.
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'Old it, flash, bang, wallop, what a picture
What a picture, what a photograph
Poor old soul, blimey, what a joke
Hat blown off in a cloud of smoke
Clap 'ands, stamp yer feet
Bangin' on the big bass drum
What a picture, what a picture
Um-tiddly-um-pum-um-pum-pum
Stick it in your fam'ly album
All my life I had managed with a roll film camera and only since blogging could I see the advantages to go digital.
Well, it was back in March last year that I went over to PC World to get a printer cartridge and what did they have on offer?...Yes, a nice Canon Digital...£100 off!
So, a whole new world suddenly opened up.
I was just thinking what my grandfather would have made of all this. About 100 years ago he was a chemist working at his shop in Stirchley, near Bournville. He was a keen photographer and one of the cameras he used, has been passed down, via my father, to me.
Well, it was back in March last year that I went over to PC World to get a printer cartridge and what did they have on offer?...Yes, a nice Canon Digital...£100 off!
So, a whole new world suddenly opened up.
I was just thinking what my grandfather would have made of all this. About 100 years ago he was a chemist working at his shop in Stirchley, near Bournville. He was a keen photographer and one of the cameras he used, has been passed down, via my father, to me.
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So, without having to develop a film... and then from the negatives get prints, I can in minutes show Grandad's old camera and a rather small pic. of grandad himself.
I have quite a few old family photos but I have no idea how many were taken using this old plate camera.
My father carried on the interest in photography, being an active member of the Bournville Camera Club at Cadbury's.
His first camera was a Zeiss Icon and, on acquiring a new Minolta he passed the 2 1/4" square Zeiss on to me. I used it for many years, it had an excellent lens and produced some good images.
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The above shows the old Zeiss with a picture of my Grandmother on the left and my Great-Grandmother on the right.
I'm sorry about the reflections. I will take them out of the frames and show you better copies another day.
I then moved on to a SLR 35mm Pentax and now......a wee Canon, no larger than a bar of Cadbury's chocolate.
What would my grandfather have made of this 'new fangled technology'?
I still have my Mothers brownie Box camera. It still works too and takes a reasonable pic. She received it as a school prize in 1934 and I bet nobody expected it to still work after all these years.
ReplyDeletewow, great off, £100.00 off!
ReplyDeleteLove photography but still useless at it really,just can't get the hang of it.
Still, I'll keep trying until my patience goes!
I, too, have evolved with photography, which has long been a passion of mine. I currently have a Canon S515. It's very easy to use and while it doesn't capture detail like we see in professional portraits of our ancestors, I find it makes up for it because I can take so many photos (for freeeee!). My descendants won't be looking back at one perfect photo, but at lots and lots of moments from our lives. That is, IF the media doesn't change so radically in the future that no one can access the photos on a DVD.
ReplyDeleteI love to take photos. Alas, I don't have any decent ones of my dogs "in action". They are very, very, fast runners and my camera is not fast enough. I would love to have a photo of them jumping the ditch between the fields on our walk. Your collection of old cameras is quite charming.
ReplyDeleteI reckon Grandad would have drooled over it . . . and churned out masterpieces once he got the hang.
ReplyDeleteThat's a grand old architectural camera! Full range of swing-backs etc?
Your collections are stunning Uncl B.. these old camera's are great! love the oldest one of your Granddad the best..we too have a lot of sepia pictures of our family...looks like they posed all the same way back then..
ReplyDeleteand i am rubbish at taking pictures.. even with the little digital cameras.."everyone can do it with these Mum"...my son says..just hold it in place..look at the display and click..every "idiot" can do it"...Should a good son not call his mother names?!
Bet you have a little collection of silverchain pocketwatches too?!
reetings Francien.
Lovely Bernard.Nice to have these treasured things around us.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather loved his photography and I sometimes wonder what he would have made of my Canon, my best purchase ever.
I was always a Pentax Gal until I decided to go from the point and shoot to digital SLR and the Canon fitted the bill.I couldn't be more pleased with it and use it every day.
DD: They were very simple inside, and not much to go wrong. Only the shutter spring was liable to break.
ReplyDeleteAll those early pictures of me were taken on a Box camera.
Hi Annette: Your pictures look OK to me. Most cameras seem to be automatic these days. In fact mine sometimes does things I didn't want it to do. (focuses on the wrong item)!!
Jan: I too have a Canon. It seemed to get good reviews. Mine's an IXUS-90. I hope your descendants do get to see all your photos. Always remember there is a security risk with digital images. Unless you print off hard copies they can easily get erased or lost if the computer crashes. I back all mine up on memory sticks.
Hi Kath, It's back to the old film camera for you then. My Pentax goes up to 1/1000th sec shutter speed ....fast enough to snap 'a fart in Plimpsolls'. LOL
Dr FTSE. Yes, your right. Both Dad and Grandad would have loved digital cameras. They would have taken thousands! They were limited in their day by the cost of plates and film. That probably resulted in better photographs though, as more effort and thought had to go into each shot.
Francien: I'm sure you can take good pictures. Those on your blog are very good. (Don't say your son takes them?).
I did have one gold watch belonging to Grandad but..........it was stolen some years back after a burglary. (little tear).
Hi Liz: What a coincidence...both you and from Pentax to Canon.
Good taste perhaps?
Your grandfather would have loved digital, just like you Bernard, but he'd probably still have kept on using his preferred method. I have so many photos and it's a thought to scan all of them in, and I've been procrastinating for years. One day ... xx
ReplyDeleteGreat. What would the world do without us old uns saving our treasures for posterity. I too have a canon but Im less than brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI used to be in denial about the digital age. There was a time when I couldn't see what benefit the internet would be. How things change ;-)
ReplyDeleteMrs S. I have scanned in loads of old B&W photos. What I like about this that you can send them to friends as attachments to e-mails. It takes time, that is all....but a good back-up.
ReplyDeleteHi Ken. Yes, my home is knee deep in old treasures. Valuable to me, but, will anyone else have the same attraction to this 'junk'?
Cherie: I too was a bit slow off the mark. I never used to take loads of photos with my SLR, so couldn't see the advantage of going digital...... until I got my PC and started blogging.
You make me so nostalgic for my past. I love it. I got a small brownie at ten years old, and I became the family's photographer. Except for formal stiff photos at a Studio, there would be no memories of our fun times at the beach, of Birthday's cakes, of mountain's excursions...I graduated to better cameras with the years. But digital came too late for me. My sons now are the photographers. And I'm often bemused by a cell phone photo which catches me unaware. Great post. I also truly enjoyed the carillon! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Claudia.
ReplyDeleteI can see I shall have to do more nostalgic bits from my earlier days.
I wouldn't give up on digital if I were you. They are not all that expensive although you will need a printer & paper etc. I believe you can take the memory card into shops and they do the printing for you.
I'm glad to know to enjoyed the Bournville carillon.
Claudia, Bernard . . the web based "Snapfish" service is pretty good. You upload your pics just like Flickr or Picassa. Then you select the ones you want printed . . or printed onto coffee mugs . . or mousemats . . or calendars , , you name it, they probably do it! Best to crop your pics to a standard paper format such as 6x4 or 7x5. The site will advise if the files you upload are too low res. for the product you want. Every so often they have "offers" where you get your prints for 1p each. Pay by card, plus (modest) postage. Google "Snapfish" to have a look around.
ReplyDeleteThank you, both, for your suggestions. I'll find what is possible, here, in Toronto. I have a printer and paper, and I scan my old photos for Facebook. I do it so the grandkids can see people of the past. They're not interested much in albums. But they're on Facebook everyday.
ReplyDelete