Year: 2018
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Swimming with Whale Sharks in Madagascar
Check another item off the bucket list: in November, we made it to Nosy Be to see the whale sharks – considered endangered by some – feeding on the plankton that “bloom” there the same time every year. This capped off an amazing year in Madagascar – just a month prior, we managed to get out…
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…but what’s there to do in southern Madagascar?
In our quest to see everything there is to see in Madagascar (for which, honestly speaking, there is simply not enough time, but we’re trying our absolute best!) we recently made our way to south Madagascar. Specifically, we went to “Fort Dauphin” – which was renamed Tolagnaro, (or Toalagnaro), in 1975 and yet inexplicably, everyone…
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Vintage Camera Test: the No. 1A Autographic Kodak Junior
The No. 1A Autographic Junior was made in various versions between 1914 and 1927. it’s got a beautifully detailed brass and enamel faceplate, a fold-out foot with the Kodak logo, and its name engraved on a brass plate below the shutter assembly. They all shot 6.5 by 11 cm frames on size 116 autographic film…
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My Experience with Kodak AEROCHROME
A few months ago, I’d never heard of “Aerochrome” film. What is aerochrome? According to Kodak, “KODAK AEROCHROME III Infrared Film 1443 is an infrared-sensitive, false-color reversal film intended for various aerial photographic applications where infrared discriminations may yield practical results.” It was discontinued in 2010 and the last bit of it expired in 2011.…
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Making a Camera Work: The No. 2 Folding Pocket Kodak Model C or Maybe D…
Among the growing group of people who collect and operate vintage film cameras, there are two types of people: those who quickly figure out a way to make an old camera work again, and those who obsess way too long over making an old camera work, to the point that it’s no longer really about…
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Results, #ShittyCameraChallenge, October Edition
Back in June, I was excited to post my results in the first Shitty Camera Challenge. At the time, the results were completely appropriate for the camera I used at the time, and I still lie awake at night wondering how my life would have been different, had I been selected (at random) as that…
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Vintage Camera Review: No. 3A Folding Pocket Kodak No. B-4
The No. 3A Folding Pocket Kodak No. B-4, despite its “pocket” moniker, is a hefty folding camera made between June 1908 and April 1909 which I got from my parents for Christmas a few years ago. It consists of a leatherbound wood-and-aluminum case with shiny nickel fittings that conceals intricate, shiny brass knobs, dials and gauges,…
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Vintage Camera Review: Kodak No. 1A Folding Hawk-Eye Model 1
This was once a beautiful camera. It’s made of sheet metal painted black and covered in leatherette, with a wooden baseboard and shiny nickel and black metal parts, and a little brass, complemented by red leather bellows. It folds open to sit horizontally on a shelf, or can be folded to be carried with its…
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Vintage Camera Review: No. 1A Folding Pocket Kodak
Of all my cameras, this has probably been one of the most difficult to work with. But once I figured out the problem, I firmly kicked myself. A couple of times, for good measure. Made of brass, wood, stainless steel and covered with leather, this 1906-1912 folder with red leather bellows is a beautiful camera. …
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Whale Watching in Madagascar
Every June or July, thousands of humpback whales migrate thousands of miles north from Antarctica to have their young just off the coast of Madagascar. And finally we made it up in time to see them (September is best!) Not only did I want to go out and see them, but it was also one…
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Twelve Months, Twelve Cameras, Twelve Decades…and One Film. #ATG365
In August 2017, the hosts of podcast Against the Grain discussed photographers’ tendency to immediately look at photos they’ve shot (chimping) and how film photography slows the process down, resulting in an increased emphasis on capturing the photo, without constantly worrying about the end result. They suggested taking this idea of removing “chimping” to an extreme by…
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Andringitra Park in Madagascar: Sheer Cliffs and Ringtails
Andringitra National Park is one of those places where adventure travelers go. It’s got peaks that people go out and climb over a four-day period. The one in the photo above is just a two-day climb for rock climbers, not quite in the park. People will climb the sheer cliff and sleep the first night…
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New Project: Mini-Documentaries on Madagascar’s Informal Sector
I’m excited to be working on a new and admittedly somewhat ambitious project: a series of short documentaries examining some jobs in Madagascar’s informal sector. I plan to describe the work itself, but also spend some time thinking about why these jobs exist in Madagascar (and probably other developing countries), but not elsewhere. I’ve played…
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Review: Canon FTb
I received my Canon FTb in a box of cameras I ordered on eBay when I was bored a few years ago and have run several rolls of film through it over the years (after I repaired it) with outstanding results, so I thought it would be appropriate to finally do a formal review on…
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Camera Review: Ansco B-2 Cadet
For reasons known only to them, camera manufacturers have, over the years, felt that “cadet” was a good name for a camera. There are at least 20 or so cameras (plus an exposure meter and an enlarger) called Cadets, to include at least eight made by the Ansco company. There’s the Ansco Cadet A8, B2,…
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Testing the 1937/8 Falcon Model F
yes, it came to me with a roll of film inside! Sadly, I was unable to rescue any images from it. I have no idea why, but I really wanted this old Falcon camera to work well. Sadly, I would end up being frustrated. Made by the Utility Manufacturing Company in 1937 or so (there’s…
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Reviewing my Newest Addition: A Rolleiflex 2.8c
One of the most attractive and most iconic vintage cameras ever made, in my opinion, is the Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera. Manufactured from 1929 until (in some form) 2015, the Rolleiflex was one of the longest-running camera models ever made. It remains one of the best-known twin-lens reflex cameras, which were a big…
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South African Safari – Addo Elephant Park
I previously posted about Ironman South Africa last April. Well, naturally you don’t go all the way to South Africa for a sporting event and then go back home. Nope – safari time! There are a number of parks and reserves in and around Port Elizabeth, South Africa. To be honest, you don’t even have…
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Shooting with the (1949-1959) Kodak Pony 828
I finally got around to shooting with a camera I’ve had for quite some time, the Kodak Pony 828, a bakelite camera produced from 1949 to 1959, as a transition between rollfilm and 35mm film. I have actually owned two of these, but the first had a sticky shutter and I passed it on to…
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My Entries in the #ShittyCameraChallenge
I laughed when I saw the announcement on Twitter: As I am known to use shitty cameras to make shitty pictures, this seemed perfect for me. I decided this would be a great opportunity to try out this camera I spotted some time ago in a camera shop in Chennai, India. It looks like a…
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Testing Silberra’s New Film
Tell most people there’s a new kind of photo film and they’ll think you’re crazy. But there have been a number of new film types over the last year or two – some reboots by companies like Kodak, new film types by existing film companies – even companies entering the film market altogether! Silberra is…
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Test: Three Plastic Cameras
If you’ve spent 20 minutes clicking around on my blog, you’ll know that one of the things I enjoy doing is loading up old, often inexpensive, but working cameras with film and taking them out for a spin to see how they perform. In this post, I review not one, but three cameras – one…
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Mauritius: Like a Slice of Southern India…and More!
We love Madagascar but from time to time we need a break – a change in scenery, a change in pace. Mauritius is great for that. It’s green, with a pleasant climate, and…nice. Mauritius has come a long way in a short time, and today boasts Africa’s highest Human Development Index. This post is a…
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Favorite Film, Favorite Camera
I finally got around to trying something a photographer friend suggested a couple of years ago. At the time, I was new to film photography and not trying anything too fancy, beyond simply getting the 50, 60, 70-year-old cameras I was finding on eBay to take reasonable pictures (also no small feat). I had discovered…