The T.O.P. Befriend-A-Forgotten-Camera Challenge

Here's a modest challenge (for fun) to anyone who wants to play: Find, buy, or borrow a funky old forgotten camera and run a roll of film through it sometime during the summer (deadline, after Labor Day Weekend. Labor Day in the U.S. falls on the first Monday in September. You don't have to be American to participate). Send us a) a picture of the camera and b) a picture you took with it that you think other people might like to see. (Doesn't have to be "good.") We'll post all the entries on a special page.

RULES
1. Anybody can play.
2. Points for using the oldest, funkiest forgotten camera you own or can find. (Funky or old digital cameras are permissible if that's what you want to do.)
3. Shoot as much or as little with your forgotten camera as you want to.
4. If you don't have a film scanner, get prints made locally and scan a print. If you don't have a flatbed scanner, make a copy picture with your digital camera.
5. Limit the potatochopping.*
6. Send 2 pictures: a picture of the old camera and a picture you took with the camera.
7. Submit 800-pixel-wide JPEGs at any time between now and the first Tuesday in September by clicking on the "Email Me" link in the right-hand column. Use "Forgotten Camera" as the subject line.
8. One entry per person. Well, unless you have a second entry you really, really think is cool.

___________________________

Mike

*Photoshopping

Featured Commentby Justin Ribeiro: "My fiancée and I have been in the befriend-a-forgotten-camera (and enlarger and old film...) game the last few years; it's simply amazing what you'll find at yard and estate sales.

"Generally if it works, we'll buy. We shoot a quick test roll, and if all is good we take it out for a spin. 

"The thing we love about them is the social aspect. We'll invite friends out with us who usually aren't into photography or are attached to cell phone cameras, and hand them an Ansco Rediflex or Imperial Debonair (two of our point-and-shoot favorites). After a quick how-to, off we go. Haven't had anything but rave reviews; something about winding the lever and the little shutter click people just love.

"For those so inclined, we let them keep'em. It's not like we spent a fortune on most of them, and anyone having fun with an old camera is okay by us. We'll even develop the film for them (most like to try themselves, something we didn't expect).

"The spirit of the challenge sounds great and I hope everyone has fun! I know a great number of people (including myself) will have a great time!"

Comments

[Bruce]

Wow what a buzz, Mike, you're on- last time I used my first digital camera , my beloved Olympus 5050Z, it had a really weird multicoloured pattern all over the pics- I'll shoot some "creative" stuff- it's the middle of winter downunder in Aus, and pouring with very welcome rain, so here goes!!! Will also try out a Zeiss Tenax c1932 with a square format 24mm x 24mm pic on 35mm film which I've never used. I'm looking forward to this!

[Andreas]

Mike, I am confused.

What do you mean by "...make the JPEG you submit look like what the camera's results looked like".

How did the results look like in the first place? If I only scan them, there is no inital look to the pictures. If I get them printed by the lab, they also scan and autocorrect them...

thanx
Andreas

[michael]

A capital idea!! I'm on it right away.

[Aaron J. Grier]

as good an excuse as any to pull the cartridges of 110 film out of the fridge and run them through one of the plastic horrors at the bottom of my closet...

[Janne]

I just got hold of a Voigtländer Bessa I ca. 1950 and waiting for the films to come back from development. Should qualify if there are no light leaks in the bellows.

[Dwight]

It's funny you would post this right after I started having fond thoughts of my Olympus XA and OM4-T. I decided to get them out for a month and shoot the B&W film in my freezer. Now, it looks like you had the same idea...

[Andy]

Cool. Just bought a Olympus Trip 35, can't wait to try it out.

[Michael W]

Great idea. One of the better competitions I've heard of recently. I have an Agfa Isolette & Minolta 126 camera.

[Stan B.]

Sounds fun- and Bruce, I'm midway through my first roll in a Tenax myself!

[Nigel Robinson]

I have a zenit photosniper. If I don't put my back out, I'm in.

[David]

This is fluxxy. I shoot a picture with this old camera and then I process the film. I have a print made and then I scan the print.

What if I make the print myself? Not allowed to manipulate the print in the darkroom? No dodging/burning, no choice of paper> developer>dilution>temp>toning, wrinkling, spindling, ...??

limit the potato chopping?

there are problems with the rules...many of the personal and technical aspects of making a photograph are being eliminated here.

I'm shooting with an old Zeiss Ikon medium format folder..the results I get are never what I want...not even close. The same goes for my digital RAW files.

Not to be to picky, but hey, just saying...

: )

[dyathink]

this is a great idea..should be very funny to see how many "I will never touch film again as long as I live" types will be coughing up a pack of the stuff and trying to remember how to load oneofthemthere analog thingies. Hey, i bet you'll start a trend and a bunch of cumbersome DSLRS will be left sitting lonely on shelves as more than a few will find themselves blissing out during their happy second honeymoon with a classic beauty!

[Mike J.]

David,
Do whatever you want. You will find that management is not picky.

Mike J.

[Kevin]

Heh, my old Olympus OM-2s is sitting here collecting dust and looking generally sad these days (especially after the recent arrival of my new E-510 two lens kit). Or maybe I could dig out my old Ansco 110 Camera I had when I was a kid, or maybe the Kodak disk camera that replaced it (Do they even MAKE 110 or disk film anymore?)

Anyway, I like the idea a great deal, and I will see what old funky camara (I am an Oly nut, so perhaps an old XA or Pen F) I can dig up.

[Arnaud]

Nikon has released the D700; can the 5D be considered ancient and forgotten?
:)

[Mike J.]

Arnaud,
Not quite, but soon, very soon.

Mike J.

[beuler]

I have been cleaning the Baush&Lomb lens on a Kodak Autograph Jr. that looks uncannily similar to the camera shown in the post. Can´t ignore such a coincidence as that. The camera was found in the attic at my in-laws. Now if only I had ever used 120 roll film an knew where to get some I could get right on this assignment.

[Robin P]

"Labor Day in the U.S. falls on the first Monday in September." - and UK Summer Bank Holiday (known as August Bank Holiday) falls on the last Monday in August. Many European countries (and presumably other Christian nations around the world) have 15th August as a holiday to celebrate the Assumption so we can all find an easy to remember target date for this exercise.

I've already got a head start on this challenge Mike - having opted out of the DSLR rat race for the time being I buy and sell old cameras on eBay. They're chosen out of curiosity rather than inherent value but I can usually get a better price on resale by describing them as "recently tested with film". Maybe I already have a suitable candidate, a Japanese designed, made in Korea, only sold in UK & Commonwealth, 1960's rangefinder. Will pop a roll of XP2 in it at the weekend.

Cheers, Robin

[charlie d]

Swell idea,

Maybe I will hit a few resale/antique shops this weekend and try to unearth a relic.

[Puplet]

Fujica 35EE on its way out of the attic right now!

[Chris Sheppard]

You realize you’ve just given a huge number of photographers an excuse to go buy a new/old camera, right?

[Colin Work]

Well I've got one of those pocket Kodaks illustrated in the above newspaper clipping - picked up in a junk shop becuase ... well, why does anyone pick stuff up in a junk shop!?

Anyway, never actually used it, so maybe now is the time. Anyone know what size film I need for it - and is it still available?

Cheers,

Colin

[latent_image]

My Elikon Avtofokus is winging its way here from the Ukraine as I write. Mike, you're on!

[Ailsa]

Ooh, lovely! I have an Agfa Isolette II which an eBay vendor chucked in for free (yes - you read that correctly - free!) with another camera I bought from him. Given his generosity, I've always felt slightly guilty that I've never used it - so this would seem like the ideal opportunity.

[Scott Kirkpatrick]

Is an M2 funky yet? Or was it always?

scott

[JPH]

Hello, I am an about a month long reader, first time commenter... Thank you for thinking up this little project! I have an old camera, it actually is the predecessor to the No. 3 Kodak you have pictured above, it's the No. 2C Autographic Kodak Jr., that I got from my grandpa about eighteen years ago, that I have always wanted to pull out and try using... well, you gave me the reason to finally do so!

I do have a question to you knowledgeable TOP'rs - what still currently produced film will be able to be used in it? It shot A-130 film, 2 7/8" x 4 7/8" in size negatives... 120 film? 220?

I also have this novelty Nishika N8000 3D camera that my dad found, who knows where, about a dozen years ago and gave to me... another excuse to play with it and run a roll through it.

Anyway, thanks again. I am happy to have found this site and fellow lovers of this awesome medium that we adore!

All the best to all of you, and happy shooting!
Jeff

PS: I am a proud analog'er, whose only camera is one I just purchased in May, my 'dream' camera from twenty years ago - the Nikon F4... I will shoot film until it is just no longer possible for me to! :-)

[Clayton]

I am reading this while waiting for a flight from Tunis home. In the last few days I have looked at several film cameras that I was itching to buy, but could not think of any reasonable excuse. Why didn't you get this out a few days sooner?
Clayton

[Mike J.]

"Is an M2 funky yet? Or was it always?"

Scott,
It is if you want it to be. That's the beauty of a "challenge."

Mike J.

[Louis Doench]

Kool! I'm in.

It's the middle of garage sale season, I'm sure I can find something lovely and old and forgotten by labor day

[Miserere]

I've had a Pentax K1000 lying around since I got it as collateral baggage in an eBay auction. Always wanted to try it out, and this sounds like a great opportunity. I know it's not exactly ancient or funky, but I'll slap a 50mm f/2 on it and see what happens; I can also use my fully manual Tokina Spec 135mm that's at the bottom of the draw because it's too long for digital.

But Mike, what should we shoot? Does every frame have to have our feet in it? ;-)

[Mike J.]

"But Mike, what should we shoot? Does every frame have to have our feet in it? ;-)"

Miserere,
No, the original assignment--anything you want to. Just shoot, is all.

Mike J.

[Ctein]

With Mike's permission (attempting to read his mind)...

The rules are fine as stated. This is for FUN. The rewards are truly minimal. The stakes for prestige and honor practically nonexistent. If you are putting any energy into figuring out the nuances of the rules or how to game the system, you are:

(a) trying too hard, and ...
(b) wasting your time

because Mike is the gatekeeper. As the saying goes, "All rules are arbitrary and the decision of the judges futile."

For those who still have trouble letting go and just winging it, let me propose this meta-rule:

If the photo you submit is more a demonstration of your post-capture technical prowess than the camera's capability and your native pre-capture eye, you have not met the spirit of the rules.

If anyone feels the need, I can give a set of step-by-step instructions for preparing your file in ACR and Photoshop. But, really, if I need to do that, you're likely not having enough fun, yet.

pax / Ctein

[Mike J.]

Yes, I should just add a Rule 9: Ignore these rules if you're of a mind to."

...Except that 800-pixel-wide files really do work best, because they're big enough to see but don't clog up my inbox.

But really, if anybody has a bit of an experience with an old camera, that's enough for me. If we get to see the results, so much the better.

Mike J.

[john robison]

As I read this I glanced at the hall book shelf, just stuffed with old cameras (but mostly Olympus Pens) and so paralysis sets in.

I think that your challenge has identified my chronic problem, too many cameras, too little time.

[MS]

Dear Mike, I'll be happy to adopt your little-loved and forgotten Contax IIa or Leica IIIf at no cost to you whatsoever.

[Hudson]

Does Fuji make a 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 chrome film?

I have a Graphic GRAFLEX sitting on my bookshelves.

[Carl Blesch]

I'll consider participating if I can find a roll of 620 film somewhere ... or if I can find a 620 reel on which I can spool a spare roll of 120 Fujichrome.

[William]

"........if I can find a roll of 620 film somewhere"

620 film is still made, go to B&H and buy until your hearts content.

[Oren Grad]

Carl - B&H offers RVP, E100G, Portra 160VC, PX, TX, TMX, and TMY spooled for 620. Not cheap, but maybe worth it for a roll or two of amusement:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/336/Other_Film_Formats_110_127_620_828.html

[Oren Grad]

Hudson: No 3.25x4.25 chrome film (although cutting down 4x5 in the darkroom isn't all that hard), but you can buy B&W off the shelf:

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=&pid=1000002463

[Michel Corbin]

this is such a great idea. Which camera shall I pick? I have the Franka Solida folder (120 film) I just picked up this past weekend at a stoop sale (New York for yard sale), or the Balda Baldi folder (127 film) my wife got me for my birthday, or Zeiss Baby Box (also a gift and also 127 film), or the shoebox size Kodak that takes 122 film (postcard size negative) where the lens is behind (!) the shutter and aperture blades. I might have to break rule 8.

Mike, I hope you can post the entries in a gallery where we can easily view the images and cameras used to take them.

Cheers,

Michel

[Amy S]

Instigator! (But that's a *good* thing.) (^_~) Made me finally go to eBay and buy one of the old cameras I've been thinking about getting for quite a while.

Amy

[David Kerr]

Check out the old folders at certo6.com
I have several folders in working condition tho may submit an entry made with my (original) Diana. Long live film!

[Ben Shugart]

Mike,

You've brought to life an old box that was inching closer each day to the monthly good will donation. "No, honey, I know I'll use it one day". Finally, I have.

The camera was a gift from my mother-in-law who inherited it when her father passed. When I opened it to load my first roll, I discovered, to my surprise, an exposed roll of Kodacolor X C-22 film. Of course, I can't wait to get my more recent roll of Kodak Portra processded, but I'm even more interested in how I get the memories off that roll of C-22. Any ideas on a lab that might reliably process it for me?

Thanks (for the challenge and for any advice on the C-22),

Ben