The Paris Lubitel

Have you ever walked into a bar or shop and seen an old camera sitting on a shelf as part of 

the decor?  Have you ever thought "I'd like to take that camera for a spin.  Too bad it's sitting on that shelf, not being used"?  This thought has crossed my mind many times, but a couple of weeks ago I finally summoned the nerve to ask the bartender if I could use the dusty old camera on the shelf behind the bar.

It happened in Paris, in a lovely bar/ restaurant that happened to have a (very) dusty old Lubitel sitting on a high shelf above the bar. I asked if I could use the camera to shoot just one roll. I later learned that the camera had been sitting on the shelf, unused, for at least 15 years. The focus on the camera was broken, the shutter was stuck on "B" and, as I saw after processing the film, the winder did not wind all the way for every exposure and the pictures overlap.  Still, I'm happy with the results.  This is why I always carry a few rolls of film and a mini tripod.  The camera is now back in its' spot behind the bar, waiting for my next Paris visit.  Also, I plan to continue this as a series, and hope to stumble on more old cameras being used as decor in the near future.

Thanks for visiting.  Please feel free to leave comments, questions or locations of cameras as decor in the space provided.

The Paris Lubitel 1, 2014

The Paris Lubitel 2, 2014

The Paris Lubitel 3, 2014

The Paris Lubitel 4, 2014

The Paris Lubitel 5 (Self Portrait), 2014

The Paris Lubitel 6, 2014

The Paris Lubitel 7, 2014

The Paris Lubitel 8, 2014

The Paris Lubitel 9, 2014

The Paris Lubitel 10, 2014

More Caffenol C Experiments

Abandoned Village, 2014

Ruin, 2014

Huge pile of film sitting around in need of processing.... time for more Caffenol C experiments.  The negatives were far too dark this time, but I was able to scan some of them.

These were shot with a Harman Titan 4 x 5 pinhole camera on Kodak TMax 100 film.  Processed in Caffenol C, 12 minutes.

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Dolmen de Los Llanos

Dolmen, 2014

Duble exposure pinhole photo of the Dolmen de Los Llanos in La Rioja, Spain.  Taken with a Zero 2000 Medium format pinhole camera on Kodak Ektar 100 film.

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Believe the Magic

Believe, 2014

Magic, 2014

I've returned from my August absence with plenty of recent photos to post.  Here are two pinhole photos of a lovely yarnbomb in Williamsburg.  Both were shot with a Harman Titan 4x5 pinhole camera on expired Kodak Vericolor III film.  The film expired in 1991, so I'm very please with the results.

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Wineol - Film Developed in Red Wine!

Lately, I've started experimenting with a few alternative processes again.  I  tried caffenol on film a few times (see some results here), and I read that one could also process film in a similar solution made with red wine.  Of course I had to try it!  Here are details of the recipe and my results.

The recipe:

1 bottle (750 ml) red wine.  I used home - made red wine that has (I think) a fairly high alcohol content.  I think any red wine will work, though.

Approx 6 Tbs washing soda (This should be about 75 grams, I think. I don't have a scale so I'll admit to estimating this measurement)

4 grams Vitamin C (You're supposed to use acetic acid powder, but I used crushed tablets and it seems to work okay.)

The ingredients, ready for mixing.

Mix everything well.  The mixture starts to smell like Manischewitz concord grape wine.  Nasty.

Mix Well

Some of the washing soda solidified in the solution.  This should probably be filtered out.  I didn't filter and said f**k it and threw everything in the tank.  Probably not a good idea, but I've never been a stickler for details.

Wineol in the tank, working its magic.

Load the developing tank.  I was processing T-Max 100 4 x 5 sheet film (expired in 2012) and loaded a Paterson tank using the 'taco method'.   Bump the tank to remove air bubbles, and agitate for the first minute.  Develop in the wineol for 45 minutes.  I agitated every three minutes or so.

Dumb the developer

After the time is up, dump the developer from the tank.  As you can sort of see in the photo above, it has gone from a lovely dark purple color to a dark brownish black.  It also smells even nastier at this point, so be sure to do this in a well ventilated space.  Pour water into the tank (I never use stop bath) and agitate a couple of times, drain, add more water and agitate for about one minute.  Dump the water and add fixer.  I use Ilford Rapid fix.  When the fixing time is up, pour out the fixer and wash the negatives for about 12 minutes.  Remove the film from the tank and allow to dry.

That's it.  And now, here are the results:

R and T, 2014

Ghosts, 2014

R and W, 2014

R and J, 2014

As you can see, there is a lot of streaking on each side of each negative.  I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but I think it's because I didn't filter my developer.  I'm still fairly pleased with the results.  Tomorrow, I'll shoot more film and try again.

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Water Tower

Water Tower, 2014

Abandoned Church, 2014

Tomb, 2014

I gave my beloved Zero 2000 a few days off and took a different pinhole camera out for a spin.  These were shot with an 8Banners medium format pinhole camera on Ilford Delta 100 film.

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Albelda de Iregua

Hall of Windows, 2014

Window, 2014

Both photos shot with a Calumet 4 x 5 view camera on expired (2012) Kodak T-Max 100 4 x 5 sheet film.  Home developed in Caffenol C (made with some moldy old instant coffee, crushed vitamin C tablets and washing soda) for 12 minutes.

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