Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Commercial Break and Questionable Comments

Picture Post 29 July 1939
COMMERCIAL BREAK 2

How complicated cameras used to be. You had to look through one lens, focus it on a ground glass screen, calculate the required exposure, choose the right shutter speed, twist the lens around to get the necessary aperture, cock the shutter mechanism, press the shutter and hope. But at least with the Voigtlander Focussing Brilliant you didn't have to wind the film on, because this was new technology and it had automatic film winding. You couldn't make a phone call on a twin lens reflex camera, nor could you Google a weather forecast. But they did take some smashing photographs and the large format makes them a dream to scan half a century later. 

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QUESTION AND ANSWER

Our old friend Anonymous left a comment on my Picture Post Blog the other day. It was in the form of a question :

Q: Thanks for the good writeup. It in fact was a enjoyment account it. Look complicated to far added agreeable from you! By the way, how could we communicate?

A: In English would be a good start.

10 comments:

  1. I have an anonymous commenter, also. They're English is fine, though. But their comments are mean! haha.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember being in pig heaven when built in light meters came out. It was like one stop shopping for making a picture.

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  3. Ah! Twin lens reflex cameras. Man, that takes me back!

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  4. The old cameras were also good quality.

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  5. I would have never attempted a camera back then, sounds like lots of steps to do besides just click. Your friend anonymous is a dork:(

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  6. I still have a Rolleiflex, a Zeis Ikoflex (both 6x6) and a Yashica 44LM which used 127 film. Unfortunately as nobody processes the film anymore, they sit in a cupboard.

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  7. You need to learn robot language.

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  8. I somehow don't think I'd be so keen on photography if all I had was that camera, fascinating though it is.

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  9. I took a photography class at the University one summer to finish off college requirements. The camera we used was similar to the one above but not the same brand. I learned a lot but I needed to keep using that kind of camera to learn more from regular usage. The printing process in the lab was fun but I am ok with the digital age now.

    ReplyDelete

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