Dear Young Shutterbugs, hunt those charity shops and thrift stores! - A Letter from @herbert-4

Community member Herbert (@herbert-4) has been part of the Lomography community since 2007, even contributing to the online magazine a couple of times. He has witnessed significant changes in the Lomography community online and offline, and has shared a great deal of advice, as well as experiences and memories with fellow Lomographers.

For the seventh edition of Dear Young Shutterbugs, we talked to him about his most memorable experiences with film photography and his advice to young people dipping their toes into the craft. Let's get into it!

The first picture-taking memory I have is the Summer of 1956 (I was six), taking photos for my Grandmother Mabel in Hollywood of her and her friends. It was her Camara Corona 115 (made in Mexico). It was a huge metal box camera (like a big lunch box) that used 115 film rolls and made 5 x 7 inch negs. I was told to hold the camera tight to my tummy, look down through the glass, don't cut off any heads or "feets", stand very still, hold my breath, and push the lever.

The film was developed and contact printed at the Hollywood Thrifty's Drugstore. The photos, if they were well focused and exposed, and no movement, were preternaturally sharp. The lens was called "Trio Milagro f/6.3". I don't know why I remember any of this!

I never found anything about Camara Corona 115 on the internet. Probably lost to Time, and only a few manufactured. And it was made in Mexico, which didn't help.

The last I saw of my Grandmother Mabel was when I was eight years old. I went with my Dad and Stepmother and ended up growing up in Tujunga, CA. The camera was stolen from my Grandmother's house along with a lot of other stuff, including her photo albums, during her funeral in 1959.

I helped take photos a lot up until then and remember some details about the camera. It was a big gray crackle painted box with brass screws and leather handle. It had horizontal and vertical look down viewfinders and wire frames. The lens was called Trio Milagro 8.5 f/6.3 with iris apertures like 9.5, 12.5, 18, 25, 35, 45, 64. It focused from 3.3' to infinity in a helix.

It had a windup behind the lens shutter with speeds like 1/100, 1/50, 1/25, 1/10, 1/5, 1/2, 1, 2, 5, 10sec with longer exposures on a separate winder. It had two film backs, one for film rolls and one for sheet film holders with dark slides, six of them, and a ground glass with a grid focuser with a leather suitcase to hold all this stuff, and a tripod.

My favorite cameras are Topcon Super D, Rolleiflex 3.5f, Canon FT, Kiev IIa, Voigtlander Bessa R3M. I presently shoot video and photos for The Ark Theatre Company in North Hollywood.

I presently shoot Lomography Color Negative 400 and 800 for color, and Kodak Tri-X for B&W when I shoot film. My favorite lost films were Kodachrome 25, Kodak Pan-X, and Royal-X Pan. Recently my photos have been digital because of the pandemic. Being safe!

Dear Filmish Young Person, film remains viable, particularly in 35 mm and 120 for reasons of fine art, and especially with black and white, for permanence, too. It's more difficult for digital; think stray cosmic rays.

So, haunt those charity shops and thrift stores, there are treasures waiting for you. It takes strong electronics to access digital photo files. It just takes a little chemistry for film. Enjoy. Be safe and healthy in this time of war and plague!

Many thanks to Herbert for sharing his advices with us! To keep in touch, follow his LomoHome and make sure to check out his notes for more tips, and his Baklava recipe if you're a fellow foodie.

Through this series, we hope to inspire a new generation of film photographers to dip their toes into the craft and learn from the adventures and advice of some of our long-standing community members. You may view previous letters here.

Want to write your own letter? Connect with aj.bajo@lomography.com with the subject Dear Young Shutterbugs!

written by sylvann on 2022-12-17 #culture #people #dear-young-shutterbugs #california #herbert-4 #beginner #dear-young-shutterbugs