UJC #6: A Sack Full of Cameras

It’s Christmas Eve, and Old St. Nicholas is getting ready to open his sack of goodies and give presents to all the good girls and boys. And if you've really been good, Santa is going to give you a brand new (old) film camera.

A Zenobia, a Yeshiva Mat 128 G, and a Petri 1.9, gifts all.

So get ready as the Shutter Brothers run down some of their recent camera acquisitions, including three really cool cameras that have been given to Kelley recently, a Zenobia, a Petri 1.9, and a Yashica Mat 128 G (isn't he so lucky!). Kevin talks about a recent antique store find, the Canon Canonet 28 (big things come is small packages), and both Kelley and Kevin talk about how instant photography is perfect for the holidays.

The Canon Canonet 28

The Uncle Jonesy's Cameras Podcast is available on all your favorite podcast directories. Please consider subscribing to the podcast. Also, we would love to hear from you, so please email us at unclejonesyscameras@gmail.com. Send us a voice memo and be a part of the show. And thanks to all of you who have listened to the podcast, read an article on this blog, and/or visited our Facebook page. We are grateful for each and every one of you.

Happy Shooting!

Instant Christmas Magic

*** This Post Comes From Kevin Lane ***

Ok, I'll admit it. I love this time of year. Yes, I know it has it's stresses, and I hate the obsession with "things that will make you happy." I've reached the stage in my life when the value of relationships becomes paramount, which is why this time of year has so much meaning to me. My favorite thing about time of year is getting together with family and friends to eat, drink, laugh, love, and celebrate "togetherness." It's something I look forward to all year.

So, it should come as no surprise to anyone at these gatherings when the cameras come out. While everyone else is shooting with their camera phones, I will be firing my flash and capturing holiday memories on film. I say "cameras" because usually I shoot more then one. And one of those cameras likely will be my Polaroid SX-70 SONAR.
I love using this camera at parties, partly because of the amazement it creates when people hear it fire and see that piece of film eject from the front, but really for another practical reason. People can see the photograph moments after I take it. And more often than not, that photograph will go home with them when they leave and end up being displayed somewhere in their home. You don't always get that with a photo from a phone.

My Polaroid SX-70 SONAR One Step camera and Polatronic Flash, all from 1977.

My youngest daughter, Megan, and her guy, Devin, taken on Polaroid

Originals SX-70 color film

On show #6 of the Uncle Jonesy's Cameras Podcast, Kelley and I discuss why instant photography is a perfect choice for the holidays, especially if you are a film shooter. Everyone is super-busy this time of year, and finding time to develop your holiday party film isn't easy. Shooting an instant camera solves that problem, not to mention the cool gifts the photos become when you give them away. It truly is better to give than to receive.

You have two choices for instant photography:  FujiFilm Instax and Polaroid Originals. Instax cameras and film are everywhere nowadays and are very popular with young people. There will be thousands of Instax cameras found under the tree on Christmas morning. The photos (ten to a pack) develop quickly and look good. The film can be purchased at your local drug store. With Polaroid, it's a bit different. First of all, the Polaroid Originals film is more expensive than Instax film, and it produces only eight shots.  The Polaroid Originals film takes longer to develop (especially the color film), and the quality can be uneven (again, especially the color film - the black and white film looks great). Second, you have the option of using one of the thousands of vintage Polaroid cameras that can be found in antique store, thrift stores, closets, online, all waiting for a fresh pack of film to bring them to life. My SX-70 SONAR dates back to 1977. I also have a 600 OneStep Close Up, which I rarely use, because the SX-70 is a much better camera - easily the best camera Polaroid ever made. For this reason, there are not as easily found as the 600 type cameras like the OneStep Close Up, which has a lot of plastic about it, including the lens. However, you are much more likely to find 600 type cameras as all of the above-mentioned places. The big question regarding vintage Polaroid cameras is:  Will it work when you insert a fresh film pack into it? Unless the person who is selling the camera can confirm that it has been tested and is working, the only was to know is to do is to try it out. If it powers up, great. If not . . . I keep empty film packs that still have good batteries to test cameras with, and after you successfully shoot your first pack, you will have one, too. 

Of course, you purchase a brand new Polaroid camera, the Polaroid Originals OneStep 2, which was introduced last year. The OneStep 2 looks similar to previous 600 type cameras, but it has a lot of updated features like an onboard rechargeable battery, which makes the battery in the film pack no longer necessary. The camera has gotten some good reviews, and because the I-Type film packs the camera uses don't have a battery in them, they are about three dollars less than SX-70 or 600 packs. Unless you already have access to a vintage camera or are "vintage-minded," a new Polaroid camera may be the best was to go. If something goes wrong with the camera, you can return it for another one. 

As far as buying Polaroid Originals film, your best bet is to plan ahead and order online. However, if you like to be spontaneous, you can usually find the I-Type and the 600 film at Target and Barnes & Noble stores (although yesterday both stores were completely sold out of film and cameras due to heavy holiday demand). Unfortunately, neither of these retailers sell the SX-70 film. There is a workaround, however. Polaroid Originals makes a reusable neutral density filter that fits onto the top of a 600 film pack, so that the much faster 600 film will not be overexposed when used in an SX-70 camera. 

Instant photography is a great fit for this time of year, and the photographs you make will become treasured keepsakes for many years to come. Whether it's FujiFilm Instax or Polaroid Originals, get yourself and camera and some film and start capturing memories.

It's Always Darkest Before the Solstice

Today's Post is from Kevin Lane

Today is Saturday, December 8, 2018, and the weather outside could not be more gloomy. The rain has fallen all day long, and the temperature has hovered at 40º. It could not be a worst day for outdoor photography, so as my cameras sat idly on the shelf, my wife, Debbie, and I hung our outdoor Christmas decorations during a moment of light drizzle. As I write this, we are relaxing in our cozy and warm living room listening to Christmas jazz and writing Christmas cards. Candles are glowing, and soon we will begin preparing a nice romantic dinner and choose from our holiday-related movies list. A nice Saturday despite the lousy weather.

It was only a few days ago that I was thinking about my photography goals for 2019, specifically about how one of those goals was to remain active even in the dreariest portions of winter. A day like today shows how difficult is may be to attain this goal here in northwest Georgia, as today is a typical winter day in this region. Winter here is usually wet, but not usually cold enough for snow. There are exceptions, however, and it is not unusual to get at least one snow of a few inches - just enough to close schools and give us school teachers a welcome day off. But a typical winter in north Georgia is cold, wet, and dreary - not a great mix for photography.

Nevertheless, I plan to shoot more film this winter than I ever have before. I specifically want to capture the winter mood - bare trees, dead vegetation, muted shades of gray, etc. I never used to see the beauty of the winter mood, but Debbie has been a big influence on me. She loves to see bare trees against the winter sky, and I have to admit that I have begun to see the winter light in a new way - the subtle shades of gray, the muted colors, the lack of shadows on overcast days. I'm thinking that this would be great weather to get in close on subjects and capture architectural details that stand out more in low contrast light, like weathered wood, stonework, old ironwork, peeling paint, and reflections in windows. I am excited about the possibilities.

I think winter is a good time to practice becoming your own light meter. If you understand the "Sunny f16" rule,* then you will be opening up your exposure settings by two stops for cloudy but bright days with little or no shadow three stops for heavy overcast, and four stops for deep shade or sunset light. I make careful note about the amount of light and choose what I think would be the best exposure. However, to improve my skills, I will make two or three exposures of the same scene cloudy day scene - one at two stops open, one at three, and maybe one at four. This is called "bracketing," and the idea is that, in all likelihood, one of the exposures will be the best. When I bracket, I always go from more closed to more open so that, when see the negatives and scans later, I can compare the results to what I was thinking at the time (although I don't usually do this, it would really help to make field notes when shooting. Perhaps I will add "make field notes" as a new goal for 2019 . . .) With practice, I hope to gain confidence in my "eye-metering." Of course, I could use my camera's meter or the myLightmeter Pro app on my iPhone, but the essence of photography is understanding light, right? And light meters can be fooled in some situations.

Speaking of light, one of the practical problems with winter photography is dealing with short days. I leave for work before the sun rises (school teacher, remember?) and often don't get home before it starts to get dark. But here is an encouraging thought:  December 21 is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. Technically, winter begins that day, but the daytime will begin to increase slowly but surely. Since I carry a loaded camera with me pretty much all the time these days, I am going to get more and more opportunities to capture the winter mood and the winter days pass. Seize the winter day . . .

Although shot in early November, it was a cold, rainy day when I stopped on my way
home from work to photograph this old abandoned barn. Holga 120N with Ilford HP5+,
home processed.

As I walked around this old barn, I found an interesting arrangement of truck parts that
deserved to be captured on film. Holga 120N with Ilford HP5+, home processed.

It certainly was cold and snowy, but I love the contrast between
the subtle colors of the light son this street in Bergen, Norway,
 and the various shades of gray. Minolta 7s with Kodak Gold 200, home processed.

The light from the overcast sky brought out details that would have
been lost in the direct lighting of a sunny day in Bergen, Norway.
Minolta 7s with Kodak Gold 200, home processed.

*On sunny days for subject in bright sunlight, exposure will be f16 for aperture and whatever your film speed is for shutter speed. If you open up one setting, then close ("stop") down the other setting with the same number of stops. For example, if you are shooting ISO 100,  f11 and 1/125 work, as does f8 and 1/250, f5.6 and 1/500, and f4 and 1/1000. There are exceptions, of course, such as white subjects (close one stop) sidelit subjects (open one stop) and backlit subjects (open two stops). I suggest memorizing Sunny f16 stop combinations for your favorite films. You will be much faster at setting your exposure on your camera once you have "eye-metered" the scene.

We're on Facebook!

You can now find the Uncle Jonesy's Cameras Podcast on Facebook by searching @ujcpodcast. Kelley and I will use this page to post day to day photography activities that you may find interesting but do not merit an entire blog post. We also will post news relating to the podcast and the blog here as well.

Both Kelley and I are a little leery of making use of Facebook as a platform for the podcast and blog, as there is so much negativity on Facebook these days. Neither one of us spend a great deal of time there except to keep up with family and follow the various music and photography pages and groups we like to read. And neither of us felt like creating a Uncle Jonesy's Cameras Facebook group was a good idea at this time. Perhaps that will change in the future, but for now it is simply a place where you can keep up with us more often than what you will see in this blog. We hope you enjoy that, as you are the reason this blog and the podcast exist.

Happy Shooting!