Homemade Camera Podcast

This week we extend the afghan box camera and talk about developments towards that project.  We talk about the RA-4 Color reversal process more in depth, and its potential inside an 'instant' camera.  Ethan talks about involving Joe Van Cleave in the process. Ethan talks about trying a Kickstarter to sell the plans for his next camera to a group of people and then giving them away free to the world. Links:   Johnny and Perry’s discussion on presentation of images. (https://www.classiclensespodcast.com/e/93-listeners-emails-eventually/) Whole roll concept   Preview YouTube video Large format COLOR POLAROID ALTERNATIVE. Direct Positive RA-4 Reversal Prints. ft. Joe Van Cleave     Large format COLOR POLAROID ALTERNATIVE. Direct Positive RA-4 Reversal Prints. ft. Joe Van Cleave   Joe's Video on the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry6ycSgT8g8&t=6s    

We're a little all over the place in this episode. We start off talking about the Sagrada Familia and the forms and techniques Ethan gives an update on the printed zine and then launches into a travelogue of his trip to Spain. Nico's Photo News: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkcuvqBAZPgTJ9evx9wkzvA Joaquin runs Opensx70.com Ethan talks about what it was like to shoot the Homunculus and the Panorama every day. Graham talks about his trip to North Carolina and why Bass is analogous to Saturation. Nick talks about the Sunny 16 Podcast’s (sunny16podcast.com) Day Into Night challenge. Graham comes up with an idea of how to troll Graeme. Ethan talks about his Day Into Night camera. They also talk about the challenge to produce self-developing cameras. Graham suggests our listeners give a listen to the The Lensless Podcast (https://anchor.fm/thelenslesspodcast) Episode 75 with Evil Chutney who talks about his self-developing camera. Nick talks about his upcoming trip and the concept of what to take pict

Apologies to anyone who expected this show to be released on the 21st of October, our usual release date (not that any of you actually notice we release on the 7th and 21st of each month); it was delayed due to Graham updating his computer to MacOS 10.15 and Audacity (audio editing) not updating their software to work with MacOS 10.15. He had to scramble a bit to find a computer with the old operating system but find one he did and here's the result.  Ethan has gone off for a European Vacation so Nick and Graham, left to their own devices come up with a show about... 90 minutes in length. They open the show with a discussion of modified Holgas and how to determine the frame sizes on slit masks and then move on to a chat about the interaction between elements in a photograph is the foundation of an interesting image. Then, to completely annoy Simon, Perry and Johnny of the Classic Lenses Podcast (https://www.classiclensespodcast.com/), they talk about using modern cheap manual focus lenses that have been des

They start off talking about bokeh and bokeh balls and Downton Abbey.   Ethan gives a short zine update and then Nick talks about Field of View vs. Perspective. Narrow terms for optics: Perspective: The geometry of point of view. Field of view: With a normal lens, we see about 42mm is the same as our eyes. Wide-angle lens distorts image: The distortion is an effect of our brains. We can’t normally see it that way so our brains have trouble figuring it out. Barrel distortion and pincushion distortion are optical effects of lenses that can be corrected in lenses. They then move into an open discussion about things to think about when building a large format camera. Advantages, disadvantages, concerns, etc. are covered. The conversation about field of view is continued. Depth of Field/Equivalent calculator https://www.pointsinfocus.com/tools/depth-of-field-and-equivalent-lens-calculator/ Ethan talks about a new project he has been working on, an 8X10 3D printed camera and why his head smells lik

The discussion starts off with a question about the features you would want on a single camera you might have on the desert island with a camera-supplies mini-mart. This episode’s guest is Lucus Landers, a Brooklyn-based photographer and camera-maker. We learn about how gaffer’s tape bellows on a home-built 4X5 stem from growing up in the great state of Oklahoma. The gaffer’s tape is a recurring theme… George Daniels writes books about watchmaking that helped Lucus understand the building of gears for a film transport mechanism: https://www.amazon.com/Watchmaking-George-Daniels/dp/0856677043/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1FAN85T8NZNNY&keywords=george+daniels+watchmaking&qid=1568676150&s=gateway&sprefix=george+daniels+%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Watch-Escapement-George-Daniels/dp/085667687X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1FAN85T8NZNNY&keywords=george+daniels+watchmaking&qid=1568676150&s=gateway&sprefix=george+daniels+%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-2 Gear profiles are discussed (cycl

      ZINE UPDATE : The print version of the Homemade Camera Zine No. 1 is now available for preorder at https://www.cameradactyl.com/homemadecamerapodcast/homemade-camera-zine-no1 . Orders will end on Sept. 22nd, and Zines will ship by October 7th.  There's a bit of trouble with Squarespace, where if you are in the US/Canada, order as normal, but for UK/EU customers, there's a $0 where the entire price of the zine and shipping is rolled into the shipping cost ~$23 -$24.   SHOW NOTES: We start off with a conversation about what size of image is the right size of image, given a lack of “standard” sizes that are available today. We then introduce our guest, Heather Oelklaus, (http://www.camerakarma.com ) and talk for a while about her Super-Duper-Uber-Ultra-Large Format Camera, Little Miss Sunshine (https://youtu.be/wsLPJjnq-XY).   Also, Heather builds lots of less-gigantic, but no less beautiful and amazing pinhole cameras, some of which can be seen here: http://camerakarma.com/#!/4/featured/Cam

This week Graham is out of town and Nick tells Ethan about his crazy ideas.  They get about a third of the way through before Ethan figures out Nick is indeed NOT talking about crazy camera ideas, but in fact, very simple cameras, that allow him to make crazy pictures.  Only Then do they get back to talking about Nick’s crazy camera ideas themselves. Leave it to Nick to add bicycle wheels to a camera or pistol grips and a scuba mask to a concertina. Nick and Ethan do a small update on the self developing camera challenge, their plans, and some tests Ethan has been running to perfect a reversal process to be used in a number of self developing options that he is prototyping for the challenge.  Ethan gets way into the weeds about the reversal process and trials and tribulations with his experiments. Here’s a pic that Heather Oleklaus sent us, without seeing Nicks sketch from last time

This week the gang talk about cameras that are their own dark rooms. They’re not quite instant cameras but they can produce a final positive image in about ten minutes. Some call them Afghan Street Cameras, Kamra E Faoree, Cuban Polaroids or any number of different names but they all amount to about the same thing: Pure fun for the homemakers of cameras. Hey, maybe we should use that as our new name.  Here are some links to videos about the cameras:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18-5xaVfhR8 https://www.afghanboxcamera.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-V3Qqx4Qpk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_oNHxlLt-w https://flickr.com/photos/61017349@N00/sets/72157681714928605 https://makezine.com/2010/06/07/cuban-polaroid-is-ultra-low-tech-ca/ They also talk a bit about direct positive reversal process: Joe Van Cleave https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PFQXaDdl60 Don Froula https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50YgsRDYjL0 Finally, they issued a challenge to the listeners to produce a camera that self-develop

Ethan Moses of Cameradactyl and Butter Grips fame (http://www.cameradactyl.com) officially joins the team as our third wheel (3rd lens?). We get his history and interests and he entertains us with stories of crossing the country looking for Photographer's Jeans and buying them wherever he can.  They also talk about camera sizes (turns out smaller is better for Graham while bigger is better for Nick and Ethan likes anything smaller than 1.6 Kiev 60s).  Future plans are discussed and Heather Oelklaus and her new work is brought up (http://www.camerakarma.com/#!/HOME).  Graham reveals his pinhole camera-building spree. The Canamorph is the interesting one (https://www.instagram.com/p/B0L-piiHfJ7/). Nick talks about a wheelbarrow and not going to his local county fair.  Ethan brings up the possibilities of printing distortion-free singlets (how is that NOT a band name?) like this thing: (https://transferencia.tec.mx/en/2019/02/21/eureka-they-find-the-formula-to-solve-an-old-optical-problem/) If you're still

In this episode, Nick and Graham welcome back Ethan Moses from Cameradactyl to talk about his new camera, the Homunculus (don't worry, we talk about why it has that name). This camera actually got its start on a previous episode of the podcast where Nick pestered Ethan to develop a camera based on Mamiya Press lenses and a 2X3 Graflok back (same as the RB67 back). Well, this is the result. Most of the show directly relates to that subject but they also talk a bit about travel photography (Graham is just back from a 2-week vacation in North Carolina), a new 135 panoramic camera Ethan is working on for a friend of his and traipsing through the New England winter on a motorcycle and sidecar.  Graham talks about Ball Photo in Asheville (http://www.ballphotosupply.com/index.html  Seriously, they're way better than their website). Go there. Make a pilgrimage.  Also of note: We're using a new system for recording shows. It is a bit rougher than what we were using before but it reduces a 4-5 hour editing job down

They start off with a discussion about the focal length of lenses.  They talk about limitations on output and how those limitations affect the creation of the work.  They talk about Ethan Cameradactyl's new camera, the one based on the Mamiya Press.  Fuji lens coverage Chart https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/rl/00910/00910.pdf http://www.subclub.org/fujinon/lensgraph.gif Graham mentions Uncle Jonesy's Cameras podcass (https://unclejonesyscameras.blogspot.com/) Link to the zine submission form: http://homemadecamera.com/homemade-camera-zine-submission-form/

The boys talk about gum bichromate printing where a color image is created from three black and white photographs, each of which was taken using a different colored filter over the lens. There is an Instructables page on this process: (https://www.instructables.com/id/Tri-color-gum-bichromate-prints-from-digital-image/). B&H sells a kit from Photographer’s Formulary that supplies this process (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/123480-REG/Photographers_Formulary_07_0100_Classical_Gum_Printing_Kit.html). Graham can’t remember Brendan Berry Photo’s Instagram name. He’s the guy who created the large format photographs in the skyscraper in New York. It’s incredibly compelling work. (https://www.instagram.com/brendanbarryphoto/) Ultrafine Online have a line of paper that is panchromatic. (http://www.ultrafineonline.com/ilpapaforpic.html) If you are in the Victoria BC area, visit the Butchart Gardens. (https://www.butchartgardens.com/)

Since Nick is in the middle of his busiest week of the year, we will not be doing an episode for May 21, 2019, so I decided to record a quick reminder about the zine we will be producing later in the summer. If you would like to contribute to the zine, go to:  http://homemadecamera.com/homemade-camera-zine-submission-form/ We are looking for all kinds of homebrewed photographic fun. If you modified it, built it, or hacked it in any way, show us what you did!

Nick and Graham talk about the basics of making your own film, or other types of alternative photographic media. This can be done by coating a variety of surfaces, such as glass, paper, acetate, or regular film stock with ready-made emulsions, or with home-brew alternative light-sensitive solutions. They talk a bit in a vague way about ways to make specialized film holders for plates. Making your own media means just about any format is possible, opening up the possibility of building cameras for novel, never-before-seen aspect ratios. Speaking of alternative formats, they also discuss Ilford’s Ultra Large-Format special-order period, which is on now and runs through May 27, allowing people to put in requests for a large number of different odd and large format film sizes, available in 2 or 3 Ilford emulsions. Graham recommends a movie on Netflix about Elsa Dorfman, who ran one of the giant polaroids for many years. http://bsidefilm.com/ Nick recommends looking at some of the many books on Alternative Pr

Unfortunately, I had to edit this episode in a very short space of time and that didn't allow me to create the notes as I went along. Sorry. There will be notes for the next episode. Graham

Nick and Graham talk about what they’ve learned in the year since they started the podcast. Nick talks about cameras that get out of your way but also cameras that do get in your way. Graham talks a bit about shooting on a vacation with a Minox 35 GL zone focusing aperture priority camera. Graham talks about the approach to building cameras that includes more parts (36:35) for better functionality and not trying to put as much functionality as possible into each part. He also rambles on about how the most important thing we do is take images and the image is way more important than the camera, lens or the film.  (47:00). Nick counters that while it is true, he would rather have access to that information on others’ photos. The issue of the differences between cameras, lenses and film is much less apparent than the differences between different photographers’ abilities with post-processing tools. The hosts lament the lack of a reliable shutter for homemade cameras are not readily available (55:00) and that l

We would like to fully retract our rash statements that we were joining the evil group of "Film Photography" Podcasts (more like a plot to take over media ahead of Brexit, the US 2020 elections and all other important world events that don't come to mind right now).  We are now an independent podcast and we shall remain an independent podcast.  Vive la Freedom in Podcasting!

It has been decided by the leadership group of Film Photography Podcasts that we have been spinning our wheels trying to compete against each other. As a result, we are ending The Homemade Camera Podcast and joining forces with our fellow podcasters to create the new CFNSLSP: The press release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Announcing the formation of the Classic Film Negatives Sunny Lensless Studio Podcast Dear listeners, Film photography podcasts have exploded in number and we, the undisputed, established names in this niche have decided it is time to take action. The collective burden of generating fresh, creative content week-on-week in order to satiate the community lust for "all things analog" is not sustainable. We are putting our hands up to say yes, we have occasionally scraped the bottom of the barrel for content and should—no—must be better . In March 2019 our leadership came together to debate how we could collaborate in the interests of our listenership and the wider film and analog photography com

E22 Industrial Design Show Notes Nick and Graham again welcome Ethan Moses of Cameradactyl and Butter Grip (https://www.cameradactyl.com/) to discuss Industrial Design and the elements of a camera that make it “work” for the user. The meat of the discussion starts after the first musical interstitial (7:45) with an overlong monolog from Graham. Happily, Nick and Ethan rescue him with insight and mockery. The Konica Autoreflex TC, a camera that has been noted as a camera that is not good for left-eye-dominant individuals but somehow works for people with larger noses. Somehow, Vera Wang works her way into the design. The Volkswagen campaign from the 90s, Fahrvergnugen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CESVgaeD-nI) works its way into the discussion as well. The concept of the left-side shutter release is discussed (21:55) in a way of attempting to break the right-hand dominant design from running the world for lefties. Graham brings up Prime Suspect Tenneson (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/prime-

A show about adapting lenses for purposes other than which they were designed.  No show notes this week. I forgot to make the notes as I edited. Sorry about that. —Graham