Flat pack!

2 December 2019

Dig out my cardboard camera kit that has been hanging around for a few years …

The camera is made from pre-cut parts which are bent and glued together. It will use standard 35mm colour or monochrome film which just like the old days can be processed and developed using a postal service. For instance, Photo Express will develop and scan to a CD for £6 a film, or £9.50 for a 24 exposure film if prints are required too.

The other option, should sufficient enthusiasm arise, is to buy the chemicals and do this in-house. At the entry level, £15 buys you an Ilford Simplicity Starter Pack for two B&W 35mm films, comprising Film Developer (creates the image on the negative), Film Stop (stops the developing chemical reaction), Fixer (fixes the image permanently on the negative) and Wetting Agent (makes the water glide off the film).

27 January 2022

It's been a long time, but tidying up the study after setting up the new Dell PC brings this project back to life. Using Linda's paper glue the first 5 steps out of 31 are completed. No great problems - just a bit fiddly.

28 January 2022

Continue to step 11 out of 31. These have been structural body parts so far, and the next step will be the winding gear.

29 January 2022

Continue to step 25 out of 31. This comprised the film winding mechanism, rear cover, 'controls', and part of the lens (pinhole) structure. The thin metal disk with its tiny hole should be fixed with double sided tape. Having glued it instead, time will tell if the instructions should have been followed more diligently.

The roll film is now ordered. Hole-On recommend ISO 400 colour film, and I chose a 24 exposure Kodak UltraMax. Analogue cameras have been popular during the Covid lockdown, and an increased interest in Lomography has helped cause a spike in demand. Unfortunately a lot of the more interesting film is currently unavailable, although eBay sellers are offering out of date film for those wishing to experiment.

The global chip shortage has also led to camera production delays. This problem does not apply to their cardboard counterparts!

30 January 2022

Finish all the construction work. The instructions say that the camera can be built and ready for use in 2 hours. This may be true, but much of the time is spent holding fiddly pieces of cardboard in place at awkward angles while the glue dries, so my preference is to spread the excitement over various sessions.

The next steps are to carry out a light leakage test, load the film when it arrives and then to seek a fitting scene to capture. Hopefully a future post will feature some of these.

15 June 2022

Well the weather is fine and a trip to Glastonbury beckons, so a good time to fettle the camera and prepare to shoot.

Carry out a rudimentary light leakage test with a torch in a dark room (the smallest one) and apply dark card to the interior surfaces as directed. Given that the camera won't be preserved for posterity (sorry boys!) decide upon a belt and braces approach using black fabric insulation tape around the outside.

The film is loaded, with the leader fed into the winder spindle and the cover replaced and secured by elastic bands.

The camera is now locked and loaded ready for tomorrow's trip …

16 June 2022

It's a glorious day, so head for Glastonbury. While Linda immerses herself in Chalice Well gardens I head for the Tor.

The shooting instructions are quite basic, and an exposure time of 5 to 15 seconds is recommended for long distance shots in day time. It is not an easy task to hold the camera, take aim, slide the on-off shutter release, count out an estimated exposure time and then slide the shutter off while holding the camera steady. However, to be fair we are not looking for perfection, so any shortcomings will be seen as lomographic artistry.

On return home take a few more photographs until the built-in 'film full' mechanism kicks in - the winding knob shears off the spindle.

17 June 2022

Have selected Analogue Wonderland to develop the film. Had considered acquiring a starter kit to do this at home, but for a colour film this would cost over £100 for what could well be a one-off exercise.

Informed the Company that this was a first time lomographic effort and that images, if any, would be positioned irregularly. This is because the film is advanced by turning the winder three rotations. As more film wraps round the spindle the amount of film pulled through grows. This is not helped by me increasing the number of turns for prudence, so that the actual amount of film used is probably half of that available.

After posting the film, the disposable camera lives up to its name by being subject to a rapid intentional disassembly, for recycling into another camera or more likely into Amazon delivery packaging.

18 June 2022

Now it's just a matter of waiting for my delivery …

28 June 2022

Receive an email to say that the photos are available to view.

Log on to the system with low expectations, which is just as well as the results are pretty underwhelming. However this was a first attempt, and hence a learning exercise.

What have I learnt? Well probably not to try it again, but if I do then pick a camera with a shutter release that can be operated more easily, use a black & white film and develop it at home and perhaps use a slower film so that camera shake at each end of the exposure is less evident.