blog.expiredfilm.com » Vintage Cameras

May flies & June bugs….

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:05:40 +0000

Hello Internet, It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? I know, I know, I’m a bad friend leaving you hanging like that. Not a word or a peep or even just a heads up. Suddenly, it’s June. I know May existed by the subtle carnage it left behind, but as to where it went, only future archaeologists [...] Related posts:

BHF – A couple more from Hawaii

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:34:57 +0000

As I twittered (tweeted, twooted, twinkled, twunctated or twhat-have-you) yesterday, I’ve finally finished scanning all the 120 rolls from my December trip to O’ahu; now I face the Herculean task of processing the rough scans into pretty pictures. At first glance, there are several frames that have caught my eye that I can’t wait to [...] Related posts:

Diamond Head

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:01:24 +0000

Diamond Head, the iconic Hawaiian volcano, is probably one of the most photographed mountains in the world and, as a good tourist on O’ahu, I tried my best to do my part. From sea to summit, Diamond Head rises 762 feet; fortunately, the hiking trail inside the crater already spots you two-hundred feet of elevation [...] Related posts:

BHF – Aging Gracefully

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:23:30 +0000

Ah… this has to be one of my favorite shots from our last Hawaiian adventure. My wife and I waxed poetic about this older couple walking Waikiki beach hand-in-hand in front of us. We playfully envisioned them as though we were staring thirty-or-so years into our future: still in Hawaii, still madly in love, flaunting [...] Related posts:

My Favorite Photographer

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:06:04 +0000

So apparently I’m not above a little bit of open pandering for free film. UPDATE 03.16.10: I didn’t win the free film. Oh well. Who is my favorite photographer? I’m not necessarily sure I’ve ever truly pondered that question before. Of course, my mind goes to such luminaries as Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Andreas Feininger [...] Related posts:

BHF – Waikiki Sunset

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:23:30 +0000

Another image from my trip to O’ahu this past December. My wife & I were hurrying along, trying to get from the hotel to the House Without a Key for cocktails, after spending a little bit too long at the beach that day. We had just started our mile-long stroll when I startled my wife [...] Related posts:

How to flip a Brownie Hawkeye Flash lens

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:06:14 +0000

[caption id="attachment_165" align="alignleft" width="249" caption="Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash"][/caption]

I've noticed a lot of search traffic hitting my site specifically looking for information on how to flip the lens of a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash (BHF). While there are probably multitudes of other resources on the interwebs, I figure I'll just throw my two-cents out there.

For those who don't know, the BHF is a black bakelite beauty with a top-down viewfinder, single element meniscus lens, shutter speed somewhere around 1/30 to 1/60 & a bulb setting, while it lacks a tripod mount, it has a nifty handle. In it's heyday, the BHF was a very popular camera. Your grandparents most likely had one. Nowadays, you can find them cheaply at thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales, and eBay, or for a higher premium decorating shelves in antique stores & hipster boutiques. I, personally, got mine for free on Craigslist thanks to a kind-hearted Samaritan who was donating several cameras to anyone who could justify receiving one. I simply wrote “I'll use it.” It arrived in the mail a couple days later and I've been enthralled with it ever since. Anywho, an unmodified BHF takes a relatively normal photograph, but something magical happens when you flip the lens. It's like the soft focus of a vintage Diana multiplied to the Nth degree. The lens' focal point shifts from infinity to about 3 feet in the center, while the edges just melt away into blurry goodness. The effect can be quite surreal. Flipping the lens of a BHF is actually a simple procedure with a very low-risk of permanently #@$%-ing anything up and is easily reversible. That said, I assume no responsibility with these directions if you somehow manage to accidentally bork your favorite family heirloom. Ready? Let's get flipping. Related posts:

Not Dead, Just Thinking.

admin — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:07:38 +0000

The updating here at expiredfilm.com has been a little lax of late, as I have been thinking of doing some sort of a major overhaul of the site design. I want to move away from WordPress being the index and content manager of the site. I’ll keep WP around as a component of the site, but I [...] Related posts:

BHF – Bridge to the Adirondacks

admin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:46:11 +0000

Yet another flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye Flash, Rollei Retro 400 developed in Diafine. Tinted in PS. Related posts: -BHF – Ausable River -BHF – More from the Adirondacks -BHF – Strawberry Picking Related posts:

BHF – More from the Adirondacks

admin — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:23:36 +0000

NY 86, near Lake Placid, NY. Ausable River. High Falls Gorge. All taken with a flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye Flash, Rollei Retro 400 developed in Diafine. Related posts: -BHF – Ausable River -BHF – Bridge to the Adirondacks -BHF – Strawberry Picking Related posts: