What is the Japanese for "Goldfish"?

It's "Demekin" of course.  You'll need to know that when you order the coolest fisheye camera on the planet. The Demekin Fisheye 110 Camera is the smallest camera that I own.  The film is actually bigger than the camera; it fits outside the plastic case.  One big problem is the film.  The Demekin uses 110 cartridge film and that film is no longer manufactured although ADOX seem to be about to manufacture it again.  Meanwhile you can pick up expired stock on eBay. It's hard to get the film developed but just lately I have found that Co-Op Chemists still offer the service. Here's a photo that I took with my Demekin. The subject matter probably likes goldfish too....

Negativity

No matter which film camera you use you are going to have to get the film developed before you can see your photos in all their glory. Developing your own photos is not the easiest option, but it is ultimately the cheapest.  I will post more about that later. 

Meanwhile, most of us will be getting the professionals to do the developing for us.  Using toy cameras can be rather hit and miss so, just for you, here are some top tips to get the best value for money.

• Ask for "dev and scan".  You don't need prints yet. Prints will push the price up and, let's face it, a number of them are going to go straight in the bin!
• Ask for a "tiff file scan".  These will give you a high-resolution image that will give you the option to print a BIG image later.
• View the scanned photos and sort them into two groups - "keep" and "bin". Once you have twenty or more keepers get them printed at a shop or online. Bulk printing is cheap printing... and you know that all of your prints will be photos that you want.
• Keep your CDs. You really don't want to lose all your photos when your hard drive dies.

You Spin Me Round Like a... Camera?

Fancy taking a photo like this one?  You'll be needing a Lomography Spinner 360°. Be warned though - it's a bit of a carry on getting the photos scanned and printed with the lovely sprocket holes intact.  More about that soon.  Meanwhile here is a great overview video to show you what this little beauty can do...

Street Photography Now

It would be fair to say that I am not a great reader.  I am more likely to just wait for the film.  Sometimes, though, I get a book that just cries out to be read. Street Photography Now is a great read... and no, it's not just pictures!
 

I really struggle with genres but having read this book I do feel that I can identify with the "Street Photography" tag.  Anyway, I strongly recommend that you buy the book and marvel at the photos that it contains.

We Need To Talk About Film

I love black & white photos.  They encourage the viewer to concentrate on the basics; composition, contrast, focus and depth of field.

What is the best black & white film for lo-fi cameras?   I use Fuji Neopan 120 B&W Film which offers low-grain results with excellent contrast.  It also has a major advantage over a lot of the alternatives:  It is developed using the C-41 process which is the same one that is used for standard colour developing.  That means that any shop that develops film will be able to develop Neopan film.

It comes in 35mm too.

Hey! Four Eyes!

Fancy making a short film?  A very short one?  One with just four frames?  Then buy one of these Super Sampler cameras.  They use 35mm film so you'll get up to 36 photos, each comprising 4 shots taken about half a second apart.  It's real luck of the draw as to how these come out - and therein lies the fun.

Take your new camera to somewhere with things that move... and Bob's your uncle.  Shoppers' feet, walking dogs or lively skateboarders are all fair game.

Heroes: Robert Capa

One of the great things about writing a blog is that I can impose my tastes on an unsuspecting nation!  Here's the first in a series of posts about my favourite photographers.

Robert Capa lived and died for his art.  He was a Hungarian combat photographer who covered five different wars.  None of the airbrushed falsehoods for Capa; he consistently portrayed the violence of war with unique impact.  If you're as impressed as I was you may well enjoy this excellent book.

Modifications For the Risk-Averse

The Holga is a very simple camera and lends itself to a whole host of modifications.  The trouble is that a lot of these alterations are irreversible.  I love my Holga and I am risk-averse when it comes to fiddling with it!

Although the Holga usually takes 120 film I have lovingly stuffed the camera with 35mm film... and I was really pleased with the results (see the photo).  Got to love those sprocket holes.  All it takes is some foam, some sticky tape, an elastic band and some scissors... and a bit of patience!  Here is a video showing you how to do it.  Enjoy!

We Need To Talk About Film

It's daunting choosing film isn't it?  Having taken thousands of photographs I have realised that there are just a handful of films that consistently give me the results that I want.  Let's start with straight-forward colour photography.

If I want vibrant colours I use the reasonably priced Fuji's Superia X-TRA 400  It is a "fast film" which means that you can shoot in lower light without much grain.  Most importantly though, it captures colour better than any other film that I have used.  Don't be afraid to buy old stock - as long as it has been stored properly you are likely to have very few issues even a couple of years past the expiry date.  It's also available in 35mm

In future posts I will recommend films for black & white and cross-processing.