The Camera Couple and The Third Wheel

I do love my photographs of photographers.  I've just gone through one of my favorite reference books, 500 Cameras, 170 Years of Photographic Innovation by Todd Gustavson and the closest match I can find to the lady's camera is a No. 4 Screen Focus Kodak, Model A, first made in 1904.  Of course, once a company made a nice camera, it wasn't long until another company came up with a copy.  And the man's camera, a bit difficult to see down there between his legs, looks like it might be a Kodak Autographic first made in 1916.  I have one in my collection and a number of others that look pretty much the same.  Oh well.  Now, is the third person their model, or just the guy that they couldn't ditch before heading out on a camera outing?  Maybe his camera is on a tripod with a self timer.  Either that, or there's a forth person and with luck the third man's date.

Camera Woman

I love pictures of people with cameras.  This one is dated "JUL 4 1946" a year or so after the end of World War 2.  It's inconceivable the lady in this photo didn't know a number of people who went off to the conflict.  The camera looks like it's from the thirties.  I have a number of them in my collection, and it probably uses 620 film.  That's six exposures per roll, and she must have gone through a lot of rolls of film taking pictures of her friends, now out of uniform.  But who was the photographer of the photographer?  The 620 format gives a long narrow image.  This image could have been cropped, or it could have been from a newer 120, or even a 35mm.   Perhaps a war souvenir.  Both the Germans and the Japanese have a long history of making fine cameras.

For anyone interested, lots of old, folding 620 cameras from the thirties still work and give a nice, sharp negative.  To use one, you'll need two 620 reels. If there aren't any in the camera, they can be found on EBay.  Go into a dark room, strip off the film from a roll of 120 film and respool it onto a 620 reel.  Most of these old cameras will have a small window on the back with a red, celluloid cover.  There a numbers on the paper backing of the film.  If they're visible, the frames will be 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11.  If the numbers don't line up with the window, good luck trying to figure out how far to advance the film per exposure.

Thank You Very Much

A couple of photos of a lady who takes her camera everywhere taken by someone who takes his camera everywhere. And that's why I have so many old photos in my collection. Thank you to all the camera bugs out there. I own a number of old box cameras and most of them will work with 120 film. They don't take very good pictures, though.

The Photo Show

An interesting little collection of four photos from some sort of photo show. The display case in the background of one of the photos has a late fifties through mid-sixties movie camera. The women's hair styles also look like they are from the sixties.

Kodak Retina

I fell in love with this photo the first time I saw it. The lady is holding a Kodak Retina camera. Made in the 1950's, it's still a top flight camera. I know, I own one and still use it to take ultra sharp black & white, 35mm negatives.

Cameras on the Beach

Looks like this beach goer has a nice 35mm camera, or maybe an old stereo camera. In any case, it looks like it's time to put in new film.

Nellie Jacobs Rice in Pittsburgh

Written on the back, "Nellie Jacobs Rice taken in Pittsburgh, Pa. 1937 Bill" I bought this small snapshot for several reasons. It's dated, it was taken in Pittsburgh, where I used to live, and because I liked the folding camera that Nellie Jacobs Rice is holding.