-shoot box be-

came available that increasingly gained attention as a curiosity: Blackbird, Fly. This trio

of simple devices won the hearts of many analog photography fans. Now an unbeliev-

able dynamic has developed in the photography industry. More and more variants of

these types of cameras, with new developments, have become available. Whether the

motivation behind this revitalization is profits or the desire to expand creative possibili-

ties is up to you to decide.

Here I will concentrate on my three favorite models: HOLGA, DIANA, and Blackbird, Fly.


HOLGA

HOLGA has achieved worldwide admiration that has even given rise to the concept

of Holga graphy. Can you achieve more than inspiring a new a type of photography?

The HOLGA accomplished this. You can recognize the HOLGA immediately in adver-

tisements because of the massive, robust impression it makes. If you didn’t know any

better, you’d assume that its case was made of a heavy metal. The model with the silver

top looks particularly impressive, but this isn’t intended as a deception. Consumers who

purchase a HOLGA, as a rule, are well aware of what they are getting: a lightweight

plastic case with straightforward internal workings. Straightforward is relative, since

HOLGAs are available with a range of features and subtle differences that are indicated

with a letter identifier. When you learn this secret code, you’ll see that not all HOLGAs

are alike. The same is true when buying a car; you can get the basic model or you can

choose any number of upgrades.

• S is the original HOLGA with a plastic lens.

• N is the base model, which features a shoe mount, a bulb mode for long exposure

times, and a tripod mount.

• F features an integrated flash.

• G indicates a glass lens—a clear upgrade to the basic model.

• C specifies an increase in creative control afforded by a variety of color filters for

the flash.

HOLGA 57

If you opt for the all-inclusive version, you would choose model GCFN. The number 120

that comes before the letters indicates the appropriate type of roll film to use.

HOLGAs are now available in a slew of different colors with other adventurous fea-

tures. To describe them all is well beyond the range of this book, but you can easily get

a sense of the options from different vendors. The addresses for many of them are listed

at the end of this book.

The model I discuss in the following sections is the HOLGA 120N, which doesn’t have

any frills and is accordingly my favorite of the bunch.

The HOLGA’s case is designed so it is comfortable in average-sized hands. It’s also stur-

dy enough that you don’t have to worry about any fragile pieces breaking off when you

pack it and take it on an outing. Its alluring appearance tempts you to insert a roll of film

and get started right away. Despite the spartan nature of the camera, though, there are a

few things you should know about your new camera’s functions before getting started.

The HOLGA is a medium-format camera and accordingly requires 120 roll film. (See

chapter 8 for more on film.) I recommend using film with a sensitivity of ISO 400/27° for

your HOLGA, which is your best option for most weather conditions. Only in direct sun-

light would I recommend using ISO 100/21°. The camera exposes the negative in a 6×6

cm area (it’s actually somewhat smaller than that, but 6x6 cm is the traditional designa-

tion) and produces 12 negatives. You can also use a mask to create a smaller 4.5×6 cm

format that will produce 16 negatives. This comes at the expense of the characteristic

vignetting in the image corners, however, which is a large part of the HOLGA’s charm.

My recommendation is to not use the mask.

After you insert the film, you have a ready-to-use camera at your fingertips, and you

are ready to familiarize yourself with the camera’s modest controls.

Aim at your subject by looking through the viewfinder. Approach your subject closely

and take your images full frame. Since the viewfinder reveals an area that’s slightly

smaller than what the exposure will actually capture, you will not see some of the area

that will appear in your final image.

To set the focal length, simply turn the lens, which has a number of symbols to help

you establish the distance to your subject. This symbol method is not uncommon, but I

prefer working with a scale that indicates concrete distances. The user manual provides

a commendable interpretation of these symbols:

• Symbol: 1 Person = 1 m (3.3 ft)

• Symbol: 3 People = 2 m (6.6 ft)

• Symbol: Several People = 6 m (19.7 ft)

• Symbol: Mountains = 10 m (32.8 ft) to infinity

As a means of roughly controlling the exposure settings of the camera, there is a switch

above the lens with the symbols for sun and rain. With older models, you could toggle

this switch back and forth with complete disregard to the actual weather conditions. It

didn’t matter because it didn’t actually change anything. You cannot, however, position

this switch in the middle because a small lever inside the camera, presumably intended


to adjust the aperture, blocks the path of light and ruins your picture. I speak from ex-

perience and am sure that I’m not the only one to have made this mistake.

Now the HOLGA is ready to fire. You have two options for the shutter speed: N is an

exposure time of 1/100 second, and B allows you to leave the shutter open as long as you

hold down the shutter-release button. The slider to switch between these two options

is located on the underside of the HOLGA and is barely visible. You normally won’t have

to worry about it because you will primarily shoot using the N mode. If you foolishly (or

accidentally) toggle the switch to B, your images will be ruined by overexposure and/or

camera shake. You can either throw these pictures out or claim unabashedly that you

meant to achieve the effect to obscure your surroundings. Anyone who’s not familiar

with HOLGAs would believe your story without a moment’s hesitation.

For night exposures, shooting in B mode (with a tripod)

is naturally the way to go. The best results are not to be

had during nighttime hours, but instead during late twi-

light or the so-called blue hour. I recommend taking two

exposures: one with a 5-second and one with a 10-second

exposure.

You can use any commercial flash with a HOLGA be-

cause it has a hot-shoe mount with a center contact. The

strength of the flash, which determines the range of your

shot, naturally depends on the output of the flash unit you

employ. Make your flash decisions based on an aperture

of f/8. For a flash without automatic detection sensors

(and what could be more fitting for a HOLGA?), the flash

output and the size of the aperture determine the effec-

tive range of the flash.

For a HOLGA, this means the following:

• Guide Number 20: 2.5 m (8.2 ft)



If you’ve set everything up correctly but don’t see any indication of an exposure on the

film, you’ve probably forgotten to take the lens cap off. I’ve done it myself. Don’t laugh—

I’m sure it will happen to you at one point or another. The same goes for exposing the

same negative twice unintentionally because you forgot to advance the film. You will

also occasionally discover empty spaces between negatives because you advanced

the film twice as a precaution (“Did I already turn the dial or not?”). It’s best to adopt a

routine for these steps so they become second nature.

Tripods

Even if you are using the B shooting mode for

only a brief exposure time (for example, with

very low-speed film or exposures taken at dusk

or indoors) and you use a very steady hand,

you’ll still end up with some degree of camera

shake. You can often turn this into a charming

desired effect, and you may even intentionally

shift the camera in a particular direction, but

mostly you will want to affix your camera to a

stable base, ideally a tripod. It would also be

optimal to use a Holga cable release (available

as accessory).

HOLGA 59

To count your exposed images, there are two holes on the back of the camera that are

sealed with a red plastic disc. The one on the top is for the 6×6 cm format, and the one

below is for the 4.5×6 cm format. On the backside of the film, printed numbers indicate

how many negatives have been exposed, and these numbers are visible through the

red window.

In this section, I have intentionally described the functionality of the HOLGA in detail

because the design principles and operation of this camera are the same for many other

simple camera systems.

The operation of the HOLGA can be summed up in the following steps:

• Open the back.

• Load the film.

• Close the back.

• Set the distance.

• Sight your subject.

• Release the shutter.

• Advance the film.

After reaching 12 exposures, you can have the film developed and eagerly await your fin-

ished photographs. Your images will have all the characteristics of the aforementioned

Holgagraphy. Take joy in the charms of the not-very-sharp focus, the subtly darkened

corners, and the gentle bend in objects that are actually straight.

You’ll eventually discover an unexpected bright area in your images. This phenom-

enon indicates that your camera is one of a kind; it’s the result of a light leak in your

camera’s body. To fix this problem, you will need to locate the leak and use black tape

Multiple-exposure Images

Creating multiple-exposure images with cameras is

something of a curiosity. It used to be that there was

always a risk for multiple exposure. With the advent

of multiple-exposure prevention mechanisms, it be-

came obvious that they were not included in inex-

pensive, simple cameras. Even now, after these mech-

anisms became available for less expensive cameras,

the ability to create multiple exposures is a coveted

feature of sophisticated cameras. Sometimes taking a

multiple exposure can make a lot of sense. Here you

can see an example of a house and a bit of masonry

exposed on the same negative. Textures such as this

are often introduced to images to imbue them with

the feeling of a painting.


to cover it up. You can even purchase a starter kit with your HOLGA, which includes a

roll of black tape. In my experience the light leaks most often occur along the edges of

the camera back. I taped the entire back of my HOLGA, top, bottom, left, and right, and

systematically removed one of the four pieces of tape, took one exposure, then held

the camera up to the sun. I eventually discovered where the weak spot of my HOLGA

was: at the top, in the middle, so I left that part taped up. In addition to taping any pos-

sible light leaks, I also recommend carrying your HOLGA in a bag and taking it out only

to snap your photos. This will greatly reduce the chance of unwanted light exposure.

You might decide to become friends with your light leak, so to speak. Depending on

its position and severity, you can leave it alone and work its effect into your images. You

can adopt the mantra, “What the hell? That’s just my HOLGA’s quirkiness,” or you can

manipulate the light leak as a tool for creative design, for example, as a ghostly appari-

tion. You can remove and replace your tape as needed, depending on the subject at

hand.

I think the light leak is too strong in this image. It was worth a try, but it’s simply too

much of a distraction. Away with it!

HOLGA 61

One interesting possibility with your HOLGA camera is to use 35 mm film instead of

standard 120 roll film. In principle, this trick works with any medium-format camera.

Instead of loading the intended 120 roll film, insert a standard 35 mm film canister. The

diameter of the cartridge fits, but there will be extra space above and below it. You can

trim some pieces of foam to fill up this extra room and hold the canister in place, or

in a pinch you can use some wadded up newspaper. Next, attach the end of the film,

just as you would attach the roll film, to the middle of the empty spool and take out

the slack by advancing the spool a couple of turns. You’ll also need to tape over the

red window on the back of the camera. To advance the film, you will need to turn the

dial 1.5 times (or 36 clicks).

A much more elegant solution is to purchase an accessory that is sometimes called a

panorama insert, which will hold the film canister more securely in place and will facilitate

advancing the film. Panorama inserts have a back wall without a red window. The fruits

of your effort will be extraordinarily wide images, but naturally you won’t be able to see

this in the viewfinder. With a little imagination, though, this shouldn’t be a problem. Try

out your new setup when taking shots in portrait orientation. The advantage is that the

exposure bleeds all the way to the edge of the film, even beyond the perforation. For

this reason, it’s wise not to position any key subjects in this part of your frame. Someone’s

head might get chopped off in a horizontal group picture, or someone may be punched

full of holes in a vertical image. The perforations can also be detrimental to architectural

images. In general, the only objects that you would want to be directly affected by the

sprocket holes would be any unnecessary, incidental subjects. You’ll have to place a

special order with your trusted photo lab so the technicians can develop your film in

the panorama format with or without the sprocket holes, according to your preference.

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I should also mention two other accessories: a wide-angle attachment and a telephoto

attachment that are placed over the lens. They resemble yogurt containers with glass

bottoms. I used them only one time. The result is a circular image, but neither of them

particularly impressed me, and I probably won’t use them again.

By now you can probably see that with a camera reduced to its essential basics, like

the HOLGA, and a certain measure of imagination, you’re already off to a great start. And

with that, I hope you enjoy using your HOLGA.

DIANA 63

DIANA

The DIANA is the smaller and gentler sister of the HOLGA, and it appeared some 20 years

earlier. This camera offers an aperture setting that actually works, with three weather

symbol designations. You can use a film adapter with the 120 roll film (ISO 400/27°) to

create three variations: there’s the standard 6×6 cm format (12 negatives), a 4.2×4.2 cm

format (16 negatives), and, as a specialty, a 4.6×4.6 cm format (also 16 negatives). You

can switch the red window on the camera’s back to be set for either 12 or 16 exposures.

The last format is noteworthy because the camera will seamlessly expose the images on

the negative film without any space between each exposure. According to the camera

manual you can use this feature creatively, by stringing together coordinated images

to create a panorama. However the individual images don’t fit perfectly together, and

to be honest, I don’t care for this feature. But I’m not the measure of all things. Give it a

try for yourself; it may be just the thing to spark your creativity.

The big surprise with the DIANA is that it is a regular system camera with interchange-

able lenses. Changing out the lens is easy, thanks to bayonet mounts. Bayonet mounts!

At the time of the DIANA’s introduction to the market, these were by no means as com-

mon as they are now. Even high-end cameras required the lenses to be screwed into

the camera body. The M39-thread lens mount for Leica lenses was legendary, and the


universal M42-thread mount reigned for many years. The DIANA’s advanced bayonet, in

other words, deserves real attention. In addition to its standard lens (80 mm), a wide-

angle lens (38 mm) and a telephoto lens (110 mm) are also available. All three lenses

feature a gradual distance setting (indicated with symbols and metric displays).

So you can see the composition of your image with different lenses, the DIANA has

a clever multiple viewfinder. It attaches to the regular viewfinder, and you can easily

sight your subject based on which lens you are using. This attachment may not win

any beauty contests, but it does its job well.

In particular, the telephoto lens seems monstrously large in comparison to the mod-

est size of the camera body. This lens is called a soft telephoto lens—a name that alludes

to the noticeable cloudiness and blur that the lens creates in exposed images. I’m not

bothered by the dark corner areas. They even underscore the telephotographic effect

to a certain extent.

Interchangeable lenses aren’t designed just to allow you to take full-frame pictures

without having to walk closer to or farther away from your subject. You can also create

interesting results by using their individual perspectives and focal distances to design

your images thoughtfully and imaginatively.

DIANA 65

This image was recorded with a standard lens. The size ratio between the foreground

and the background is similar to how the human eye would perceive the scene.

The background appears smaller when a wide-angle lens is used, and this creates more

depth in the image. The surroundings appear to be farther away than with a standard

lens. This effect produces fascinating results in sweeping landscape images and archi-

tecture photography. It can also be effective when taking pictures of hotel rooms and

swimming pools for tourism brochures. Wide-angle lenses excel at creating a sense of

expansiveness.


A telephoto lens has a much different perspective. It appears to compress the space

in your images, which is great when a number of objects are separated but you want

them to appear more compact in your image. Crowds of people in a sports arena, for

example, will appear to be standing much closer to one another than they actually are.

Objects in the background will also be enlarged, an effect often observed in images of

sunsets. The sun looks like a colossal ball of fire above the horizon.

These examples weren’t taken with the DIANA’s lenses, by the way. I used a superzoom

lens covering a wide range of focal lengths to underscore the effects of perspective that

I’ve described here.

The DIANA is also capable of working with a flash. Unfortunately, you will need to use

a flash made specifically for the DIANA. This flash connects to the camera body with two

plug contacts, and it costs about as much as the DIANA itself. Unless you’re going to use

the flash often, it probably isn’t worth the cost to buy one.

The DIANA offers another very interesting shooting option: aside from the three aper-

ture settings, you can also use a tiny hole to expose the negative without using a lens at

all. In other words, you can use the DIANA as a pinhole camera. Working with pinholes

can be a lot of fun. I’ll talk about pinhole photography in another chapter.

You can also use 35 mm film with the DIANA, which is equipped specifically for this.

You can even purchase a back for the camera to work with instant picture film.

Operating the DIANA is more or less the same as operating the HOLGA. The only extra

step is to look at the sky and choose the appropriate aperture for the conditions.

DIANA cameras also offer the chance—and risk—of double exposure.

As with the HOLGA, light leaks will develop and make your camera one of a kind. Stay

calm. Black tape can help you regain control of your images.

I decided not to use tape for the picture on page 42. I love the ghostly figure.

DIANA 67

A light leak was not the source of the effect in the picture on page 51 it resulted from

flare. Normally you would attempt to avoid this condition by using sophisticated lens

designs and hoods, or you would try to rearrange the shot to minimize the effect. But

why not make a virtue of a necessity? Take advantage of the opportunities that simple

lenses offer. I look forward to surprises like this fiery goblin that forced its way into this

image. To create flare, position your lens so the sun shines into your image from just

beyond the frame of your shot, or position it so rays of the sun twinkle just over the

edge of a silhouette.

Making a virtue of a necessity

Making a virtue of a necessity: you should always have this saying in the forefront of

your mind in any photographic endeavor. If there’s going to be flare in your image, then

embrace it. Are there unsightly power lines in a landscape shot? Then incorporate a few

additional poles and integrate the wires into the scene. Without the poles, our eyes will

see the power lines as indefinite black lines that disfigure the image like scratches. Is an

unavoidable tourist trap blocking the view of an architectural treasure? Then embrace it

and feature it centrally in your picture. Now you have a picture with a message: “The over-

all impression of a beautiful building is disturbed because of a temple to consumerism.”

Comparing HOLGA and DIANA

HOLGA sits better in the hand than DIANA because it’s slightly larger. If you can do

without the ability to swap lenses (the attachments for the HOLGA are second rate),

you’ll find that the HOLGA has a stronger lens. Another advantage of the HOLGA is the

hot-shoe mount for the flash with the center contact. This allows you to attach any

commercial flash to your HOLGA.

The DIANA’s greatest strength is its option to interchange the lenses, which allows

you to play with image composition more. Furthermore, the DIANA offers a finer control

over the exposure settings and an option for pinhole photography. One weakness of

the DIANA is its nonuniversal flash connection.

In summary, the HOLGA offers the possibility of truly carefree photography, while the

DIANA offers more extensive equipment.

6868 Chapter 2 Greetings from the Far East

Blackbird, Fly

In addition to these two classic models, I’d like to introduce you to a similar but new

design. The “Made in China” label on the bottom of the camera is proudly accompanied

by “Designed by Superheadz.” The rectangular design is modern, and despite the name

Blackbird, Fly, several models of the camera are available with front panels in different

bold colors, but the rest of the camera body is black. If you wish to purchase a Black-

bird, Fly that’s completely black, you can. Additionally, the front panel is accented with

a small bird and an abbreviation of its name, bbf, in curly letters—a nice touch.

What really sets the Blackbird, Fly apart from the other simple and inexpensive plastic

cameras is its completely unusual design principle. It immediately calls to mind other

twin-lens reflex cameras in the history of photographic technology, such as the much

more glorious Rolleiflex. There are two lenses on the front plate that are situated one

above the other. The bottom one is the exposure lens, and the top one is part of the

viewfinder, which reflects the image upward. Pulling up the lid of the camera creates a

light well that makes it possible for you to see through the viewfinder lens. This means

you must look down while shooting the subject in front of you. In the age of digital pho-

tography and modern camera design, this may sound somewhat odd, but the practice

69Blackbird, Fly

of shooting with a humbly bowed head and a downward glance was very common for

decades, even for professionals. Twin-lens reflex cameras were actually quite popular

with press photographers. They could hold the camera above their heads while looking

up through the viewfinder and shoot above the heads of people that were in their way.

This practice posed problems both for image focus and neck muscles, and it wasn’t ideal

in situations that featured a number of other photographers who also had their hands

and cameras thrust into the air. The prospect of capturing a salable image of a head of

state passing by, however, made the effort worthwhile.

Getting back to the Blackbird, Fly, the viewfinder image will take some getting used

to. A circular representation shows a number of frames that indicate the various image

formats discussed on the following pages. It’s viewable only from a minimum distance

of 30 cm (11.8 in), and the image is reversed as though it were reflected in a mirror!

All of this makes it a bit tricky to align your camera perfectly. It’s much easier to use

the sports finder, which is my preference.

On the front side of the viewfinder shaft, you’ll find a small door that you can pull

backward to open. The rectangular opening on the front of the pull-up viewfinder, in

combination with the smaller rectangular opening on the back of the viewfinder, cre-

ates a functional viewfinder. Using this method to set up your images is something of

an improvisational exercise, but the results can be great, especially when you rotate

the camera 90 degrees to take a portrait shot (which will produce a negative with the

sprocket holes along the top and bottom edges of the image). Give that a try with the

mirror viewfinder first—I’m sure you’ll have some fun with it.


Aside from the twin lenses, the most obvious distinguishing feature of the Blackbird,

Fly, in comparison with the HOLGA and the DIANA, is the use of 35 mm film (ISO 400/27°).

Using this film is a requirement, not an option. This is an advantage because 35 mm film

is more readily available, and more photo labs develop it. In other words, you’ll be able

to take more exposures.

The Blackbird, Fly does not use the standard 24×36 mm format exclusively. It features

a special novelty for 35 mm cameras, which allows you to choose between three differ-

ent negative formats:

• The conventional small format: 24×36 mm

• A mini square format: 24×24 mm

• A large square format: 36×36 mm, which exposes the area surrounding the film’s

sprocket holes

Before you load your film into the camera, you will need to install the appropriate mask-

ing frame that corresponds to the format you wish to use, or in the case of the large

square format, you will need to remove the masking frame entirely. This means that you

will need to choose your format before you load the film. I find it useful to employ the

full 36×36 mm format and then compose my shot so it fills up the frame.

The borders for all three formats are marked in the viewfinder:

Another interesting thing about the large square format is that the negatives’ edges

are flush with each other. One negative is directly beside the next. This seamless row of

negatives and resulting opportunity to create panoramic images should be familiar to

you—the DIANA camera also has this feature. With the Blackbird, Fly, however, you can

use 35 mm film to achieve the same effect, which allows you to include the sprocket

holes in your exposures.

The rest of the camera’s features can be described quickly. It uses a gradual focal

length setting with a metric scale from 0.8 m to infinity, exposure options for sunny and

overcast, shutter speeds of N and B, a film advance dial with a frame counter, a crank to

rewind the 35 mm film into its canister, and its shoe mount has a center contact.

The Blackbird, Fly is neither famous nor infamous for light leaks. If you do discover a

problem with your images, it is most likely a manufacturing defect that should be taken

up with the dealer.

36 × 36 mm

24 × 24 mm

24 × 36 mm

71Blackbird, Fly

Despite the obvious design differences with its plastic siblings, the operation of the

Blackbird, Fly is more or less the same:

• Open the back.

• Load the film.

• Close the back.

• Set the distance.

• Select the weather symbol.

• Sight your subject.

• Release the shutter.

• Advance the film.

The Blackbird, Fly will allow you to take the next picture without advancing the frame.

Double exposures can be delightful—when you create them on purpose.

As with 35 mm film in the HOLGA, you shouldn’t position any important details of your

image in the area of the film sprocket holes when you use the Blackbird, Fly. This im-

age features a punctured tree and perforated side of a building and is headed straight

for the trash can.

As I conclude this chapter, I would like to point out that I have introduced only a few

popular simple cameras. If you look into this area a little more, you’ll discover that this

market is booming, in stark contrast to the established and serious realm of analog

photography. You can purchase the HOLGA and the DIANA in a number of varieties and

with a wide array of new accessories. Describing all of them is beyond the scope of this


book. And since they are developing and proliferating so quickly, it would take longer

to explain them all than it would for the cows to come home.

At the end of this book, I’ve provided several locations to buy this equipment, where

you can stay up to date on the latest offerings and talk with salespeople to your heart’s

content. Who’s to decide whether all of this is commercial madness or creative diversity?

The answer is simple: each to his own.

Chapter 3

Oldies

74 Chapter 3 Oldies 74

Kodak Brownie No. 2

75Chapter 3 Oldies

Kodak Brownie No. 2


Kodak Brownie No. 2

77Chapter 3 Oldies

Kodak Brownie No. 2


CERTINA

79Chapter 3 Oldies

CERTINA


CERTINA

81Chapter 3 Oldies

BELLA 66


BELLA 66

83Chapter 3 Oldies

BELLA 66


In recent times, the Asian classics Holga and Diana have enjoyed a popularity that has

become something of a cult following. The concept of inexpensive, simply constructed

cameras for the masses is neither limited to this era nor to this geographic area. At the

start of the 20th century, box cameras were already making a name for themselves and

were available internationally. When the billows of smoke from World War II began to

clear, a new camera industry sprouted across the globe, resulting in more choices. The

contemporary renaissance of camera technology has more or less passed these cameras

by. Committed enthusiasts and collectors are the only ones interested in these cameras.

Most photography enthusiasts have directed their attention forward. Times of increasing

prosperity have understandably given rise to an interest in new (read: better) camera

models. Most of the beloved plastic and sheet metal cameras have been put into boxes

and have disappeared into basements and storage units.

Now, decades later, these abandoned treasures are finally seeing some daylight again.

They’re not being retrieved from storage out of nostalgic remembrance by their original

owners, but by their grandchildren. And they know enough to do something with them.

These objects should not rot away in a corner. If they’ve read this book, they’ll discover the

joy of using this type of camera immediately. If they haven’t, they probably know enough

to get started with grandpa’s old gadget on their own. You can also find outdated cameras

on Internet auctions—the modern-day equivalent of flea markets. Sellers circumvent all

liability with comments such as, “I’ve got no idea how or whether this actually works,” and

they sell items that have simply been dusted off. And now is your chance. For no more

money than a basic haircut would cost, you can win an auction and have a box camera

with real Holga charm in just a few days. The dust may be removed, but you’ll probably

need to do a little more cleaning. Chrome cleaner and auto interior spray will probably

be enough to bring your camera back to top form. Use a cloth for eyeglasses to clean

the lenses and the viewfinder. You can easily track down some film, and then you’ll be

ready to fire.

The method of operation is familiar by now : load the film, . . .

I’d like to introduce three historical treasures that I was able to track down.


Kodak Brownie No. 2

From a modern perspective it’s hard to look at a little box like this and imagine that it’s

a camera. If you carried this box by its leather handle in public, you’d be sure to receive

several inquisitive stares from people who would probably not identify you as a photog-

rapher. Even the large hole in the middle of its front panel and the two smaller holes in

its sides don’t betray its secret purpose. Our modern perspective simply doesn’t associate

this shape with a camera anymore. If the question marks in the eyes of a curious observer

turn into exclamation points, the observer will no doubt examine it closer and embark

on a journey through time to the end of the 19th century. Kodak developed its original

box camera, the Kodak No. 1, in 1888. It was intended to be the camera that Kodak would

spread around the world with its newly developed roll film and the slogan, “You press

the button, we do the rest.” But Kodak’s goal of providing a camera for everyone was not

met. At $25, plus an additional $10 for developing the film, making prints, and supply-

ing new film, it was too expensive. Instead, Kodak had its breakthrough in 1901 with the

Brownie No. 2, which was on the market for $1. That marked the beginning of a golden

era of simply constructed cameras and film rolled up on a spool. The design principles

of box cameras caught on around the world and were adopted by many other camera

manufacturers. In the early days of commercialization, low-budget box cameras were


manufactured out of wood or even cardboard. Camera bodies made of sheet metal were

higher-class box cameras.

The dimensions of the Kodak Brownie No. 2 are 10×8×14 cm (3.9×3.1×5.5 in). Behind

the large opening in the middle there is a simple closure and a meniscus lens. The term

“lens” is somewhat misleading, since it is not the shape that you would expect. It’s more

of a curved piece of glass. With this design, the rudimentary lens produces a better im-

age quality than you would expect. The two holes on the front, and the small windows

on the top and the side, are two separate viewfinders. One is for portrait orientation and

the other is for landscape. The need for two viewfinders is due to the 6×9 cm film format.

If you view the image from the top, you’ll see it in portrait. Rotating the box 90 degrees

allows you to record your picture in landscape format.

The complete equipment of the Kodak Brownie No. 2 includes the following:

• 1 fixed-focus lens

• 2 viewfinders

• 1 shutter release

• 1 film advance dial

• 1 red frame counter window

• 2 sheet metal strips on the front of the cover plate

To load the 120 roll film into the box, unclasp the lock on the back cover and then lower

it. After you’ve removed the film advance mechanism from the box a little, you can pull

out the inner casing of the box and load the film. Reinstall the inner casing, close the

cover, and then you’re off. The rather large film format of 6×9 cm produces nine negatives.

A distance setting is not necessary since the camera is equipped with a fixed-focus lens

with a range of 2 m (6.6 ft) to infinity.


The shutter-release lever is unconventional for most people. You would expect that af-

ter you push it downward that it would automatically return to its starting position. That

doesn’t happen, however. It simply stays in the lowered position. Is it broken? Nope, that’s

just how it functions. You press it down for one exposure, and then you push it up for the

next one. Continue in this fashion until the roll of film is exhausted.

What about those two strips of sheet metal above the shutter release? With nimble

fingers you can remove them from the case. What are they for?

Let’s start with the smaller of the two. When it is inserted into the case, the shutter will

open for 1/30 second and the image will be exposed. If you remove this strip, however,

the camera will function in the same way as the B mode on the Diana. It works like this:

lever up, shutter open; lever down, shutter closed. Or vice versa. For long exposure times

you would normally use a tripod, but that’s not possible since there’s no mount to attach

a tripod. After all, for only $1 you can’t expect too much. This means that you must rest the

box on a sturdy surface, hold it still, and then shoot. A small bean bag works great; you

can lay it on a table and then position the box on top of it. Now you can orient the cam-

era horizontally or vertically, hold it still with some ease, and fire away. This is a makeshift

solution, but it works. Walking around in public with your box camera in one hand and a

bean bag in the other is sure to boost the amount of attention you will receive.

And now to the second, larger strip of metal. Inside the box, this piece of metal features

a few different sized apertures. You can slide it out two steps to adjust the exposure. The

different settings aren’t designated by different symbols, you just have to know what each

position means:

• Metal strip inserted in the housing: Overcast

• Metal strip slid out one step: Partly overcast

• Metal strip completely removed: Sunny

A shutter speed of 1/30 second is actually not all that short and will require a steady hand,

in addition to film with a light sensitivity of ISO 100/21° or, even better, ISO 50/18°. The three

different weather settings mean that the exposure will be fine in bright daylight. When

it starts to get dark out, however, it’s time to move the metal strip to the B position and

get out your bean bag.

The simple operation of the Kodak Brownie No. 2 is more or less the same with all box

cameras. And that’s what is beautiful about these cameras: they’re self-explanatory. You

can still take great photos using the simple technology from the early days of amateur

photography.

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CERTINA

Think of the Certina as the Diana of the German Democratic Republic, which is where it

was introduced in 1964. The Certina was also the product of a desire to reduce the camera

down to its essential elements and make it available to consumers on a budget.

In contrast to the unusual appearance of a box camera, its exterior resembles the con-

ventional look of a modern camera, which is what it more or less is. At first glance, you’ll

discover that the Certina gives the impression of being higher quality than its Asian coun-

terparts because of its solid metal body that is encased in thin leather on its sides. The case

could probably withstand a fall from a low height with just a dent or two, without breaking.

As with its Asian equivalents, the Certina uses 120 roll film (ISO 100/21°) that it exposes

in a 6×6 cm format.

As for the camera’s method of rewinding the film, it has a feature that is uncommon to

cameras in its price class. It has a quick-release lever, instead of a return dial, similar to ones

you might be familiar with from 35 mm single-lens reflex cameras. Strangely, this lever is

located on the left side of the camera. This is an advantage for photographers who are

left handed and gives the camera a very unique design.

CERTINA 89

The Certina is also the first of the cameras I’ve introduced that has a system to prevent

accidental double exposures. At first this seems very practical to prevent film from being

wasted. The unfortunate drawback of this system, however, is that there’s no way around

it. This means that there’s no way to double expose an image intentionally to create an

imaginative result. I guess we can’t have everything.

The lens is achromatic, with two glass optical lenses. Two are better than one, and as a

result the pair make for a better optical quality than the other camera models introduced

to this point. They are embedded in a ring for focusing from 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and beyond.

There are two slightly finicky turning rings on the lens that allow you to choose between

the exposure modes B and M (M mode is the same as N mode for the cameras previously

discussed) and to set the aperture at f/8 or f/11.

A shoe mount, a connector for a flash cable, a tripod mount, and threads for a cable

release round out the Certina’s equipment.

The leather trim is not of a particularly high quality and has been worn down around

the edges of many models that I’ve seen. You should have a closer look if you buy one.

Also check out the smoothness of the shutter-release button and the film advance lever,

which can have a tendency to be slightly bent.

The Certina is an icon from German history and has a certain fun factor for its loyal fans.


BELLA 66 IIa

The Bella 66 IIa is similar to the VW Beetle: rock solid and on the market since 1960. You can

tell it’s really something when you hold it in your hand. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a work

of art, but you can tell that no corners were cut in terms of its material and workmanship.

The three exposure control options indicate a technological advancement. In addition to

the B shooting mode, you can also choose 1/50 second (also for flash operation) or 1/100

second shutter speed. In combination with the aperture choices of sunny and overcast,

you can create four different combinations for the exposure settings and customize your

shot fairly specifically to the prevailing lighting conditions. For places where overcast skies

are ether norm, I recommend a film with a light sensitivity of ISO 400/27°.

BELLA 66 IIa 91

The following is a list of exposure settings, from the brightest to the darkest lighting

conditions:

Exposure settings Lighting conditions

1/100: Sunny symbol (f/16) Sun, cloudless sky

1/100: Overcast symbol (f/8)1 Partly cloudy sky

1/50: Sunny symbol (f/16)2 Partly cloudy sky

1/50: Overcast symbol (f/8) Evening hours

The possibility of intentionally exposing the same negative twice returns again with the

Bella 66 IIa. As previously mentioned, to prevent an accidental double exposure, it’s a good

idea to come up with a personal routine to snap a shot and advance the film.12

The Bella 66 IIa’s lens is similar to the Certina’s double achromatic lens because it is

mounted in a ring and has a focal range of 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and beyond.

The Bella 66 IIa can also be used for flash photography (with a flash cable).

The lens of the Bella 66 IIa has a surprise to offer. There’s a good chance that you do the

same thing as me and other people when you pick up a new camera: you take a quick

look through the viewfinder, focus on something you wouldn’t normally photograph, and

press the shutter-release button. But what’s this? Nothing happened. You give it a second

1 This exposure setting works better for pictures of people.

2 This exposure setting will achieve a better depth of field and is accordingly better suited for landscape

and architecture images.


try and—great disappointment. It doesn’t work! It’s broken! Don’t panic. Simply pull the

lens out of the case—you’ll see that the lens is mounted on a tube. Only after extending

the lens completely and locking it in place by turning it slightly to the right will it be the

proper distance from the surface of the film and the shutter-release button will be func-

tional. This may seem slightly strange from a modern perspective, but there was a time

when it was not uncommon to reduce the travel size of a camera in this way. If you ever

encounter another camera from this era that appears to have a broken shutter-release

mechanism, make sure you’ve pulled the lens out before angrily throwing the camera

down. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if it was just a design peculiarity of the camera?

The class of cameras to which the Bella 66 IIa belongs is pushing the limits of the “you

press the button, we do the rest” philosophy. It has already stepped it up a gear, so to

speak. Further advancements amount to a more complicated operation, especially re-

garding the increased control over the exposure settings. This added functionality makes

sense only when you also have exact methods of light metering, which is a voluminous

subject—the stuff for a book of its own, if not several. It is beautifully complicated, for

analog and digital photography alike.

To conclude this chapter, here are a few comments about buying older cameras. The

lubricants in the moving parts of the aperture- and distance-setting mechanisms have

a tendency to gum up after long periods of not being used. Check to see how smoothly

these controls function before buying a camera. A specialist can fix this sort of problem,

but it’s only worth paying the costs when the camera is a real rarity. Otherwise, search

for alternatives. You should also prevent your own cameras from falling into disrepair by

regularly manipulating these parts.

To check for fungus, take a close look through the lens in the direction of the sky or

another very bright surface. Depending on the model of the camera, you should be able

to remove the lens or open the camera back to peer through the lens. Partial cloudiness

is an indication of a fungal infestation. This is common when cameras are packed away in

damp conditions often found in basements or storage units.

It’s also important to ensure that the camera body doesn’t have light leaks, which don’t

always figure in to the joys of operation as they do with Holga and Diana. You should ac-

cept broken, bent, or loose pieces, especially along the edges of the camera’s back, only if

you intend to use the camera as a paperweight or if you plan to place it in your collector’s

showcase (and when the seller has reduced the price!).

Also pay careful attention to medium-format cameras and make sure they actually use

120 roll film. The term “roll film” generally refers to 120, but some cameras in the United

States are built for 620 films. The 620 designation may ruin your joy of finding a bargain

rather quickly. I’ll explain more about that later.

Additionally, there are really appealing cameras for 127 roll film. This type of film is much

less widespread, but it is available nonetheless. The addresses for several photo retailers

are provided at the end of this book.

BELLA 66 IIa 93

Perhaps these three examples have sparked your interest in old cameras. If you spend

more time investigating them, you’ll no doubt be amazed by the imaginative variety of

designs that camera manufacturers have devised for interested consumers.

Indulge yourself in a few nostalgic moments and enjoy the fun of the unconventional.

I’m sure you’ll end up saying, “They may be old, but they take great pictures.”

Chapter 4

Canomatic

9696 Chapter 4 Canomatic

Canomatic

97Chapter 4 Canomatic

Canomatic

98 Chapter 4 Canomatic 98

Canomatic


Canomatic


Canomatic


Canomatic

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Canomatic


Canomatic


Canomatic


Canomatic


Canomatic


Canomatic


Now it gets a little tricky, but I promise you an adventure. The Canomatic and its extensive

clones make up a special subgroup of simple cameras that one can’t ignore: on one hand

they are easy to use, and on the other they have a certain entertainment value because

they are somewhat controversial. There’s talk of pirating, deceptive trickery, and swin-

dling, which is understandable when you acquire a supposedly high-quality single-lens

reflex camera for a three-figure sum only to discover later that you’ve purchased a toy.

Nothing like this would ever happen in a regular camera store—you aren’t likely to find a

Canomatic there to begin with. This misfortune would result from a private transaction,

most likely at places like flea markets, Internet auctions, and other venues that require you

to pay close attention to the integrity of sellers and their wares. Less than honorable sales

people, with dollar signs in their eyes, talk up the nearly professional-looking Canomatic

with words such as “professional camera,” “reporter camera,” and so on. After talking up

these cameras, they get gullible people to pay prices that appear to be bargains. The

name of the camera, Canomatic, assists with the swindle because it sounds expensive,

and the typeface of its logo is similar to a well-known manufacturer. Canon, by the way,

coincidentally had a rangefinder camera named Canomatic in its product line.

Was this originally thought of as a rip-off during the production stage, or was it intended

to be more of a children’s toy? Is this a case of pure piracy by the manufacturer, or was the

top plate with an altered logo exchanged elsewhere? I won’t speculate here. The fact is,

you can actually take pictures with the Canomatic. It is quite simple to work with because

it is not overloaded with electronic frills, and that’s why it earned a place in this book.

As mentioned, the Canomatic has the appearance of a high-value single-lens reflex

camera with an impressive hand grip. It is also offered with a flash kit that includes a flash

unit and a side bracket, and it can be further marketed with platitudes like this:

• Motorized film advance (including rewind function)

• Focus-free color lens

• Apertures 6.6, 8, 11, 16

• Zoom lens

• SLR viewfinder

• Ergonomic grip

• Indicator light

• Self-timed shutter release

• Side flash system, horizontally and vertically adjustable, zoom function


Isn’t that amazing? It’s a toy that any kid would be proud of. What a professional camera! I

don’t begrudge him his joy for a minute. It’s worth every penny of the $10 he shelled out

for this Porsche that has the motor of a moped.

But wait, let’s take a closer look:

Motorized film advance

There’s nothing to complain about here. This feature is included and it works. It can even

rewind the film into its canister. A real plus for the Canomatic.

Focus-free color lens

This is true in principle, since you don’t actually have to manually adjust the focus, but

it’s impossible to adjust the focus at all. The term focus-free sounds like autofocus, but it’s

actually a fixed-focus lens!

Interchangeable lenses

Ha, ha—fooled! To change the lens you’d need to saw it off and glue another one on.

Based on the camera’s appearance, you wouldn’t think to ask about this feature because

it looks like the lens can be changed. You would fool yourself, so the seller wouldn’t even

have to trick you.

Aperture control

This is real, and it is awesome. You can set the aperture manually, but—and this is the

real showstopper—the two decorative buttons on the grip also change the aperture. As

unbelievable as it may seem, the Canomatic features motorized aperture control. Press-

ing one of the buttons causes the aperture ring to sweep from one end to the other and


bounce back again at the stop. The other button does the same thing, but in the other

direction. This is very entertaining, but it’s completely useless. It’s much better to control

the aperture manually.

Zoom lens

Fiddling with the motorized aperture control has yet another surprise. The lens barrel is

linked to this feature, and it moves forward and backward as you adjust the aperture. This

feature is often mistaken for a zoom lens, but it’s purely decorative.

SLR viewfinder

This is the big misnomer. The Canomatic is not a single-lens reflex camera—it’s a simple

rangefinder camera. The conventional viewfinder is located next to the faked single-lens

reflex viewfinder, and it catches your attention only on a second look. The bulge in the

middle, however, is not empty. A mirror viewfinder is included here, similar to that of the

Blackbird, Fly. This also explains the small round window above the lens. It allows you to

set your Canomatic on the ground, look down through the mirror viewfinder, and shoot

from there. Another plus for the Canomatic.

Ergonomic grip

The grip is, in fact, ergonomic. Another plus for the Canomatic.

Indicator light

The light flashes. With every exposure. There’s absolutely no purpose for this, but it hap-

pens anyway. It doesn’t cause any problems, and the above mentioned kid will like this.

Self-timed shutter release

This functions as intended, with a lag time of about eight seconds. The indicator light

flashes during the lag time; this time it has a purpose.

Side flash system

It tries hard, but the function of the flash doesn’t live up to how it looks. It looks like it could

easily illuminate an entire dance hall, but it’s no more powerful than the standard flash

integrated into a rangefinder camera. With 400 speed film and the Canomatic’s widest

aperture, the range of the flash is around 7 m (23 ft). In other words, it won’t light up a

dance hall, but it will do the trick in a small circle of friends at a birthday party.

The Canomatic is worth about as much as a plaything, and that’s exactly how you should

treat it. In contrast to the Holga and the Diana, which have now been endearingly dubbed

toy cameras, I think of the Canomatic simply as something to have fun with. It hangs like

a weight around your neck because it’s equipped with metal weights to make it seem like

a better camera. Its best light sensitivity is ISO 400/24° at a shutter speed of roughly 1/100

second. Honestly, it’s fantastic when you’ve got your finger on the shutter-release button

and you’re fully aware of what a simple machine you’re holding, then you hear that motor


roar. The images? Well, they don’t quite stack up to the Holga. I’d stick with an image format

of 9×13 cm with the Canomatic. It looks better, and it will be easier on your wallet.

I was curious to see if there really are weights built in to the camera, so I bravely grabbed

a screwdriver and operated on my Canomatic to explore its inner life. It’s true! You can

also see the simple shutter. Designs like this were already in use 100 years ago, in good

old box cameras, for example.

The Canomatic is not alone when it comes to matters of fraud. It has siblings, like the

Protax 2000. Although its deceptions are more subtle, it still has a couple of so-called fea-

tures that you should—and can—recognize as dummies. Like the Canomatic, the Protax

2000 is not a single-lens reflex, though at first glance you might mistake it for one. The

aperture ring is very similar to that of the Canomatic, but it doesn’t show off with an unruly

motor control mechanism. Built-in weights are at work here too, since the camera hangs

heavily on the neck strap. If you hold the Protax 2000 in your hand and allow yourself to

be convinced that it’s a real single-lens reflex camera, you must be blamed for naïveté.

If you take a closer look and manipulate some of the controls, you’ll discover the Protax

2000 for what it really is: a cheap plastic camera—a plaything that can take real pictures.

Shutter Metal weights


My intent with this chapter was, on one hand, to describe the true nature of these mys-

terious cameras and, on the other hand, to encourage you to experience their fun factor.

Exercise caution when buying one. If you see a traditional viewfinder on a camera that

claims to be a single-lens reflex, be wary. It’s a toy and nothing else. Make a specific offer

and hold firm, and then you’ll have a great toy for your child. Then you can do what many

parents have done with their kids’ toys: pick up the pieces for yourself and jump in. Go a

little crazy and take some pictures for yourself. You won’t be the only one in the world!

Chapter 5

Pinhole Cameras

114114 Chapter 5 Pinhole Cameras

HOLGA Pinhole

115Chapter 5 Pinhole Cameras

HOLGA Pinhole

116 Chapter 5 Pinhole Cameras 116

Zero 2000


Zero 2000


Zero 2000


Zero 2000


Zero 2000


Zero 2000

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Pancake Zone Plate


Pancake Zone Plate


DIANA Pinhole


DIANA Pinhole


Pancake Zone Plate (Crossbird)


Pancake Zone Plate


Pancake Pinhole


Pancake Zone Plate


In the introduction to this book, “Creativity without a Straitjacket,” I philosophized for a

bit about the ever-increasing desire for high-performance photographic lenses and the

creative possibilities that emerge when you opt for a more relaxed view. There is a very

elegant way to avoid any discussion on this matter: simply do away with the lens entirely.

Yes, take it off, put it away, and replace it with a tiny hole. This is neither a novel idea nor a

crazy one, and it is not the absurdist plan of an eccentric who wants to distance himself

from mainstream photographers. Quite the opposite. With this method, we go back to the

early days of photography. Does the term camera obscura ring a bell? Perhaps in a dusty

drawer in your long-term memory you remember your high school physics teacher’s wise

words. You may have lingered on the lesson that revealed the secrets of light rays and

the laws of their diffraction behavior in relation to different optical lenses or the rectilinear

propagation of light without optical lenses.

The latter is actually simpler to understand, and it is just the thing for our purpose. The

principle can be illustrated with just a few lines and words.

Light rays travel rectilinearly from the arrow’s point, through a hole, and onto the back wall

of a sealed box. The same is true for the light rays shining from the other terminus and for

every other point along the arrow. As a result of this behavior, an inverted image of the

arrow will be projected on the wall of the box that is opposite from the hole. The smaller

the hole, the sharper the projection. In Arabia around 1000 AD, a Bedouin woman discov-

ered that a hole in the side of her tent allowed her to see an image of her approaching

husband on the wall opposite from the hole. Let’s assume that she was happy about her

discovery. Some 150 years earlier, a Chinese wife could already use the rectilinear propaga-

tion of light as an early alarm system.

Open an empty cookie tin and poke a tiny hole in the middle of its lid. Then put black

tape over the hole and position a piece of photographic film on the bottom of the tin

and close the lid again. When you turn the tin on its side, you’ve turned it into a pinhole

camera. Remove the tape for a few seconds to expose the film. After it’s developed you’ll

have a negative image.

This example with the cookie tin is perhaps too simple. Let’s look at something a little

less improvised.

Holga Panorama 131

Holga Panorama

When we’re talking about the simplest of cameras, we can’t forget Holga, which naturally

offers a pinhole camera, even for panorama images. Its exterior immediately recalls the

trusted Holga camera case, but it is substantially wider. This camera doesn’t expose the

area of 6×6 cm as before; it exposes a wide-screen format of 6x12 cm. With an adapter,

you could reduce this area to 6×9 cm. Doing so, however, diminishes the effect of a

true panoramic picture, which would be a shame, so I don’t recommend it. After you’ve

loaded 120 roll film into the Holga Panorama, it’s ready to go. Now comes the decisive

uniqueness of pinhole cameras. The opening is tiny, or to put it in more technical terms,

the Holga Panorama has an effective aperture of f/133. As already mentioned, the small

diameter ensures that the exposed image will be sharp, but unfortunately it also requires

a substantially longer exposure time. Noticeably longer. We’re talking about full seconds

here, not fractions of a second. When exposing your images, be patient and steady: one

one-hundred, two one-hundred, three one-hundred . . . Counting in this way has a ten-

dency to calm you, and it eliminates the need for an elaborate shutter mechanism. The

camera’s shutter is a simple slide that you push aside for a few seconds to allow light to

enter the pinhole. It is also equipped with threads for a cable release, which is well worth

using. In the age of digital photography, many photographers with integrated image sta-

bilizing technology have thrown their cable releases away. Snap them up! They’ll prevent

images with camera shake.


The user manual gives the following instructions for use with ISO 100/21° film:

• Clear weather: 7 to 9 seconds (4 seconds)

• Overcast sky: 10 to 12 seconds (8 seconds)

• Dark sky: 13 seconds or longer, if necessary (16 seconds)

I don’t follow this advice, though, because the differences between these exposure times

seem too small to me. Replace the exposure times with those listed in parentheses: 4, 8,

and 16 seconds. These are tried and true, in my opinion. In general, I recommend that

you use your first roll of film to get familiar with exposure bracketing.1 Expose a series of

images of the same subject in the same weather conditions while doubling the length

of the exposure for each shot. For example, start with 2 seconds, then try 4 seconds and 8

seconds. Depending on the film you’re using, you may need to increase these test expo-

sure lengths substantially. For this reason, it’s advisable to use the same type of film from

the same manufacturer so you can get to know its characteristics. You’ll save yourself some

unnecessary frustration by doing this.

During these long exposure windows, you simply won’t be able to hold the camera still

enough in your hands. That means you’ll have to take some extra precautions.

You’ll need a tripod, but it doesn’t have to be a super heavy monster of a camera stand.

The Holga Panorama weighs 234 grams (8.3 oz), which means you need only a light alu-

minum tripod, unless you happen to be shooting in strong gale winds.

The “viewfinder” of the Holga Panorama is remarkable—that’s an optimistic word for

the V-shaped lines on top of the camera body. It works surprisingly well when you adjust

the camera horizontally, but you’ll have to guess when adjusting it vertically. This is just a

Holga, after all. It’s simple and it works. More isn’t expected.

1 We owe thanks to Karl Schwarzschild for teaching us about some of the characteristics of film during

lengthy exposures. The longer you expose film, the less sensitive it becomes. For example, if you were

to increase an exposure from 2 seconds to 4 seconds, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the effective

exposure would be twice as great, as you might have predicted. To double the exposure, you would

need to expose the film for a longer time, and the behavior of this quality varies from film to film. So

there’s no good way around creating an exposure bracket.

Holga Panorama 133

The operating principle is as follows:

The Holga Panorama includes a very helpful accessory: a bubble level. Without a conven-

tional viewfinder it would be easy to tilt your camera, but with a bubble level this isn’t a

concern at all.

The Holga Panorama lends itself very well to photographers who want to become more

familiar with pinhole photography. When you are setting up your shot, you should keep in

mind that the areas around the edges of your picture will expose noticeably darker than

the rest of the image. This effect tends to frame the subject in the center of your shot and

can create a dramatic mood with dark or gloomy subjects. This effect is accentuated if you

squat down and shoot from a low level, which is how I created the image on page 114.

Viewing direction for the right edge Viewing direction for the left edge

Viewfinder line in camera casethe pinhole


DIANA Pinhole

When talking about pinhole cameras we can’t forget to return to the lovely Diana. On

page 67 I mentioned that you can convert it to a pinhole camera. It’s a novelty—in

the spur of a moment, you can simply flip a switch. Out with the lens, in with the pinhole.

All it takes is three simple hand movements: remove the lens, swing in the pinhole, and

select the B exposure mode.

As already mentioned you will use a 400-speed film with the Diana. This reduces the ex-

posure time in “bright daylight” (according to the user manual) to a whole second, which

is something of a rush compared with most pinhole photography. In the shade it’s not

so bad. The recommended 30 seconds in the user manual is an exaggerated concession

to Schwarzschild. I’ve obtained good results by exposing an image for around 5 seconds.

But as already discussed, Schwarzschild demonstrated that all films behave differently.

Of course, a tripod is still necessary, even for these shorter exposure times. Perhaps

you’ve stumbled onto a promising subject for your pinhole camera, but you don’t have

a tripod handy. Well, then, improvise a little. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Set the Di-

ana on a stable surface (a chair, a table, a wall, or something similar), but be careful with

the fragile camera. You can always experiment to see what you end up with. Disobey the

rules now and again, and take a handheld shot. That’s how I created the image on page

124, and I was very pleased with the resulting atmosphere of a nightmarish cemetery.

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Pancakes 135

Pancakes

Pancakes represent a substantial band in the spectrum of pinhole photography, and they

are especially worthwhile. They are adaptable for a plethora of various camera brands,

both digital and analog—whether it is the legendary Hasselblad (the Rolls-Royce of

medium-format cameras) or even a large-format camera (which usually has a negative

size between 9×12 cm and 18×24 cm).


Sturdy metal plates are screwed into camera-specific adapters. Their centers contain

threads into which a carrier for a metallic perforated disc can be attached. This carrier is

easy to exchange, which is a good thing—drum roll please—since now comes the good

part: in addition to simple pinholes, there are also special ones called zone plates. I adore

them. I’ll spare you (and admittedly me, too) the related physics concepts, such as con-

structive interference, phase shift, and other atrocities. Simply put, a zone plate is a hole

with rings around it. Experts with a detailed understanding are probably hyperventilating

now, but for the predominate part of my readership, I’m going to leave that sentence as is.

You could introduce the principle of a zone plate with this image:

The number of rings around the center hole depends on the zone plate you use. The

thinner the rings, the farther they are from the center point. The hole in the middle and

the surrounding rings transmit light. The result is a diffused image, the intensity of which

depends on the number of rings in the zone plate. High-contrast images tend to become

couched in a light and airy mood, while low-contrast and short-exposure images tend to

appear dark and mysterious.

If you imagine the tiny center hole as the primary hole, and you replace the rings with

systematically positioned and smaller secondary holes, you’ll understand what a zone sieve

looks like. This tool also regulates the light and provides a somewhat comparable image.

Pancakes 137

These two images illustrate the different effects of pinholes and zone plates. The pinhole

image almost looks objective and sober next to the dreamlike zone plate image. Cover

up the zone plate image for a moment, though, and the charms of the pinhole image will

shine through. Do yourself a favor and get both types to add variety.

Pinhole Zone plate


Zero 2000

Now for a real gem: the Zero 2000. It uses the standard pinhole technology—a case, a

hole in the front, and film in the back. What’s different, however, is the quality of the case,

which is beautiful and gives the Zero 2000 a special status. It is a delightful hand-finished

box made of lacquered rosewood, and the operating controls are made of brass. The

shutter is a tiny, cute wooden slide. When you hold this camera in your hands, you will

feel the unmatched quality of its finish. The Zero 2000 is compatible with a number of

film formats and either a pinhole or a zone plate aperture. My trusty Zero 2000 is made

for 6×6 cm format roll film and is equipped with a zone plate. Even if you don’t intend to

photograph with it, the Zero 2000 will make a great addition to any collector’s showcase,

or it would be a fine paperweight on an equally noble desk. The images it creates have a

pronounced wide-angle character to them that corresponds to a 25 mm lens. This visual

perspective is particularly effective for the image of the mosque on page 117.

It is important to note that the wood surfaces inside the Zero 2000 are not lacquered—

they’re unfinished. Before shooting your first roll of film, take the time to clear away any

sawdust or wood debris with a brush, or better yet with a vacuum cleaner. This will spare

you from the unnecessary frustration caused by countless wood particles that could show

up in your first images.

Zero 2000 139

The operation of the Zero 2000 doesn’t require anything unusual. As an optional extra,

you can buy a piece of cardboard with a window, which detracts from the otherwise

elegant look of the camera, but serves a function. I make it slightly easier for myself. I first

mount a small-format single-lens reflex camera with a 17 mm wide-angle lens on a tripod.

The perspective of this camera is roughly the same as the Zero 2000. After I’ve settled on

the frame for my image, I swap the cameras and take the actual exposure with the Zero

2000. Although this method increases the weight and volume of the equipment you have

to carry with you, it makes the task much easier in the end.

That was perhaps a lot of words for a method of photography that is reduced to the ab-

solute bare minimum—the pinnacle of simplicity. I hope I’ve inspired you to take up this

type of photography. Every time I look at the results of this method, I’m fascinated that

completely doing away with the lens can produce such amazing images. The price you

pay is a longer exposure time and the resulting requirement for a tripod. You could say that

the extra weight of a tripod in your equipment bag is offset since there’s no need to carry

a lens with you. So indulge yourself with something very unusual. Enjoy the tranquility of

photographing through a simple pinhole.

At the beginning of this chapter I mentioned cookie tins. You can actually buy pinhole

tins from some of the retailers listed at the end of this book. If you poke around on the

Internet you’ll also find instructions for building pinhole cameras out of any number of

household objects—even matchboxes. So the next time you finish off a tin of cookies, give

some thought to whether you really want to throw it away. If you just prick a small hole in

the lid, you’re opening the door on a new adventure. Don’t miss the chance.

Chapter 6

For Do-It-

Yourselfers

142142 Chapter 6 For Do-It-Yourselfers

P-SHARAN

143Chapter 6 For Do-It-Yourselfers

Recesky

144 Chapter 6 For Do-It-Yourselfers 144

P-SHARAN


P-SHARAN


P-SHARAN

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P-SHARAN


P-SHARAN


P-SHARAN


P-SHARAN


HOLGA DIY KIT 135


HOLGA DIY KIT 135


Recesky

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HOLGA DIY KIT 135


HOLGA DIY KIT 135


Recesky


Recesky


Recesky


Chapter 6 For Do-It-Yourselfers

Recesky


Recesky


Recesky


Are you a do-it-yourselfer? Do you belong to the group of people who can work in the

basement with a hammer, a plane, a jigsaw, and a healthy amount of raw power and

loud noise to create a useful object for your home or garden from pieces of lumber? Or

can you use brute force to chop and saw a tree into firewood? How well do you think

this ability with your hands translates to the delicate work of putting together a precision

instrument for photography? This might not be directly related to the business of felling

a tree. It’s not easy to switch from one dimension to another at the drop of a pin. But do

you think you might ever be tempted to trade in your saw and axe for tweezers and a

watchmaker’s screwdriver? If you would, then I’ve got something for you: components

that range in length from a fraction of an inch to an inch can be used to build a completely

functional camera.

The components, which are available in kits, are made of plastic and cardboard. We

remember toys like this from childhood. Back then, we’d assemble tiny houses to sit next

to our electric train tracks, airplanes, and other interesting models. Building a camera

is naturally more demanding, though, and requires both nimble fingers and precision

in your work. You’ll need to pay close attention to instructions and assembly diagrams.

More than anything, it’s interesting to learn about the mechanical interactions of camera

components. Your reward will be holding a camera in your hand and knowing every detail

about how it functions, inside and out.

P-SHARAN 163

P-SHARAN

Let’s begin with the P-SHARAN. As a pinhole camera, it functions as an ideal transition

from the previous chapter. Additionally, of the three camera types presented here, it’s the

easiest to assemble. The kit is mostly composed of cardboard that comes precut with the

various components of the camera. You’ll eventually punch all of these out, but it’s best

not to do them all at the same time. You should instead follow the instructions and sepa-

rate only the pieces you need as you go along. Otherwise you’ll end up with an unsorted

mess of components and it will be more difficult to identify and locate the correct one.

Aside from these parts, there are also plastic pieces for the film advance mechanism and

a bottom plate that allows you to mount the P-SHARAN to a tripod. The threads of the

bottom plate are metal, as is the small plate that features the all-important component

that gives this type of camera its name: the pinhole. You will also find two simple rubber

bands to hold the front and back parts together, in addition to a small surprise: black tape!

You may already have black tape, but the pieces in the kit are conveniently trimmed to the

exact lengths required to assemble the camera. Putting all of the precut pieces together

is pretty straightforward, and the assembly instructions are clearly explained.

After a bit of taping and folding you’ll finish the front and back pieces in no time, and

things will be looking good already. Next you will push the two pieces together and use

the two rubber bands to keep the whole thing from falling apart.

That’s it. Finished!


Can you actually take pictures with this thing? To be honest, I was a little

skeptical at first, but my doubts were unfounded: no light leaks.

The camera’s labels are very helpful because they contain a wealth of

useful information: the recommended film sensitivity (ISO 400/27°), shut-

ter speeds for various weather conditions, and notes regarding advanc-

ing the film, the effective focal length (25 mm), and the aperture (f/140).

To permit light to expose the film, you move a cardboard slide to uncov-

er the pinhole and then move it back in place to close the pinhole shutter.

The film advance functions flawlessly, and the recommendation for

turning the advance dial three times is accurate. This avoids both unwant-

ed overlap between the images and unwanted extra space between

them. Unfortunately, there is no targeting device for composing your

image and sighting your subject. This is too bad, and it’s a real drawback.

It would have been easy enough to include two simple guidelines, like

the Holga Panorama, to aim the camera better, but this problem can be

fixed: draw the two lines yourself.

The results are a dream. An effective area of 23×65 mm produces a distinct panorama

effect. The camera produces truly stunning images. The film is held adequately flat, and

the surface of the film does not get scratched. Bravo! That a cardboard camera would have

such a functional film advance is a pleasant surprise.

Taking photographs with the P-SHARAN is usually quite entertaining. It’s almost certain

that bystanders will ask you what you’re doing. After a few impressive words about the

functionality of a camera obscura and your hand-built version made from cardboard,

they’ll be impressed.

HOLGA DIY KIT 165

HOLGA DIY KIT

Now it gets a little more complicated, both in terms of the assembly and the functional-

ity of the camera. The camera housing says 135 Camera, but the name on the assembly

instructions is somewhat more special: Holga DIY Kit (do-it-yourself ). The plastic compo-

nents are easy to punch out from their frames, but you should deburr the pieces with a

pocketknife before starting to put them together. Aside from patience, attention to detail,

and concentration, no other tools are required for assembly. The instructions are clear,

brief, and precise, and there are instructive drawings and symbols that come in handy if

you can’t make heads or tails out of the written directions. Pay close attention to the small-

est details, and don’t move on to the next step without making absolutely sure that you

have completed the previous one. There is one unfortunate disadvantage that stems from

the assembly not requiring tools: since the pieces simply snap into place, they need to fit

together especially tight, even when you make a mistake and need to go back to the pre-

vious step. It’s usually not possible to fix a mistake by backtracking, and even if you can it’s

very difficult. Pay special attention to the very small springs that are nearly imperceptible

in the drawings; they play an integral role in how the camera functions. I learned this the

hard way after proudly snapping the last piece into place, only to discover a lonely spiral

spring sitting unused in front of me. Now I can’t get the release button to rewind the film

unless I carefully tap the camera against the edge of a table just right. Fortunately this

works. If I had made the same mistake with one of the springs that affects the shutter, all

of my work would have been for naught.


Now then, none of this will happen to you, of course, and you’ll end up with a finished—

and entirely functional—camera in your hand.

The camera offers two functions that I wasn’t expecting to be included in the DIY model:

a double-exposure lock and a lens cap that also disables the shutter release when it is

closed. Before you snap together the case as the last step, look at the pieces that enable

these features one last time, and also examine the shutter mechanism and the frame

counter. You’ll be fascinated by these simple but functional systems.

The remainder can be summarized quickly. The 28 mm focal length gives the lens a

distinct wide-angle characteristic that makes this camera particularly well suited for land-

scape and architecture photography. The fixed-focus lens obviates the need for a distance

setting and allows for photographing objects that are a minimum of 2 m (6.6 ft) from the

camera. The exposure time of 1/125 second and the unchangeable aperture of f/8 mean

that a 400 speed, 35 mm film is best.

And with that, it’s time to get outside and get shooting! Your images will show all of

the Holga’s regular charms: a tempered sharpness with a moderate increase toward the

picture edges and darkened corners.

Don’t panic if the shutter-release mechanism fails to function at some time. The camera

is surely not broken. You may have remembered the double-exposure lock, but you’ve

probably forgotten about the lens cap. Remove it so you can get going again.

Recesky 167

Recesky

In appearance, the Recesky resembles the Blackbird, Fly. In comparing the two, the

Recesky lacks a bit of the Blackbird, Fly’s elegance, but the massive gears around the

lenses have their own charm. The housing is somewhat flatter. For anyone who finds the

black model too dull, there are also models with front plates that come in a number of

sharp colors—and in white.1

One might assume that a product named Recesky comes from eastern Europe, but how

wrong you’d be! It’s produced in China. Its comical name Gakkenflex sounds more neutral,

as does the somewhat aggrandizing Gakkenflex TLR Camera Kit, which also indicates that

the camera is DIY. Lovers of long names, however, will certainly enjoy the DIY TLR Twin Lens

Reflex Camera Lomo Holga. And if that’s still too short for you, it can be called the DIY Lomo

Camera Science Twin Lens Reflex TLR 35-mm Camera Holga Lomo Recesky DC67.

My model bears only the simple name Recesky, and that’s good enough for me. That’s

also how I’ll refer to the camera from here on out. Period.

Back to the camera itself. The operating principle is the same as the Blackbird, Fly.

There are two lenses: the bottom one is for exposing the film, and the top one functions

as a viewfinder. The two lenses are connected by a gear mechanism. You will find the

1 Wouldn’t a white model be a great alternative to a single-use wedding camera? The guests could not

only photograph with it, but they could also assemble their cameras in good company. That would

surely be entertaining for everybody.

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collapsible light well on the top of the camera. As with the Blackbird, Fly, you will have to

direct your gaze downward while facing your subject when you’re ready to shoot. The

aperture and shutter speed are also similar to those of the Blackbird, Fly, and they are best

suited for a 400 speed, 35 mm film.

These are some of the similarities, but the Recesky is more than a DIY copy of the Black-

bird, Fly. Aside from the fact that you purchased the camera in pieces, there are other

characteristics that give it an appreciable degree of individuality.

The Recesky does not have a frame counter. The user manual

says you’ll know when you reach the end of a roll of film when you

can’t advance it any more. This is a truly insightful conclusion, and

I’m sure people wouldn’t figure this out themselves.

There’s a dial on the right side of the camera with a marker that

indicates how to advance the film. By turning the dial 180 degrees

you can advance the film to the next frame. On my camera, the

advance catch unfortunately doesn’t reach the sprocket holes of

the film. I have to press strongly on the back of the catch to make

it work.

The view from above into the light well will reveal an image in

portrait format. You’ll no doubt take many great pictures with this

orientation, but if you want to change things up and take a picture

in landscape format, have fun. Turning the camera 90 degrees while attempting to look

into the viewfinder from the side and shooting perpendicular to your stance may give

you a touch of vertigo. As you twist and turn, the image in the viewfinder will behave like

a disobedient child and do the opposite of what you want it to do. If you want to level

out the horizon, for example, it will get more steep. If you want to move something to the

left in your image, it will go to the right. I’m confident that it will be no time at all before

you realize that the portrait shot was actually better to begin with.

My model has a light leak between the back and the case. True to its reputation, every

camera is unique. Bring in the black tape!

The viewfinder projects the image nicely on a focusing screen. This is a large advantage

compared to the distorted viewfinder image in the Blackbird, Fly.

There aren’t any symbols or numerical measurements to help you set the distance for

your shot. Why would you need them? You can achieve acceptable sharpness by looking

at the focusing screen. You might not be able to set the shot down to the last inch, but

it will do the job. Alternatively, the user manual describes a comical and simple solution:

• Lens fully extended: Up to 0.5 m (1.6 ft)

• Lens in the middle: 0.5 m (1.6 ft) to around 2.5 m (8.2 ft)

• Lens fully retracted: 2.5 m (8.2 ft) to infinity

And now comes the cool part: the shutter speed is fixed at 1/125 second, but the aperture

influences a two-stage exposure control. But what is the aperture setting? It’s a simple

ring that you clamp between the housing and the lens. For sunny conditions and partly

Recesky 169

cloudy skies, this setup will work just fine, but you’re likely to run into gray weather sooner

or later. In these darker conditions, you’ll want to shoot without the limiting aperture

ring. But how? First undo the lens mount, then remove the lens, and finally remove the

aperture ring. Now you can replace the lens and snap your muted subject. Be careful not

to lose the aperture disc. At some time or another the sun will start to shine again, and

you’ll need to reinsert it. The assembly is really easy; all of the pieces screw together. You

can also disassemble the Recesky at any time, which is great. You’ll always be able to take

care of any springs that you accidentally left out.

The one real challenge in putting this camera together is

mounting both lenses to the camera case while simultane-

ously attaching the two gears. You should attempt this last

step stone-cold sober and in a state of serenity. Screwing

in one lens requires a lot of fiddling. But trying to do two

at the same time while also setting up the gears properly

requires a great deal of patience and nerves of steel.

The Recesky isn’t ideal for every subject because the

sharpness near the edges of the image is diminished. It can

make a lot of sense to bring it along as an auxiliary camera

in your equipment bag, though, so you’ll have it handy

when you come across a subject that is appropriate. And

always remember: don’t lose the aperture ring, otherwise

you’ll be able to photograph only under cloudy skies.

Chapter 7

Good Intentions

172 Chapter 7 Good Intentions

DIANA-Lens on SLR

173Chapter 7 Good Intentions

Loreo


Loreo


Loreo


Loreo


Blur


Blur

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Loreo


Loreo


DIANA-Lens on SLR


DIANA-Lens on SLR


Blur


Blur


DIANA-Lens on SLR

(Film: Crossbird)


Blur


Blur


Blur


Blur


DIANA-Lens on SLR

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DIANA-Lens on SLR


Lensbaby


Blur


Blur


Blur


Blur


Lensbaby


Effect Filter


Effect Filter


Effect Filter


Lensbaby


Lensbaby

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Lensbaby


Deliberate Blurring


Effect Filter


Lensbaby


Effect Filter


Lensbaby


Blur


Deliberate Blurring

211

We always have good intentions on January 1 around 12:01 a.m. Lose some weight, exercise

more, take better care of the family, and try to get to the dentist more often. Neverthe-

less, on January 1 around 11:00 a.m., about the time we get out of bed, reality takes hold

of us again and everything remains just as it has always been. That’s how it’s worked up

until now, anyway.

Maybe we should think about intentions in a different way. So far we have discussed

simple cameras. Assume for a minute, though, that you also have a technically advanced

single-lens reflex camera that shouldn’t sit around unused in a drawer at home while

you’re out gallivanting with plastic, wood, or even cardboard cameras. But you don’t want

to do without the charms of simple cameras, either. You probably don’t want to carry your

single-lens reflex on one shoulder and your Holga, box camera, or DIY camera on your

other one. It’s also uncomfortable to wear both of them around your neck and have them

dangle against your chest, and this is bound to cause collisions between the two distantly

related devices, anyway. A large equipment bag may not be your thing, either, since it

is heavy and greatly constrains your freedom of movement. I can relate to all of these

concerns. Reducing your equipment to the absolute minimum to make photography as

simple as possible is the basic idea of this book.

On the following pages I offer a few suggestions for how you can use just a few pieces

of equipment and yet instill your images with a good measure of charm. They are inexpen-

sive, space saving, and broaden the possibilities of your photographic art. Let’s have a look.


LOREO

The LOREO Lens in a Cap measures 5 cm (2 in) in diameter and is only 1 cm (0.4 in) thick.

From here forward I will refer to it only as LOREO for simplicity’s sake. In its center you

will find an optical lens with a diameter of 3 mm (0.1 in). This diminutive size is possible

thanks to a simple aperture mechanism, the absence of a distance setting, and the aban-

donment of a computer-automated (read: large) lens system. We’ve already seen that a

simple optical lens is perfectly capable of creating an image with a typical atmosphere.

The LOREO attaches to many common camera models because it uses a bayonet mount.

They aren’t widely available in photography stores, but if you look for them you can find

them in places like those listed at the end of this book. With a focal length of 35 mm, it’s

a light wide-angle lens.

A single-lens reflex camera with through-the-lens (TTL) metering can precisely mea-

sure light with a LOREO lens attached. But just because it can doesn’t mean it will. Many

very advanced systems that claim to do everything often have one obvious shortcoming:

coordinating with a very simple lens. In order to do (nearly) everything, these systems

require extensive communication between the camera and the lens. But our LOREO is

mute—a quality that many camera processors can’t compute. They refuse to cooperate.

And unfortunately, some camera manufacturers modify their bayonet mount for each

camera model, which means that our inexpensive LOREO many not even fit on the cam-

era to begin with. I recommend that you use a single-lens reflex from before the days of

autofocus, when the world was still simple and everything made sense. This will also mean

you can use a variety of different film speeds.

LOREO 213

Another great thing about the LOREO is its wide variety of apertures. The smallest is f/64.1

You aren’t likely to find many commercially available interchangeable lenses that stop

down to an aperture this small. The smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field.

This is fantastic, and you’ll see why in your viewfinder. The left illustration was snapped

with an aperture of f/64, and the one on the right was taken with a much larger aperture

of f/5.6. The metal grate near the bottom edge of the image is about 30 cm (11.8 in) away

from the camera. How’s that for a difference! By stopping down we obtain a range of focus

from 30 cm (11.8 in) to infinity. This is very effective for images with pronounced depths of

field, as is the case with many landscape photographs. Everything from the grass in the

foreground to the mountaintops in the background is in focus. Remarkable! It’s really as

simple as it sounds. The LOREO is absolutely practical and makes for carefree point-and-

shoot photography.

I was eager to see how my first images with this lens would turn out, and I was pleasantly

surprised. The promising image through my viewfinder preview turned out to be equally

attractive. The result was much better than I was expecting from the little plastic disc. My

compliments to the designers; you did a great job!

1 For mathematical reasons, the actual aperture and the number used to designate it are inversely

proportional. A small aperture refers, in other words, to the diameter of the opening, not to the f-stop

number.

f/64 f/5.6

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DIANA Lens

We just can’t get away from DIANA—a testament to its wide range of uses.

DIANA Lens 215

I’ve already discussed the special place DIANA has in the world of simple cameras because

of its interchangeable lenses. The kicker is you can also use these wonderful lenses with

other camera bodies. You can buy inexpensive adapters to connect them to Nikon, Canon,

and other popular single-lens reflexes. You will no longer have to rely on general settings

associated with symbols to set the sharpness of your image; instead, you can monitor

it very accurately in the viewfinder. One of the advantages of doing this is it allows you

to control the focus of your image. The TTL metering even functions with the advanced

DIANA lenses, which means you’ll be able to photograph as you would with the original

lens. Please recall my notes about the limits of these lenses, though, on page 212.

Using a DIANA lens is so simple that I really don’t need to say much more about it. Re-

move the standard lens, attach the DIANA lens—that’s it. The compact DIANA lens will fit

in nearly every jacket pocket, even if it bulges a bit. The DIANA option is always available.


Lensbaby

The first time I saw a Lensbaby, I could not believe my eyes. What’s this? A camera mount

and a bracketed lens connected by, of all things, an accordion tube?

I also saw several pictures that had been created with this lens, and I thought immedi-

ately that I’ve got to have that! That excitement continues to this day.

The accordion tube is the characteristic feature of the Lensbaby—not only in terms of

its appearance, but also its functionality. Compressing or extending the tube allows you

to adjust the focus. As you sight your subject, hold on to the front plate that houses the

lens with two fingers on your left hand, and adjust the sharpness by moving it forward and

backward. This is definitely something that will take some getting used to, especially be-

cause you have to hold the lens steady at the desired position. The term “sharpness” brings

us to another characteristic of the Lensbaby: the lens creates a degree of blur around the

edges of the image that surpasses everything we’ve seen up to this point. You can only

really speak of any sort of sharpness at the center of the image. The blur in the middle of

the image increases dramatically in the regions near the borders. The blur isn’t the same

as a failure of a traditional lens; it’s the Lensbaby’s main purpose. It allows you to play with

a flexible area of focus surrounded by a dreamlike haze.

Lensbaby 217

You can also manipulate the lens on the end of the accordion tube sideways or up and

down. The area of sharpness isn’t limited to the center of your picture, in other words. This

interplay of moving the camera’s eye in and out, and around in all directions, results in

countless and unbelievable distortion effects. Play around with the Lensbaby’s move-

ment. In most cases you’ll want to take multiple shots of each subject.

Shifting the area of focus in your image from the center to one of its edges can make for

interesting results. The illustrations here provide a direct comparison. I shot the image on

the left by moving the Lensbaby in and out. In the image on the right, I also moved the

lens sideways to shift the area of focus.

You can control the degree of distortion around the borders and the sharpness at the

center of the image. The way you do this is just as unique as how you handle the accor-

dion tube while shooting. The aperture plates are metal discs with circular openings in a

range of sizes. The discs are held in place by magnets in the lens holder. You can also opt

to shoot without a disc to achieve the greatest effect. When they are not in use, the metal

discs can be stored in a carrying case. The tip of the handle is magnetic, and you use it to

remove the current aperture disc and replace it with another one.


There are a number of newly developed Lensbaby models. They allow you to lock the

lens into the desired position to improve the quality of the lenses. I described the original

Lensbaby here, but unfortunately it’s not available anymore. This is too bad because I think

the optimizations have detracted from the Lensbaby’s original excellence. The uniqueness

of a lens attached to the end of a tube, the curious charm of this construction, and its

uncertain handling—these things are now somewhat lost. If you value the original charm

as much as I do, you should wait for a secondhand original Lensbaby to become available.


Making Filters Yourself

I’m coming now to a practice that (if I must be totally honest) fills me up with a certain

measure of pride: attachment filters. Photography equipment manufacturers offer many

filters—usually at lofty prices—that you can screw onto the front of your lenses. They have

advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are lucrative for sellers because you most

likely have lenses that require different filter sizes, or at least an adapter, which does in fact

save money but is usually not readily available. All of the disadvantages are for the user,

who has to fork out cash to buy them.

One admirable exception is Cokin, which offers filters in a standard square format. With

the aid of an adapter, you can mount Cokin’s filters to lenses that require various filter

diameters. In contrast to filters that you screw in front of the lens, this is a cost-effective

solution for people who shoot with an assortment of interchangeable lenses.

On the other hand, you can use slide frames to give you some flexibility to create ef-

fects filters of your own. Not 35 mm slide frames, but larger glass ones that are designed

for a 6×6 cm medium-format slide. These are large enough for you to hold them in front

of a lens. You don’t screw them onto the front of the lens, and you don’t have to use an

adapter—just hold them there. You can manage this singlehandedly without too much

difficulty, and you’ll save time because you don’t have to screw in filters and adapters.

In one pack of 6x6 cm slide frames, you can get 20 glazed slide frames, or for our pur-

poses, 20 potential filters. A pack costs around $25 or $30. One conventional diffuser filter

with a typical diameter of 55 mm could cost you $90 or $100. With prices that high, you’ll

quickly learn to get along with the slide frames. They are doubly useful since they have

two sides: one is normal glass (with a gray frame) and the other has a roughened, somewhat


clouded glass surface (with a white frame) intended to prevent the dreaded Newton

rings.2

Usually, slides are inserted between the two parts of the glass frame. Then the two sides

of the frame are pressed together until you hear and feel it catch. I do almost the same

thing, except I leave out the slide and call it a filter. It’s as simple as that.

Let’s get started with the diffuser filter. In the 1970s, photographer David Hamilton

became famous by photographing young girls in graceful poses while using a romantic

and dreamlike style. Admirably, he worked with a single-lens reflex camera that was quite

simple for a professional photographer. Rumor has it that he created his famous soft, dif-

fused effect by scratching the front of his lens with sand. Well, who knows?

He became famous partly because his images conspicuously departed from the widely

followed convention of creating sharp images. In this way, he created rich images that

would not have been possible by sticking to conservative methods. He didn’t invent blur

or softening, but he did boost its popularity enormously. He counterpointed the fad with

sharpness, which makes him all the more admirable in my esteem.

Diffusion filters intentionally and obviously reduce the level of sharpness that a lens

can produce. When using this type of filter in combination with overexposing your scene,

you can create subtle pastel colors, or with black-and-white-film you can create gentle

light gray tones. Photos shot in this way have an atmosphere that is shimmering, dreamy,

and suffused with light. Conversely, by slightly underexposing your images, you can

make subjects that are already chilling—like graves, castle ruins, and so on—even more

macabre. You can call forward a whole range of human emotions with a simple roughed

piece of glass.

2 The effect of Newton rings produces unwanted rainbow-colored rings in projected images. They can

be hampered with this type of glass.

Clear glass Anti–Newton ring glass


We take a camera with a lens designed to create sharp images, look through the view-

finder, and settle on a subject in bright light—such as this female beauty crafted out of

alabaster by a talented Greek craftsman—then hold up one of the white slide frames with

a roughened surface in front of the lens. That looks good, doesn’t it? Now hold up a second

frame and you’ll see that the effect is twice as strong.

Dreamlike bliss or nightmarish horror—you can easily create both with a diffusion filter.

That’s it for the white slide frames; now let’s consider the gray ones. These are simple

glass sheets that don’t have any influence on the image, and that is their exact purpose.

You can project an image through them without the slightest optical influence.


Now it’s time for the petroleum jelly. This practice is actually old hat; photographers have

been using petroleum jelly on UV filters for decades to soften images. Smear some petro-

leum jelly on a UV filter to make a functional diffusion filter. The problem with this method

actually comes after you take your photo. Where should you put the greasy filter? It’s either

going to make a mess on your equipment in your photo bag or it’s going to get all over the

inside of your pocket. The only good solution is to carefully clean it off after every use. The

next time you want to use a diffusion filter, you have to reach for the petroleum jelly again.

The gray slide frames make for a much more elegant solution. Evenly smear petroleum

jelly on the inside of one of the frames and then place a clean slide frame on it. You can

now carry this little sandwich around with you and not worry about soiling pockets in

your equipment bag, pants, or jacket. The next time you want to use it, you won’t have to

smear any more petroleum jelly or clean up your makeshift filter. You can regulate how

strong the effect of this filter is by altering the amount of petroleum jelly you use.

The untreated white slide frames produce a standard diffusion, but with petroleum jelly,

you can modify the effects. For example, you could smear petroleum jelly only around

the border of your filter while leaving the center of the slide frame untouched. This would

replicate the look of an image snapped with the Lensbaby. The picture will be sharp in the

middle and increasingly blurry toward the edges. There’s no reason why the sharp area has

to be in the middle of the picture. Simple smear the petroleum jelly in the desired areas,

or, even better, just move your filter into the desired position.


You can get even more creative when it comes to distorting your images. Instead of

smearing the petroleum jelly evenly across the filter, for example, you can use your fingers

to brush it in calculated ways. You could create a beam of reflected light at a right angle

to your strokes.

First apply parallel strokes of petroleum jelly. You can see the effect in this picture. Turn

the filter until it directs the beams of light as you wish, then shoot—and with that you’ll

have an image that astonished viewers will ooh and aah over.


Small crisscross strokes of petroleum jelly were used to create the effect in this image. It’s

not bad, but the effect isn’t strong enough. If you’ve already got your hands dirty, why

not really get into it? Allow yourself to get carried away and smear the stuff over the glass

surface with reckless abandon. Give anything that your imagination comes up with a try.

You can evaluate the results in real time while looking through your camera’s viewfinder

and decide to abandon filters or keep them in your photo bag with your set of special

effect filters.

I achieved this special effect by creating concentric circles with petroleum jelly and leav-

ing the center untouched.


A coat of petroleum jelly painted out toward the edges created this effect. 3

This picture is really rather unremarkable, but the petroleum jelly filter can breathe life

into an otherwise dull subject.

3 Please don’t be deceived. I didn’t accidentally mix up the text for this illustration and the previous one,

as you might at first suspect. As described, the desired effect occurs at a right angle to the direction

of the petroleum jelly strokes and accordingly distorts the image.


Small curls on the surface of the filter completely alter the visual character of this subject.

The result is an interplay of lines and various green color tones.

Before you give someone a bouquet of flowers, enjoy them for yourself first. A thick coat

of petroleum jelly in tandem with a telephoto focal length turn the flowers into enchant-

ing balls of colorful cotton.

These methods open up the door to an extraordinary realm of creative possibilities.

Two materials—slide frames and petroleum jelly—are the basis for an imaginative and

endless photographic game.

To close, I’d like to reveal the secret of the images on pages 204 and 210. Suppose

you left all your good intentions at home, and you have just discovered a subject that is

crying out to be thoughtfully distorted. Set your good-quality lens to a close distance.

The results will be incredible.

This is also an effective means of dealing with a fusspot who complains about your out-

of-focus images. Just show him or her an image like this. Out of focus? This is out of focus!

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Chapter 8

Storage Media

228 Chapter 8 Storage Media

I recently read a newspaper article that attempted to explain the basics of photography

to teenagers. It said that photographers used to save images to a roll of film that had a

capacity of 36 exposures. This struck me as odd. Used to? I must belong to a fringe group

of darkroom druids who still use film. The article didn’t actually say, “imagine that!” but you

could read it between the lines. Today, storing images digitally is the norm. Film is almost

ready for museums. When people speak of photography nowadays, it’s clear that they

mean digital photography. This has been the case for many years already. If you wish to

denote film photography, it’s necessary to explicitly say so to avoid confusion. Time passes,

and the new replaces the old. Were that not the case, we’d still be crawling around on all

fours and wouldn’t have any free hands to hold a camera.

As I’ve already demonstrated, working with the simplest of cameras inevitably requires

a look back to a traditional craft. By and large, the medium of film and the methods of

using it are no longer familiar to everyone. It’s therefore worthwhile to take a closer look

at the properties of film, which many find so peculiar. Film isn’t widely available in a lot of

brands and varieties like it used to be, but 35 mm film is still on the shelves of most retail

photography stores, though this goes largely unnoticed.

Let’s take a look at the types of film that are still available today.

Standard 35 mm film is consistently available with 36 exposures and dimensions of

24×36 mm. You can sometimes find rolls with just 24 exposures. The difference in cost is

modest, and the cost for development is the same, so it’s better to buy the 36-exposure

type instead.

229Chapter 8 Storage Media

Medium-format cameras commonly use 120 roll film, with the various frame sizes of

4.5×6 cm, 6×6 cm, and 9×6 cm. Depending on the format, the film can hold 16, 12, or 8

exposures.1

Cameras that produce 4×4 cm frames (12 exposures) use 127 roll film. This film also

works with a few rare cameras that produce 3×4 cm frames (16 exposures) and 4×6.5 cm

frames (8 exposures).

The advantages of 35 mm film are that it is readily accessible in stores, and it is available

from a number of different manufacturers in a variety of styles. Also, you don’t have to go

very far to find a lab that can develop 35 mm film. Additionally, each roll of film provides

you with more exposures than comparably priced roll films.

Roll film opens up the possibility of using Holga cameras and several other oldies, for

which this format is standard. In theory, 120 roll film provides better image quality because

the larger negative format doesn’t need to be enlarged as much when it’s converted to

a positive image. But since we weren’t so meticulous with our choice of camera, this is

insignificant. There’s no need to buy the most expensive film available for our purposes.

The cheapest roll you can find will work just fine for simple cameras.

1 The term “ medium-format film” indicates that it falls between small-(35 mm) and large-format film.

Large-format cameras often use negative formats larger than 9×12 cm. These cameras typically use

single sheets of film that are loaded into a cassette. You may find some that take two—one on the

front and one on the back. Typically these cameras look like an accordion, and they are always used

on a tripod. The photographer’s head and shoulders and the camera are usually hidden beneath a

black cloth so the photographer can see the image on the focusing screen. When you happen to

come across this ceremony, just walk on by. No matter how tempted you are to pull the cloth off the

photographer—he or she isn’t likely to think it’s funny!

127 roll film

120 roll film


There is a wide variety of other formats and systems. They unfortunately have one thing

in common: you can’t find them anywhere.

Pay close attention to the film designation 620 and to any roll film spools that are especially

slim. The film itself has the same dimensions as 120 roll film; the only difference is that the

spool is smaller—somewhat too small. A camera with the number 620 in its name, or one

that has 620 anywhere on its case, will likely do better as an ornament than a functional

camera. Some dedicated tinkerers take the trouble to unwind an entire roll of 120 film in

complete darkness and then wind it onto a 620 spool. This requires a lot of patience and

skill; as far as patience goes, it takes more than I have, so I steer clear of this procedure. It’s

not compatible with my preference for all things simple.

There are color films, slide films (usually color, rarely black-and-white), classic black-and-

white films, and monochrome black-and-white films.

Color films are generally the most in demand and are accordingly the easiest to find at

photography stores. They’re also capable of balancing out minor over- or underexposure,

which is inevitable with cameras that offer only one shutter speed.

Slide films are not practical for our simple cameras. They are better suited for cameras

that offer exact exposure metering and control because they don’t allow room for small

deviations. Even a small deviation from the proper exposure would ruin the shot. Also,

most people are not too excited about putting in the effort to set up a projector, a projec-

tion table, and a viewing screen.

Traditional black-and-white films aren’t quite so finicky. They definitely offer some

latitude when exposing them, even if it’s not quite as pronounced as color films.

120

620

231Chapter 8 Storage Media

For our purposes, Monochrome black-and-white films have clear advantages for

black-and-white photography. There are two types: Ilford XP2 Super and Kodak BW400CN.

These types of film offer a lot of leeway in terms of exposure and, although they are not

entirely without limits, they can do a great deal to balance out under- or overexposed

images. This is just the ticket for our simple cameras, especially for pinhole photography,

which demands that exposure times be determined by rule of thumb.

The respective light sensitivities of the various film types are yet another variable. Com-

mon film speeds include ISO 100/21°, ISO 200/24°, and ISO 400/27°. The higher the value,

the more sensitive the film is to light. Films with ISO 50/18° are rare, as are exotic films with

speeds of ISO 1600/33° (color) and even ISO 3200/36° (black-and-white). Monochrome

films are typically ISO 400/27°. You should also shoot with this speed film when using cam-

eras that feature adjustable sensitivities. This is true even if the manufacturer advertises

that you can expose the film with ISO 200/24°, ISO 400/27°, or ISO 800/30°.

The sensitivities of ISO 1600/33° and ISO 3200/36° are suitable for use with the LOREO

lens when using apertures of f/32 or f/64, respectively.

I suggest the following general rule of thumb for cameras that don’t offer a recommen-

dation:

• Oldies: ISO 100/21°

• Newer models (e.g., Holga): ISO 400/36°

• Pinhole cameras: ISO 100/21°

Loading film into a camera is a ritual that is comparable to setting the needle down on

an LP record. Quiet, caution, and a great deal of care are required, and it is a task for those

of us who are in a nostalgic minority.

There is a general process for loading 35 mm film and roll film that varies only in the

details specific to the camera brand.


Loading 35 mm Film

Sprocket holes line the sides of 35 mm film, which is spooled inside a canister. To open the

back of the camera, just pull up the crank.

When you open the back of the camera, you’ll see the rear part of its inner workings—a

chamber for the film cartridge, a second chamber to receive the exposed film, and the

film guide between the two. Generally, the film canister should be placed on the side that

has the crank for rewinding the film.


Take the end of the film that extends out of the canister, run it through the film guide to the

opposite chamber, and thread it onto the spool. Gears will engage the sprocket holes on

the film and advance the frame when you turn the crank or a dial. When you’re sure the film

will securely spool into the receiving chamber, close the back and advance the film until

the frame counter indicates 1. The camera is ready to shoot, so now you can get started.

The Blackbird, Fly offers some-

thing unusual. The film cartridge

has the luxury of its own com-

partment. This requires one ad-

ditional step: open the door, in-

sert the film, and close the door.

This will seem cumbersome the

first time you do it, but you’ll get

used to it with time.

After 36 exposures you’ll reach the end of the film, and you’ll need to rewind the film into

its canister. Then open the back and remove the cartridge. That’s all there is to using 35

mm film. Before we get to the development process, let’s take a quick look at how to use

roll film.


Loading Roll Film

After you open the back of a camera that requires 120 roll film, you’ll see more or less the

same inner workings as a 35 mm camera: chambers on the right and left and the film

guide in the middle. One key difference, however, is that there is no cartridge, no crank,

and no way to rewind the film. I’ll talk about that more later. Place the film in the appropri-

ate chamber, which won’t feature an advance mechanism.

Thread the film through the guide and into the empty spool.


There will be a feed knob above the empty spool, which you will need to turn until an

arrow reaches the take-up spool. Then close the camera case.

Now comes the second major difference between a medium-format camera and a 35 mm

camera. It has to do with how the camera counts exposed negatives. On the back of the

camera you will see a red window. While you advance the film, you will see some mean-

ingless characters roll by, then right before you lose hope, something miraculous happens:

the anticipated number 1 shows up, and now you’re ready to go.2

2 High-quality, modern medium-format cameras often feature counters similar to those found on

35 mm cameras.


You’ll know when you’ve exposed the entire roll of film when it becomes noticeably

easier to turn the take-up dial and when numbers no longer appear in the frame counter

window. Continue turning the dial until film is no longer visible through the window. This

means the entire roll is now wrapped around the take-up spool. Open the back, remove

the film—and now for something interesting.

To keep the roll film from unraveling off the spool, there is a strip of paper at the end of

the roll. This paper is covered with adhesive, like on envelopes, to secure the film. You


can either use a moistened finger to activate the glue, in a perfectly civilized manner, or

you can do like most people and profanely lick it. After it’s moistened, stick it to the roll.

Important: Until you have securely fastened the roll with the adhesive, hold onto the

roll of film tightly. With even a slight unraveling of the film, light will fall on the sensitive

surface, rendering your images useless.

The spool that originally held the film now functions as the take-up spool. This means

you should never throw out an empty spool, or you will need to scrap an entire roll of

film just to harvest the spool.

Film is loaded into box cameras in essentially the same way. The path of the film, how-

ever, must be steered around a corner twice.

The film is now ready for the last step: development.

I hope you’ve followed my advice and opted for the simplicity of using color film or

monochrome black-and-white film. If you did, then the next steps are much easier. With-

out exception, both types of film are developed using the C41 process, which is standard-

ized worldwide (and is the principal advantage of using monochrome black-and-white

film instead of traditional black-and-white film). It’s the same no matter what type of film

you use and where you use it: Up north in Alaska or at the southernmost tip of Chile, in

Tokyo or in Hum (the smallest city in the world, with a population of around 20 people).3

The development process is always the same for every color film (and monochrome

black-and-white film). Any of the large photo discounters, and even small photography

shops and studios in your area, readily offer this service.

You can also find many vendors on the Internet who are willing to fulfill special cus-

tomer requests. One such request is developing panoramic pictures. What good are our

wide-screen images when they will be cropped unceremoniously without regard for the

large negative format? Some panoramas are shredded at this point and lost forever. So

our special request in this case is don’t shred our film! The Internet is also the logical place

to turn when there isn’t a lab that can handle roll film in your area.4

There are two more important things I’d like to highlight:

1. Don’t touch the surface of the film. Always hold the film by its edges, unless you want

palm-sized fingerprints in your images.

2. Film is very prone to scratching. Avoid any mechanical friction against the surface of

the film, and take great care when removing your pictures and negatives from the

lab’s envelope.

Both of these risks can be minimized if you hold the film as little as possible.

To wrap up our trip into the world of film-based storage devices, I’d like to leave you with

another tip: keep your negatives. Your friends may want a print or two from them later.

3 This is not a mistake. This settlement in the south of Croatia is really designated as a city. I fear that these

inhabitants may have to visit the next town over to have their film developed using the C41 process.

4 Also, naturally, an option for the citizens of Hum.

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Chapter 9

Simply Digital

240 Chapter 9 Simply Digital

TECHNAXX X1

241Chapter 9 Simply Digital

TECHNAXX X1


TECHNAXX X1


TECHNAXX X1


TECHNAXX X1


TECHNAXX X1


TECHNAXX X1


TECHNAXX X1


Digital

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Digital


Digital


Digital


Digital


SLIM 5L-II


SLIM 5L-II


SLIM 5L-II

256 Chapter 9 Simply Digital

SLIM 5L-II


SLIM 5L-II


I count myself among the fringe group of analog and darkroom druids. But with an open

mind I ventured into the realm of pixels, image sensors, and digital storage media. Are

there any digital cameras that resemble the simplicity of a Holga? Perhaps a camera with

a simple concept and features that are reduced to the bare minimum? Full of optimism,

I ventured forth in search of a camera with spartan inner workings, a camera that doesn’t

try to hide its simple origin and instead wears it proudly in the open. My task was more

difficult than I expected. Even cameras in the lowest price segment of the point-and-

shoot variety come with an absurd number of bells and whistles. Reviews of the images

produced by these cameras say things like “sufficient for its intended target group,” or “it’s

acceptable, considering its price.” Where can I find a budget model that has a lens in the

front, a sensor in the back, a shutter-release button on top, and nothing else? My efforts

were finally rewarded. I got a camera that, according to several reviews, is boiled down

to its essential elements. But one is never enough, so I continued my search and there it

was: a small digital snapper whose technical features consisted only of a small lens, two

unassuming buttons, and a rectangular frame. When I later discovered another camera

that had similar features but larger dimensions, I packed my little digital trio into my cam-

era bag. My research wasn’t based on a carefully selected, representative cross section of

what’s available, just a random stab in the dark. My inquiring mind needed to discover

cameras that seemed best suited to my plans.

Please follow me on my off-the-cuff journey onto the black ice of digital photography.

Let’s have a look at the three marvels that quenched my thirst for digital knowledge. The

order I present them in is based on the highest-profile criteria for digital cameras: the

number of pixels.

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TECHNAXX X1 259

TECHNAXX X1

When I bought this little runt, it was hanging off a key chain. I quickly removed the key

chain and tossed it. You shouldn’t think of this snapper as a pendant. Even if it is small, it’s

still a digital camera.

The camera includes the following:

• 1 built-in lens with a fixed focal length

• 1 shutter-release button

• 1 mode button

• 1 retractable viewfinder

• 1 LCD monitor with a two-digit display

• 1 USB 1.1 port

• 1 CD with driver and editing software

Now for the all-important parameter: a dizzying 100 kilopixels!

With two levels of resolution possible, each with the option of using compression, its

memory capacity ranges between 18 and 150 images.

I was completely amazed to discover a video function. Yes, the little thing actually has

a video function! It’s capable of capturing and electronically saving a clip of 12 seconds of

your life. Incomprehensible!

A self-timer and an automatic turn-off function after 60 seconds of inactivity round out

the features of the TECHNAXX X1.

With this extensive range of functions, this photographic flyweight should actually

be disqualified as a simple camera. What gives? Simpler digital cameras just don’t exist.


The operation of the freeze-frame function is as follows.1 After turning the camera on, the

LCD screen displays the number of remaining pictures you can take. This pleases me. It’s

simple! Just two numbers—the straightforward display isn’t capable of showing anything

else. And that’s enough! For any possible three-digit numbers, the user manual offers this

useful tip: “it continues with 00 and you have to remember the initial 1.”

When you’re ready to snap pictures, the viewfinder pulls up out of the housing. It con-

sists of a simple 5×8 mm (0.2×0.3 in) frame through which you can “select the object you

wish to photograph,” according to the user manual. A beep confirms that you have suc-

cessfully captured an image, and that’s all there is to it. The image is in the box.

With these simple operation procedures, this camera has earned a place in our league

of simplicity, despite my initial concerns.

To avoid distracting artifacts, you shouldn’t attempt to enlarge these images too much.

You can still give the snapshots some extra substance by using a trick that is often quite

effective with miniatures: furnish your image with a broad mat and a sleek, narrow picture

frame. This works really well, especially if you create a series of similarly framed images

related to the same theme and use them to decorate a wall.

The images produced at the lowest quality setting (small resolution with compression)

are actually beautiful and almost painterly. You can see examples on pages 244, 245 and

246.

It is unlikely that you will be able to find this specific minicamera because it is not widely

available. To find a comparable pixel-processing small-fry, search for terms like key ring and

camera together in Internet search engines, as well as word combinations including clock,

pen, and even USB connector. That’s all. A general search for minicamera will also produce

a number of hits. You’ll be amazed at everything that you can find in the flyweight class

of digital cameras.

1 The video function was beyond the scope of my research.

Digital 261

Digital

The dimensions of this camera are slightly larger. It goes by the simple and unassuming

name Digital. The functions and operation of this camera are conveniently identical to

the TECHNAXX X1. What appears to be the housing for a flash on the top of the camera

is just a fake. An integrated flash is really beyond the scope of cameras in this category.

Most importantly, it has 300 kilopixels! The camera is also capable of creating video

recordings of up to 15 seconds in length.

Depending on your resolution and compression settings, the camera will save between

5 and 70 pictures.

You can readily notice a jump from the photographic flyweight division to the feath-

erweight division. The images can be enlarged more, and the strong vignetting is also

promising. The details wash away almost entirely around the edges and in the corners,

resulting in a patterned colorful and circular frame of sorts around the main subject. The

only analog camera that produces a similar effect is the Recesky.

As far as image quality and camera operation goes, the digital counterpart to simple

film cameras is the pudgy-looking Digital.


SLIM 5L-II

This was the first camera I found in my search to try a digital equivalent to the likes of the

Holga. It’s not exactly all the rage, but the product description outlined all of the qualities

that I was after. The range of functions seemed straightforward. The customer reviews

showed a controlled enthusiasm with nothing along the lines of a give-it-to-me-now

infatuation. After three days I had it in my hands. A curious look into the user manual

provided me with the following details:

• 3.1 megapixels

• Digital zoom

• Video with sound recording

• Flash

• Internal memory

• Memory card

• Self-timer

• Blast shooting mode

• White balance

• Brightness correction

• Image effects: Color, black-and-white, and sepia

• Three levels of image quality: Normal, fine, and superfine

SLIM 5L-II 263

Whoa! This extensive list is overwhelming. I wasn’t expecting it at all. Well, I want simple,

I search for simple, so I’ll make it simple for myself; I’ll choose the shooting options care-

fully and keep my fingers away from anything that doesn’t look like an on/off button or a

shutter-release button. In daylight, you’re more likely to see glare on the camera display

than anything that might be of use to a photographer trying to compose a shot. To have

a look at your images immediately after you take them, you’ll have to find some darkness.

My ascetic leanings helped me get over this weakness quickly. Working with pinhole

cameras has taught me to roughly estimate the frame of a picture. I personally could well

live without investigating the images right after shooting them. I save everything to the

memory card, sustain the excitement, and look at the results later on my laptop2.

I had high hopes for a rich image quality based on my standards, but I was bitterly

disappointed.

By conservative standards the image quality is shockingly good. There are no areas of

reduced detail, and there is a penetrating sharpness in the corners. Additionally, there are

none of the visual artifacts that I treasure so much. But since I bought this digital snapper, I

will find a way to get satisfactory results. I don’t give up that easily, so I accept the challenge.

I figured out how to turn the camera on and off and how to release the shutter. Now

I need to work out how to fix the image quality that was so unpleasant for me. I started

looking for ideas.

This example shows the alarmingly sober

clarity of an unaltered picture. There isn’t

anything that could impress the expecting

eye of the viewer in any way. Not even the

blue façade brings any life to this image.

2 Yes, I do have one of these things. Perhaps you’re under the impression that I used a good old type-

writer to hammer out the text of this book on paper. But I have neither the dexterity nor the patience

to line up this many letters and words flawlessly. Three cheers for the correction features of word

processing software!


Fortunately, there’s a clever tool in the Lo-

mographic bag of tricks: transparent tape.

You can place it over the lens. You can even

use two layers. Alternatively, you can use

the transparent part of blister packaging.

Already the recorded picture starts to de-

velop some character, and the viewer will

be offered something interesting. Shoot-

ing the structure of leaves and blossoms

makes for particularly sweet eye candy.

You can also create a fingerprint on the ad-

hesive side of the tape. Positioning this fin-

gerprint in front of the lens creates a sight

worth seeing.

I would much rather live in this romantic

cottage than in the terribly clinical box in

the first image of this series.

SLIM 5L-II 265

If you don’t have any tape handy, though, and your fingers have just been scrubbed

with soap and a brush so they won’t leave any fingerprints on the lens, don’t be discour-

aged. Just use the camera’s integrated continuous Holga function. The manual uses the

maligned term “digital zoom.” I don’t quite understand the contempt for this function.

When you use it properly, you can create images that fit perfectly into our analog league

of simplicity.

I’ve made a successful step into the brave new world of modern photography in this

chapter, even if it was a bit tongue in cheek. I discovered cameras whose functionality can

be summed up entirely on four-page leaflets. Thick instruction manuals are not required.

Well then, it is possible!

Chapter 10

Finale

268 Chapter 10 Finale 268

The Lab

We’ve purchased a camera and the required accessories that are well suited for our pur-

poses. We’ve searched for subjects, found them, and captured them on film. The film has

been developed, and now only the final step remains: create the finished images.

The silver bullet would be to use your own lab by designating a room at home to func-

tion as a darkroom. This need not be a special room—even a bathroom can be turned

into a makeshift work space. Many people find the development process to be a truly

enjoyable hobby. For me, it’s always a thrill when I dip a piece of white photo paper into

the development bath and start to see a black-and-white image appear. The color process

takes place in a lightproof tube, but it is hardly carried out today. When you finally hold

that finished image in your hand, it’s time to pat yourself on the back and tell yourself,

“You did a great job.”

Working in a darkroom is time consuming and requires precision. Accordingly, only

those who derive pleasure from the tasks involved should take it up. You can teach yourself

about the methods by reading advice and tips in Internet forums, or better yet by getting

someone to show you how it’s done. In principle, it’s not difficult. If you trust yourself to:

• turn on the lamp of an enlarger for a few seconds,

• bathe a piece of paper in a tub that’s half full of liquid,

• splash the piece of paper in two additional tubs, and

• rinse the paper that now displays your image in water,

you are ready to hazard a trip into the “red light district”.

The Lab 269

The most common process is to have the photos enlarged at the same time they are

developed. This is also the easiest and a cost-effective solution. All you need to do is drop

your film off at the lab, and a few days later you’ll have your photos in your hand.

This convenience doesn’t come without a cost, however. You have only limited influ-

ence on how your photo actually gets printed. You receive the picture exactly how the

processing machine produces them. The automated technology determines the color

intensity, contrast, and brightness. Additionally, the machine processes every single expo-

sure, even the ones that you don’t especially care for and the ones that you’d rather throw

out. When I say “limited influence,” you’re not totally at the mercy of an image processing

machine. You can usually include special instructions with your order.

Not every photo lab takes special requests, so I drop my film off at a service counter

where I can talk to people face to face. This sort of service counter can usually be found

only in stores that deal exclusively with photography, but sometimes portrait studios have

them. These types of places are probably not around the corner from where you live,

which means you’ll have to turn a few extra corners to get there. The movement is good

for you.

There is one important special request that is indispensable for our purposes: Redbird,

Nightbird, and Crossbird film must be processed without color correction. The automatic

white balance will interpret these films as having an undesirable color tint and will at-

tempt to balance them out. As you can see in these photos, the result will be images that

Crossbird with color correction Crossbird without color correction

Redbird with color correction Redbird without color correction

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don’t reveal the essential character of the films at all. It can bring tears to your eyes. No,

no—please, no color correction!

I find the results of enlarging monochrome black-and-white film on color paper really

interesting. This produces a subtle coloring that gives the images an antique character.

Depending on the subject, this effect can look really great.

Panorama images also require special attention that you shouldn’t leave to a large com-

mercial lab. I’ve had a range of experiences with this myself. It’s best to talk directly with a

technician. The same is true with roll film negatives.

Aside from discounters and photography stores, there are also specialized vendors that

can handle specific requests, and they may expressly offer customization as a service.

The range of available services are typically listed on the websites of photo labs. You can

find the addresses for several at the end of this book. You can also get useful information

over the phone or via e-mail. This type of store should be your last resort, though, after

you’ve exhausted all other possibilities. One thing is clear: their prices won’t compete with

those of a discounter who benefits from the economies of scale.

With all told, having a professional lab handle your film processing and enlargement is

the simplest, and certainly not a bad, way to go.

Color Black-and-white

Scanner 271

Scanner

One intriguing option for getting your final images is a hybrid method: analog film ex-

posure and development with digital processing that involves scanning and printing.

Scanning and printing are as common as calling someone on the telephone, writing

an e-mail, or sending someone a text message. The younger generation figures all of this

out before they learn the multiplication table and can execute these tasks as though they

were second nature. The older generation hopefully has some contact with the younger

one and is in a position to realize the benefits of a real social network.

Scanners are available in a wide range of prices, from less than $50 to several thousand

dollars. It would, of course, be strange to lay down $5,000 for a scanner if the camera

you’re using is a $60 Holga.

A scanner for your negatives should be able to reproduce images without a significant

loss of quality. It doesn’t, however, need to be able to handle razor-sharp negatives from

a Hasselblad with total loss-free precision. This obviously isn’t one of our requirements.

The scanner should be adequate for the camera you’re using.

What can we expect from a scanner that fits the description, “As much as necessary

and as little as possible”?


My expectations are the following:

• Resolution of 1800 pixels This is the recommended minimum resolution for 35 mm film negatives and will serve

our purposes adequately. Nearly every negative scanner offers at least this resolution,

by the way. There’s no need for anything higher.

• Manual contrast and brightness adjustment The contrast and brightness adjustments will be different for each of your negatives,

and they should be adjusted during scanning. I don’t care to entrust this process to an

automatic system because image detail that’s lost in the shadows or highlights can’t

be retrieved by other post-processing methods.

• Dust and scratch removal option Even if you are careful with your equipment, you’ll eventually find unwanted particles

on your negatives. Blemishes that the scanner can remove won’t be bothersome later

on.

What’s been described already is necessary. If you happen to pull a scanner off the shelf

that doesn’t offer these functions, you should set it back down.

If you shoot with one of our medium-format fireballs from the Far East or with a vener-

able oldie, take note that you’ll need a scanner that can readily handle roll films in addi-

tion to 35 mm negatives.

There are a number of influences that can sully your negatives with a tint of color. White balance will (usually) be able to provide correct color reproduction. Be careful with the

Bird films, though, because their main purpose is to color your images distinctly. For those

films you need to disable the white balance feature.

For a scanner to process the negatives of panorama exposures, its image frame can’t

be strictly limited to the 36x24 mm format.

It’s advantageous to be able to save your scans as TIFF files. I’ll talk about that more later.

For the following comparison of scanners I arbitrarily set an upper price limit of about

$250 and looked at three models. The selection of scanners here is not accidental. These

are the three scanners that were available to me. My goal is not to provide an overview

of everything that’s on the market, and it’s not to select a winner from an extensive series

of tests. My aim is to highlight the features I believe are important for our purposes.

Scanner 273

I’ll start with a bad experience. Several years ago a type of scanner that looks like a small

black tower came on the market at surprisingly low prices. Its main selling point was that

it could scan negatives and slides exceptionally fast. The prospect of saving space by scan-

ning thousands of vacation slides seemed attractive to me, so I purchased one of these

inexpensive machines. The scanning didn’t take too long. Unfortunately, it also didn’t take

very long to discover that the quality of the scans was terrible. I parted ways with that

little machine quite quickly.

The scans of the negatives looked awful, too. Since these images are scans of negatives,

not positive slides, they appear as if it’s dark outside instead of light.

I don’t mean to dismiss tower scanners entirely, but mine was a catastrophe. No mat-

ter how fast and inexpensive the scanner is, it doesn’t make up for these terrible haloes.

This is neither low budget nor a concession to simple technology—this is just botched!

Even from an inexpensive scanner I expect that the negatives will be evenly illuminated.

Away with that rubbish! It should be sent back to the dealer. Treat excessively discounted

scanners with suspicion, and keep your eyes open. If something is cheap, that doesn’t

make it a good value.

Here is an overview of the scanners that I use:

Features and Capabilities

The Fast(SnapScan 9000)

The Pleasant(Reflecta 7200)

The Versatile(EPSON 4990)

Resolution of 1800 pixels + + +

Contrast adjustment - + +

Brightness adjustment + + +

Black-and-white and

color+ + +

Dust and scratch removal - + +


Features and Capabilities

The Fast(SnapScan 9000)

The Pleasant(Reflecta 7200)

The Versatile(EPSON 4990)

White balance + + +

Panorama format - - +

Medium format - - +

TIFF format - + +

Software Internal CyberView X EPSON Scan

And now the scanners in detail:

The Fast

This scanner is a small black tower, but it produces a much better quality than the ca-

tastrophe I described earlier. The device is very user friendly and provides a manageable

number of functions, which makes it appropriate for use in conjunction with our simple

cameras. It’s especially practical because it can be used as a stand-alone unit instead of

requiring a connection to a computer. After setting the tower on a table, it’s ready to go.

You can preview each scanned image on a small monitor, and after you press the button it

takes about 0.6 seconds to scan and save one negative. This means you can work through

an entire series of negatives in a matter of minutes. The sharpness and uniformity of the

illumination in the scanned images are acceptable.

Scanner 275

The speed of this machine is its greatest advantage. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include a

manual contrast correction, and it can’t eliminate distracting particles on the film surface.

This means you must rely on an automatic contrast correction, and you must carefully

clean your negatives by hand.

The Pleasant

The software is more extensive with this device. Its functions are still simple enough to

be explained in a few pages of a small booklet. Unlike the previous model, this scanner

requires a connection to a computer. You insert a filmstrip into a guide, then advance it

manually one image at a time. You need to examine each image on your computer moni-

tor to manually correct the brightness, contrast, and color. Using the input from your cor-

rections, the machine rescans the negative and saves the image. Working with this model

is quite a bit slower than working with the tower, but it offers both manual and automatic

contrast adjustment, dust and scratch removal, and the ability to save your files in TIFF

format. These are substantial benefits in exchange for speed.

Keeping a cup of coffee and a piece of cake on your desk is a rather nice way to pass

the time you’ll spend waiting while the scanner moves from one negative to the next. The

speed is acceptable for scanning an entire roll of film, but you would need a lot of time

and patience to tackle a complete slide collection.

Photographers who work mostly with 35 mm film would find this scanner to be a solid

and user-friendly tool.


The Versatile

This flatbed scanner is a machine that satisfies all our wishes. It scans both photos and

negatives in various formats.

It features guide marks for 35 mm film and roll films, which makes this the right model

for anyone armed with our medium-format friends from Asia and anyone who prefers

nostalgic time travel.

An additional and more substantial advantage is that this device allows you to scan an

entire series (to a maximum of 24) of 35 mm negatives with a single click. In the meantime,

you can go have coffee and cake with your family.

Unfortunately, this tea-party mode is not available when you scan roll film. Each of these

negatives must be scanned individually.

The software offers three different processing modes:

1. The first mode takes care of everything automatically. You don’t have to worry about

a thing.

2. The second mode asks for a few basic details, thanks you for the information, and then

takes off.

3. The most sophisticated mode is called “professional,” and it follows detailed input from

the user. You can select a variety of options for a whole series of scans and review them

before processing.

Scanner 277

This flatbed is the all-around scanner of my team. It’s practical for all of the photographic

tasks described in this book, and it’s especially interesting for processing series of 35 mm

and medium-format films.

The Pleasant and The Versatile offer automatic dust and scratch removal, but these fea-

tures have their limits. That’s why it’s important to have a soft dusting brush (available in

every photography store) so you can free the larger particles from the surface of the film,

leaving only the smallest pieces for the scanner’s automatic function.

I strongly recommend that you use a picture editing program to optimize your images

after you scan them. This is why you should scan your images as TIFF files and why you

should continue to save your images as TIFF files while you work in your picture editing

software. You should save only the final image as a compressed JPEG file. You should save

the JPEG with a file name that’s different from the original TIFF file so you can revert back

to the original image later.

If you save an image in JPEG format while you’re editing it, and then you reopen it and

resave it over and over again, the image becomes more and more compressed with each

save. This leads to a clearly noticeable reduction of quality.

A scanner is naturally intended for the straightforward reproduction of an original. You

don’t usually expect more of such a machine, but that doesn’t mean it’s not capable of

more. It actually offers a lot of room for creative play. It is, after all, a recording device.

Here’s my favorite trick for scanning black-and-white film. Instead of scanning a black-

and-white negative using the logical black-and-white mode, opt instead to misuse the

RGB color mode for experimental purposes. The result will be a brownish color that shows

its true potential only after you increase the contrast. Depending on the strength of the

increase, the color will shift to a stronger brown that conveys an excellent antique effect

and eventually a bright red that approximates the look of Redbird.


It can be really exciting to discover a scan of a negative that is clearly over- or underex-

posed, and perhaps one that also has low contrast because of overcast skies. These scans

also require a strong boost in contrast, which will leave only a few medium tones left in

the image. No one will recognize that this image was exposed using a film camera. People

will be surprised—and pleased—when you tell them this.

A scanner is actually a type of photographic device. Try using a flatbed scanner to capture

anything you can get your hands on. Just keep your eyes open around your home and

yard for things like rubber bands and colorful cardboard. A photographer friend of mine

showed me images of simple rubber bands, and I thought to myself, I’ve got to try that.

Scanner 279

Can you scan a tree leaf with transmitted light, like a negative or a slide? Why not? It works

with other things, too. You just need something that’s colorful and translucent.

I have to share this image with you. It started with a negative that I took with my Blackbird,

Fly. After I once again failed to treat my flatbed scanner fairly, it decided to hit back. I was

ready to get back to normal, but it let me know it wasn’t there yet—not until it showed

me what it was capable of. I have no idea how the scanner made this image, but I think

it’s great. If I ever run out of creative ideas, I’ve got quite a creative partner!

Negative Slide


Image Editing

I don’t favor the practice of attempting to optimize images so much during the scanning

process that it is not necessary to process them later on. Each to his own, but I prefer to

do this work in an image editing program. The sensational capabilities of these programs

is a hot topic right now, and there are a lot of things to say about what they have to offer.

Even with imaging processing I’m looking for simple solutions—ones without bells and

whistles—that will take care of what’s important. For me, image editing is not about tak-

ing the head off of person A and attaching it to the torso of person B, changing the red

sweater of this person to a blue that matches the overall scene, smoothing out the skin

of this fake person so she has all the charm of a mannequin, setting her knee-deep in a

mountain lake in the Alps, and then finishing off the scene with a waterfall from the Rocky

Mountains as a backdrop. I only want to adjust the brightness and contrast and possibly

trim the image modestly. That’s just enough to give my images the final touch. Even the

simplest image editing programs offer these three basic functions, including the Windows

basic program Microsoft Office Picture Manager. These three features offer many oppor-

tunities for experimentation and allow you to design an image with its own unique look.

Anyone who finds these modest features too limiting can find several image editing

programs on the Internet for free download.

Negativ Dia

Image Editing 281

Some keepers of the grail stand by never-changing rules that say you need to frame and

compose your final picture when you expose your image. Others opine that black-and-

white photos must show a minimal degree of detail, in the shadows and the highlights.

Anything that doesn’t live up to these standards is dreck. Ugh!

Spare yourself any discussion with the likes of them. Their opinions are cast in concrete.

Simply improve your images for yourself, and do so with simple means.

Why exactly does the image need to be framed during the exposure? Why should a

photo that otherwise pleases you thoroughly be used as an example of what not to do

because someone’s big toe is visible in the edge of the picture? You really shouldn’t spend

the rest of the day grief stricken because of a big toe. You should instead be thrilled that

you took the shot before the guy had a chance to make his way farther into the image.

Snip, snap, and the toe is gone.

There’s something else along these lines that is very important. In the moment that

you expose the film, you’re working with a predetermined image format—when shoot-

ing with 35 mm film it’s 36×24 mm. Whoever said that this aspect ratio was always and

forever optimal? Maybe one particular subject fits better in a 36x20 mm frame. Though

it will probably dismay the high priest of classical photography, I recommend that you

give some thought to the aspect ratios of your images and optimize them as you see fit.

This is true even with panoramic shots of landscapes. Simply trim away a boring sky and

everything will look better.

Now to the subject of brightness and contrast. The level of detail in the highlights and

shadows does not make or break a photograph—the overall impression of the shot does.

And who judges this, anyway? You and you alone! A photograph of a dungeon feels sin-

ister even if you can make out only some dimly lit chains and implements of torture in

an otherwise totally black space. Do you feel the same emotion that you did when you

reached for your camera? Then it’s an excellent picture. If you successfully record an im-

age of your beloved in romantic, bright tones, but the sky in the background appears

completely white, then you’ve created a tremendous photo that corresponds exactly with

your perspective—one that will make you both happy.

With significantly diffused images—those shot with a zone plate, for example—the

colors are typically subtle and pastel, and this may be perfect for your photographic vi-

sion. You may also wish the picture had more intense colors. Well then, grab hold of the

controller! Play with the parameters of brightness and contrast. Try some variations until

you’ve found what you consider optimal. Let the others say what they want, but this vari-

ant is the best.

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The Finished Image

You now have a finished image on your monitor, and you have trusted it to an electronic

storage device. Whenever you wish, you can bring up this image on any monitor and

show it to your friends.

Many people—myself included—prefer to have a proper picture, that is, something

they can hold in their hands. There are two ways for you to accomplish this. Many pho-

tography and electronics discounters offer automated machines that happily upload your

image files and print them. Alternatively, you can upload your images from home over the

Internet. I have had good experiences with this. The changes I made in my image editing

program were transferred directly to paper.

The process is faster, though, if you have your own printer. Right after your final click to

save the picture, you can get started with printing right away.

The Finished Image 283

This little postcard printer is a lot of fun. It creates prints that are 10×15 cm (3.9×5.9 in), but

it also is capable of handling panoramic images in a 10×30 cm (3.9×11.8 in) format. Sure,

a standard letter-sized printer can also produce panoramic prints, but then you need to

trim away the borders, which means you waste both paper and money.


If you want to print your images in a larger format, you should stick with a conventional

printer that produces letter-sized printouts. Most people already have one, it’s just a mat-

ter of picking up some photo paper.

The wide variety of paper types is one large advantage to printing your images yourself.

Most service providers deliver high-gloss prints. They are widely loved, no doubt partly

because people aren’t aware of the variety of image surfaces available. A picture has a

glossy surface, what else? There are several wonderful kinds of paper off the high-gloss

path that offer an alternative in terms of appearance and feel. Take a look and you’ll find

matte and semimatte finishes, as well as handmade paper, water color paper, and much

more. A pinhole image printed on handmade paper is really something. Do yourself a

favor and give it a try. The finished effect looks like a painting that makes a beautiful wall

hanging when it’s finished with a mat and a frame.

A wall hanging is great, but the moment you hang your picture on the wall, it is also

beautiful. It all began with a simple click of the shutter-release button on a simple camera,

and now the image has found its place as a one-of-a-kind decorative piece.

I hope you decorate the walls of your home with many other pictures worthy of the

attention. When you sooner or later (usually sooner!) run out of wall space in your own

home, give a thought to your friends. A hug isn’t the only gift for a good friend—a picture

works, too.

285

Afterword

Single-use items, Asian best sellers, discoveries from grandpa’s basement, and much

more—there are many simple ways to take great pictures. I hope I’ve succeeded in engag-

ing you with this theme. Maybe you’ll even find a bit of space for this book on your shelf.

If you indeed enjoyed it, you may even offer it as an ideal gift for a person you like. If you

didn’t enjoy it, then it’s an ideal gift for someone you don’t like. The greatest success would,

of course, be if I sparked your interest to pursue one or a few of the methods I described.

I wish you a pleasant journey. Whichever path you choose, it will be an adventure. Lose

yourself in the work and combine wildly different ideas—Holga with Redbird, historic

cameras with diffuser filters, and so on. Not every image will hit the bull’s-eye, but this is

completely normal. Not even professionals can manage that—quite the opposite. From

hundreds of pictures a professional uses a highly critical eye to choose only the best of

the best. Make it easy on yourself in this regard, too. Make it simple like the professionals

do. Simply accept the rejects and be happy about the triumphant bull’s-eyes, because

they are something special.

You have worked with simple tools that are reduced to their bare essentials to capture

photographs that are very unlike the run-of-the-mill photos of the masses. You have used

your head to create them. You used your watchful eye, your skills, and your creativity as

the simple means to achieve great things.

No, it wasn’t a photographic computer stuffed to the gills with electronics.

You did it!

286286

Acknowledgments

The expertise required for this book was neither handed down to me through my genes,

nor does it result from my studies in school. In addition to plenty of experiences of my

own, a variety of information sources have lodged their way into my memory. I am unfor-

tunately much less familiar with the names of these people than I am with the informa-

tion they shared. I extend my thanks, then, to everyone who spreads information about

photography on the Internet and in print media. Your generous willingness to spread

information is of inestimable value to the curious.

I also owe thanks to Gerhard Rossbach and his team at dpunkt.verlag and Rocky Nook,

whose interest and engagement made this book possible.

I’d also like to especially thank all the readers of this book. Your imaginary presence

during the many hours I worked on this book helped me realize the text.

Special thanks to Sabine and Yvonne. It’s wonderful that you’re here.

Appendix

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288 Appendix

Prices (as of February 2012)

35 mm film $4–$7

Adapter for the Diana lens $13

Bella 66 IIa $13–$20

Bird films $7

Blackbird, Fly $119

Canomatic and clones $7–$13

Certina $13–$20

Diana $53

Digital camera (key ring) $13

Digital camera (toy camera) $40

Holga $40

Holga DIY Kit 135 $20

Holga pinhole $66

Kodak Brownie No. 2 $8–$46

Lensbaby $66

LOREO $33

Pancake starter kit $92

Printer $66–$132

P-SHARAN $33

Recesky $20

Roll films $5–$8

Scanner $132–$264

Single-use camera $7–$13

Slide frames $26

ZERO 2000 $198

Note: I created this list based on my personal experiences, but the market is always in flux.

Prices and offers for these products are permanently subject to change. I’ve also collected

the following list of retailers, and I recommend that you do some research to get an over-

view of the best prices and alternative products available.

Appendix 289

Websites

Below is a list of websites that you might find helpful as you begin to explore the world

of simple cameras.

Cameras

http://singleusecameras.com/

www.lomography.com

www.fourcornerstore.com

http://shop.holgadirect.com

www.bhphotovideo.com

www.freestylephoto.biz

www.fsdistribution.biz/fsd_holga_dealers.php

www.sharan-camera.com

www.zeroimage.com

www.pinhole.org

ww.freestylephoto.biz

www.loreo.com

www.matchboxpinhole.com

www.amazon.com

www.ebay.com

http://lensbaby.com

Image Editing

www.gimp.org

www.photoscape.org

www.getpaint.net

Communities

www.fotocommunity.com

www.flickr.com

www.apug.org

290 Appendix

Youtube

Loading Film into a Holga

(also shows how to block light leaks)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0idNGP07fp8

Using 35mm Film in Holga

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK9iBKoQYik

Diana F+ Camera from Urban Outfitters

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTnu3m10Dkk

Photography: How to Load 35mm Film

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjCfcTFP50E&feature=related

Changing the Film of a Box Camera

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1XeC15XZdU

Lensbaby 2.0 and 3G How To Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvL0j8BFasU

Camera Obscura

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuJ_Jd6Qgyo

All of these videos were chosen to demonstrate the subjects discussed in this book. The

person who posted each video, however, is responsible for its current and future content.

291

Index

B

BELLA 66 IIa 90

black-and-white photography 28

Blackbird 28

Blackbird, Fly 68

box camera 85

brightness adjustment 272, 281

building a camera 162

buying older cameras 92

C

cable release 131

Canomatic 95

function 109

Metal weights 111

CERTINA 88

color correction 269

contrast adjustment 272, 281

Crossbird 32

D

darkroom 268

DIANA 63

DIANA Pinhole 134

interchangeable lenses 64

telephoto lens 66

wide-angle lens 65

DIANA lens 214

diff usion fi lter 220, 222

Digital 261

digital camera 239

Digital 261

SLIM 5L-II 262

TECHNAXX X1 259

dust removal 272

F

Far East Camera 33

Blackbird, Fly 68

DIANA 63

HOLGA 56

fi lm 228

color fi lm 230

medium-format fi lm 229

monochrome black-and-white fi lm 231

roll fi lm 229

slide fi lm 230

traditional black-and-white fi lm 230

fi xed lens 27

fl are 67

for Do-It-Yourselfers 141

HOLGA DIY KIT 165

P-SHARAN 163

Recesky 167

G

good intentions 171

DIANA Lens 214

Lensbaby 216

LOREO 212

H

HOLGA 56

HOLGA DIY KIT 165

Holga Panorama 131

light leaks 60

Holga function 265

hyperfocal distance 27

292 Index

I

image editing 280

J

JPEG fi le 277

K


L

lab 268

Lensbaby 216

light leaks 60

light refl ection 30

light sensitivities 231

Lomography 55

LOREO 212

M

making fi lters yourself 219

petroleum jelly 222

slide frames 219

special eff ect fi lters 224

Multiple-exposure Images 59

N

Nightbird 31

night exposures 58

O

Oldies 73

BELLA 66 IIa 90

CERTINA 88


P

Pancakes 135

panorama exposures 272

panorama perspective 29

panorama photography 29

paper 284

petroleum jelly 222

Pinhole Cameras 113

DIANA Pinhole 134

Holga Panorama 131

Pancakes 135

Zero 2000 138

prices 288

printer 282

postcard printer 283

P-SHARAN 163

R

Recesky 167

Redbird 31

roll fi lm 131, 229

S

scanner 271

panorama exposures 272

Schwarzschild 132

scratch removal 272

shooting underwater 26

slide fi lm 230

slide frames 219

SLIM 5L-II 262

snapshot setting 27

special eff ect fi lters 224

storage media 227

fi lm 228

roll fi lm 229

SUC 11

Blackbird 28

Color 29

Crazy Film 31

Crossbird 32

ecological perspective 32

for weddings 26

Nightbird 31

Redbird 31

shooting underwater 26

T

tape 60, 163, 168

TECHNAXX X1 259

telephoto lens 66

TIFF fi le 277

tripod 58, 132

Index 293

W

websites 289

white balance 272

wide-angle lens 65

Z

Zero 2000 138

zone plate 136

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Great Photos - Simple Cameras: From Holga to Pinhole: An Alternative Approach to Creative Photography