In my last post, I talked about my love of old books. In this post, I want to show you a time when I used a very old book as a stage to shoot some old cameras (another favorite of mine).
The book in question was this one, a Webster’s “American Dictionary of the English Language”, printed in 1890. Setting aside, for the moment, the idea that America and England are two peoples, separated by a common language, this is a great book. I bid on it and was expecting to pick it up at a good price, I was wrong; this dictionary went for a lot more than I thought it would. It’s a huge book, possibly big enough to use as a floatation device, should your luxury ocean-liner strike an iceberg. I used this book as a stage for the cameras that I needed to shoot because the light reflected nicely off the pages.
This is the first camera that I bought through the auction. Perhaps it is a hazardous thing for my bank balance to be a photographer, shooting cool, old cameras. I like Voigtlanders. They are a German company that made some really nice cameras. This is their model Vitomatic II, as I recall, it was made in the late 1950’s. Today, Voigtlander is known more for their glass, these days, than their cameras. I would love to have a Voigtlander lens, I would equate them with Zeiss and Leica in quality. Did I mention that I bought this camera?
This is an Ansco Memo. An American camera from the late 1920’s, some were made from varnished wood, this one is a cheaper version, covered with a thin leather. The most unique feature is the view-finder on the top. Cameras from this era, regardless of the manufacturer, are about as simple as can be. No bells, no whistles, nothing automated.
You can see how the paper from the dictionary provides a nice fill light inside the front of the lens/aperture housing. If you look closely, at the front left corner of the camera, I put the camera down on the word “Camera”. The word “Camerated”, can be seen just in front of the camera. Go ahead, look up camerated, I can wait.
I wanted to buy this camera too, but it went above what I could afford.
This is a Zeiss Ikon, early 1920’s vintage. If it occurs to you that I wanted this camera too, you would be correct. Zeiss, like Voigtlander, is known more for their glass these days. I don’t think that Zeiss makes cameras anymore, but I could be wrong. Appropriately, I shot this camera with my Zeiss, 100mm Mark-Planar f2 lens. While other camera makers used different names for different models of cameras, Zeiss stuck with Ikon.
As I look at this set-up, I realize that my technique has improved. One thing that I would change, if I was to shoot the same set-up again is, I would place some diffusion between the camera and my strobe. The light blasts the text on the page, washing out the detail, if I had some diffusion, the hot areas on the paper would be less inclined to fade out.
Old books, and old cameras. This was a good auction for me, certainly very enjoyable to shoot.
Those old cameras are so cool! I am also in love with old books. The smell, the "thunk" sound when you tap on the covers, usually the content too!