The Shutter Brothers (Kelley and Kevin Lane) are back with another podcast show packed with news and information about film photography. First, Kelley talks about find (quite by accident) an actual local color film developing lab,
Fast Foto.
It's located in Dalton, Georgia just a few miles from Kelley's home. We both thought that there were no one-hour film labs left in the greater Chattanooga area, so this discovery is both a surprise and a delight. Kelley relates his happy experience with Fast Foto and talks about how he hopes that labs like it will get enough business to remain open.
Next, Kevin announces the opening of a Chattanooga's first community darkroom,
Safelight District, which is the project of two young film photography enthusiasts, Tori Fyfe and Jet Smith. Safelight District will have it's grand opening on Friday, February 22, at 7:00 pm. It will be a fun evening of getting to see the darkroom and meeting fellow film photographers, so if you live near Chattanooga, Tennessee, you definitely should check it out. Also, Kelley and Kevin will be interviewing Tori and Jet very soon, and you will hear that interview on the next UJC Podcast show. Stay tuned!
Kevin continues the show with a review of a book, Glass, Brass, and Chrome: The American 35mm Miniature Camera by Kalton C. LaHue and Joseph A. Bailey.
Published in 1972, the book provides an anecdotal history of the rise of 35mm photography in American, sparked by the German Leica and Contax cameras, and each chapter breaks down the progression of American manufacturers who made 35mm cameras for the masses. You probably have heard of Argus and Kodak, but you may not know about Perfex, Universal, Bolsey, and several other companies who made and sold 35 mm cameras in America. Glass, Brass, & Chrome chronicles the format's history in America up to the introduction of Kodak's Instamatic 126 cartridge cameras, and their wildly successful sales (millions of cameras sold) along with the rise of Japanese and European single lens reflex 35mm cameras completely killed off all American production, and so it remains today. If you enjoy history and want to learn more about American camera makers, you will greatly enjoy this book.
Of course, much of the 35mm film that was shot in the "golden age of 35mm photography was slide film, and that meant that photographers needed gear that would allow them and others to view their photographs.
Slide viewers were perfect for one or two people to view slides and also were useful for editing, sorting and ordering slides for later projection. Kelley recently came across one of the best viewers he has ever seen, the Argus 693 Electromatic, which is powered by AC current and features a bright bulb, large viewing screen, and automated slide changer. With the return of Ektachrome slide film, finding a viewing like this would be nice indeed.
Speaking of 35mm cameras from Japan, Kelley talks about his favorite rangefinder camera, the Canon P. The Canon P
was an approximation of the Leica 35mm camera (both use the 39mm lens thread mount), but this camera stands on its own for build quality and features. It's solid, fits well in the hands, and the lenses are sharp. Kelley thinks that the Canon P could easily be the go to 35mm rangefinder for anyone who can't dish out the big bucks for a Leica.
Finally, we read some listener email. Speaking of email, we want to hear from you so bad that we are going to have a giveaway. Kelley recently found a very clean
Canon Stylus 120 at his (secret) neighborhood flea market and bought it for the whopping total of $1.00. We are going to send this camera to a lucky listener, and all you have to do is send us an email. We'd love to know something about your love for film photography and how you would use this camera. Kelley and I will pick at random one email for the winner, so please write us or send a voice memo to:
unclejonesyscameras@gmail.com.
You can find the Uncle Jonesy's Cameras Podcast on any of your favorite podcast places, or you can click on the link below:
https://unclejonesyscameras.libsyn.com/rss
As always, we hope you will subscribe so you won't miss a show. Finally, please like us on
Facebook and Instagram (@ujcpodcast).
Happy Shooting!
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