Agfa ISO-Rapid IF

It is difficult to imagine how pictures were taken in the pre-digital ages. For instance in the early sixties of the last century. The Agfa ISO-Rapid IF had no build-in flash, so when you had to take a picture indoors a flashbulb was needed. One at the time, manually putted in top of the camera and then manually adjust the shuttertime.

After you've taken the picture you didn't know instead everything would look in print as you'd imagined it. Only after developing the film and printing on paper you could see the result. It was better to take two pictures of the same subject, just to be sure. So you had to replace the used flashbulb, threw it away and put another on top of the camera.

Taking pictures then was an expensive hobby. Now I know why my father didn't use that camera very often. It sure helped to keep this camera in the excellent condition it is today, though.

Illustration Friday - Confined

When you want to make an illustration of a subject which is basically black with aluminium parts, you're automatically confined in doing it in black and white.
For instance this camera, which I drew with pen and washed it with black ink.

My First Camera

Things you find when you're cleaning your attic. For instance a box full of old camera's. When I was twelve years old I won my very first camera on a fancy-fair. I still know that I was somewhat suspicious about it, because I didn't expect it to work. After all, it was a price won on a fancy-fair and prices won there didn't had the reputation of being reliable.
It was the Agfa Autostar X-126, a plastic viewfinder camera for 126 (Kodapak) film cartridges. On top you can mount X-flashcubes. I don't know if these are still available, nor do I know what that camera actually costed back in the seventies. Nowadays on internet the asking price is around fifteen dollars.
I made a lot of pictures with it, although I see now on the few photo's I still have in my possession that they were all a bit unsharp. But what could you expect from a give away, eh?