Only a small step removed from the simplicity of a pin-hole camera, Kodak’s Brownie cameras brought photography to the masses. The design of the Six-20 Brownie Junior dates to 1934 and it remained in production until 1938. It is somewhat ironic that I found this one in a local charity shop on the very day that Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection in the USA 😦 The background is formed by an Ekco A160 Radio dating to 1953.
SO NICE!
Reminds me of that image of George Eastman aboard the S.S. Gallia holding a prototype (or predecessor?). Too cool! What a great looking camera, Martin! And nicely photographed as well, sir!
🙂
Thank you Bob – took a bit of leaf out of your book here… masking to achieve a vintage effect. It felt a little weird looking at the very modern Canon EOS 7D facing the 1930’s Brownie Junior. How different the approach to photography and the tools of the job are now compared to then. The pace of change is so rapid now! But the Brownie doesn’t look outdated beside the 1950’s radio (20 years it’s junior) – things moved slower then!
simple and beautiful. cameras have evolved so much over the years 😆 🙂
They certainly have – thank you for passing by and leaving a comment 🙂
hard to believe they could ever take pictures when you look at modern cameras now thanks for visits hope you have a great weekend xxjen
You too Jenny – go walk your new friend 🙂
Sometimes It`s funny to think the big things from the past combine to present are getting smaller and smaller like the television in the pocket and camera in the key chain lol nice post Martin great simple collection from the past 🙂
Hi Jake – Yes, technology moves on ever faster and faster; See my earlier comment to Bob. You use technology very effectively to make your works of art – expressions that would not have been possible 20 years ago! Who knows where the next 20 years will take us 🙂
Swoon. That’s a beautiful shot; yet sad. It’s a shame Kodak didn’t evolve with the times.
Thank you Nicolle – yes, it’s always sad when a well respected company fall upon hard times; doubly so when it seems that they brought it upon themselves.
makes my box brownie, 127 and disk camera look positively new. 😉
Thanks Gerry 😉 What model Brownie do you have? I had a 127 but sadly it went years ago before I realised the significance of these cameras.
My first camera was an old Kodak with a viewfinder in the top. Took good photos.
They did Nancy – I’m a firm believer that the Camera is just a medium through which we can show our artistry… Having said that, I also believe that the artistic side only comes out when we feel truly at home with our camera. I’ve had a great many cameras over the years and there are one or two that stand out as ‘Lucky’ cameras. That’s my way of saying that the results from them were elevated above the norm. They set me free to do what I wanted with the subject. For me those cameras were the Praktica Super TL, the Canon AE-1, The Canon T90 and the Canon 40D. I’m currently using the Canon 7D so I won’t talk about that beyond saying that it’s an exceptional camera 😉
The vintage effect takes your beautiful photo over the top Martin. And, I agree that cameras used to be a lot simpler… but, I used to waste quite a bit of film too.
Hi Theresa – I think we used to be a bit more choosy about what we photographed 🙂 When you say over the top I’m guessing that you’d prefer it without the processing? I always intended that it would be a B&W shot but thought I’d try out the gimmicks on Elements 10 😉 A pure B&W is available on my Flickr account. 🙂
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I like the idea of going back to more “simple” technology.
~Anne
Sadly, getting hold of the film requires dealing with a specialist supplier and there is no way that is a cheap option – otherwise the simplicity of using a Brownie would be an ideal introduction to photography 🙂
Brilliant!
Thanks 🙂
Very neat!
Thank you – picture and processing details for the record…
EOS 7D,
EF 24-70 lens
Focal Length 34mm equiv to around 55mm
ISO 200
Three exposures – 1.6s, 0.6s, 0.25s all at f11
Exposures merged and converted to B&W using tone mapping in Photomatix 4.01
Increased contrast and added Old Photo Mask at full strength in Photoshop Elements 10
Cropped before adding Vintage Photo mask at 40%
Adjust Sharpness at 90% and 1.3 radius.
Hope that’s of interest to you 🙂
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I remember growing up around Kodak cameras and the the vintage -like pictures it brings. In a way , I still cling to those Kodak moments because they are in true sense special and memorable. Everything now is digital and I forgot the last time I printed an actual picture. Simplicity does have its advantages and make us appreciate life better. Great post my friend. Hope you like this award. It’s a “HUG” award. Simple yet gives hope….
Thanks for the award – I’m not good at responding to them usually but I really liked the thinking behind this one 🙂
Last time I printed a picture was on Wednesday – I often make Birthday Cards for family and friends using my photos 🙂 The Duchess, modified with a ‘pastels’ mask for my cousin’s husband who is a railway modeller.
My father used a large-format box camera for many years and your picture brought back those memories. I don’t think his was this old though!
Hi Ruth – thanks for stopping by. Hope they were great memories 🙂 His camera may have been more like this one?
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Oh this is amazing!! I used to have a box camera like this. I WAS FASCINATED BY IT. I looked at things at every angle. The only thing I didn’t have was film for it – couldn’t get any. I loved it, wish I still had it. Fancy passing by here… unreal.
Thanks for your memories – here’s another more recent Brownie 🙂
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Thanks Frizz 🙂
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I love this old camera, that’s so precious.
Thank You Isabelle 🙂
Yes and what a great find you made there my friend,
it is nostalgic and a camera that deserves looking after 🙂
Androgoth
Don’t worry mate, I shall look after it and, if I can get some, run the occasional film through it too 🙂
Wow a Brownie, I haven’t seen one of them in a long time. An old 2nd hand Brownie was my very 1st camera when I was a teenager. Nice photo & thanks for the memories
Glad I brought back some good memories Tony. I have three different Brownie models in my collection – this is the oldest.
Oh my, a trip down memory lane!
Hi Judith, Great to have you back – thanks for popping by 🙂 I’ll be honest and admit that this version is a little bit older than me but I have used my Mothers Six-20 Model E whic was made sometime between 1946 and 1957. I’m guessing it was bought around the time I was born, probably to capture those baby shots 😉
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