How I think I messed up big time with a vintage camera…
While my exposed roll of 120 HP5 is being processed over at Analoguewonderland and I await my negatives I thought that I would write about the recent experience I had using a May Fair vintage box camera in a digital age.
The morning went well and I loaded the roll of film into the May Fair quite easily, despite my unfamiliarity with it. It seemed odd to have to take a camera apart to load film but although the camera is 92 years old, everything slotted back together well and I wound the film on, carefully looking through the red viewing window at the rear of the camera until a number ‘1’ appeared and I was ready to go. I was pleased with myself at this stage.
The weather was grey and overcast but with Ilford HP5 plus I was confident I could achieve reasonable results, fingers crossed and anyway I didn’t have another day to get this done.
I went to my local park to begin with. My iPhone and an Olympus Trip 35 came with me. The mobile phone helped me to visualise the scene as the tiny Watson-type finders on the May Fair made it difficult for me to get a good idea of what I was shooting. Possibly, in brighter conditions they would have proved more effective but I persevered…
It was then that the trouble started. First I had forgotten to bring my notebook to make ‘field notes’, then twice during the day I forgot to wind on. So look out for my ‘creative’ double exposures. Later in the day as I attempted to make further pictures, I didn’t hear or feel the shutter. Usually, a faint click can be heard. I assumed that the camera shutter had jammed. It was a 92 year old machine after all. I tilted the camera up so that I could see the lens and moved the shutter leaver down only to find that everything was working just fine and I had spoiled another negative. This really wasn’t going to plan at all and I decided to call it a day when the weather took a turn for the worse.
I had booked a holiday in the Lake District and decided to take along the May Fair to finish off the roll of film.
A few days later in Waterhead, Ambleside, I tried once more to use the May Fair. I managed to get a couple of images, I think, before I found out that I had come to the end of my film roll. For some reason I thought I had 12 shots on the roll, but in fact I only had 8. Chalk it all down to experience I guess. Far too many years using digital cameras with hundreds of shots.
I must admit, despite everything, I enjoyed the whole process of trying out the MayFair and I will be happy if I find that just a single photograph that comes back from processing is acceptable.
The negatives should be back with me soon. I will post again once I have them. Assuming anything comes out at all.