After a couple of false starts, and one experiment that is coming along nicely but still needs some work, Jankuary is getting into full swing. Devised by Azriel Knight, Jankuary is ‘a month-long theme of weird cameras, strange hybrids of old tec and new, and general strangeness in photography’, and my experiments with Through the Viewfinder (TTV) photography certainly fits the bill. I first learned about TTV photography a while ago from some long-forgotten YouTube video. Put simply, TTV is taking a photograph with one camera through the viewfinder of another camera. You can use any digital or film camera as the image recording device, but the viewing camera is often a vintage TLR or pseudo TLR camera.

Through the viewfinder photography first came to prominence in the early 21st century, and for a few years from around 2010 was apparently quite popular. As usual with these things, I was way behind the curve, and only became interested in TTV during 2023. My imaging camera is a Ferrania Elioflex pseudo TLR, a ‘spur of the moment’ purchase from the Kamerastore website. The shutter speeds are way out of whack, and there was ‘some’ desilvering of the mirror, but it does have a large, bright viewfinder and as I discovered it is ideal for TTV photography. The imaging camera is a Nikon Coolpix S8000 digital camera, a 14MP camera from 2010, that I chose because the macro mode focuses nicely on the viewfinder of the Ferrania and if I need to crop the image (which I do) there’s still a decent resolution to play with.

The most important element of TTV photography is being able to conveniently photograph a subject through the viewfinder of the imaging camera and for this we use a ‘Contraption’, a light tight box that contains the imaging camera and holds the taking camera in place. My Contraption was made with 5mm black foam board and it really is a sturdy piece of ‘engineering’. I had to take it apart once, in a failed attempt to replace the mirror in the Ferrania, and it was really difficult to get into. Now, it is totally secure.

As I had to pop into Aveiro to pick up some negatives, I thought I would take the Contraption and try some more street art photography for Jankuary. On this occasion I tried to find a variety of street art, some that I have seen before, and some that was new to me. As usual, it was a lovely morning out, and a quite beautiful day. On thing that is clear, wandering around a city with a huge oblong box is guaranteed to turn heads.

https://keithdevereux.wordpress.com/2024/01/24/jankuary-through-the-viewfinder-photography-ttv-with-the-ferrania-elioflex-pseudo-tlr-camera-24-january-2024/

#Contraption #Digitalcamera #Ferriana #Jankuary #ThroughTheViewfinder #TTV #TwinLensReflex #WaistLevelFinder

I learned about through the viewfinder photography (TTV) a while ago from some long-forgotten YouTube video but have since become quite captivated by the idea. Put simply, TTV is taking a photograph through the viewfinder of another camera. To take the photograph you can use any digital or film camera, but the viewing camera is often a vintage twin lens reflex (TLR) or pseudo TLR camera.

Through the viewfinder photography first came to prominence in the early 21st century, and for a few years from around 2010 was apparently quite popular. As usual with these things, I am way behind the curve but of course I really want to try some TTV. The first challenge, of course, is getting a suitable viewing/taking camera combination. I have a number of vintage cameras that might have been suitable, with lovely bright viewfinders, but these were always too small. The most popular camera for TTV seems to be the Kodak Duaflex, but I could never find one within my price range. I toyed with the idea of getting a broken (of course) Kodak Hawkeye for 15€ but guessed the viewfinder was still too small. 

Then, on a ‘spur of the moment’ visit to the Kamerastore website, I spotted a Ferrania Elioflex pseudo TLR. The shutter speeds were way out of whack, and there was ‘some’ desilvering of the viewfinder mirror (I was hoping that meant not too much), but according to what I have found about this beastie it does have a large, bright viewfinder. Without hesitation I added it to my basket and a week or so later a well packed parcel arrived at my door.

The Ferrania Elioflex is a really nice camera, well designed and sturdy. It’s more like a TLR than a Duaflex in that it has a cover over the viewfinder and the lid also hides an ingenious little sports finder. The viewfinder is really bright, and a couple of test shots with a smartphone suggested that I was onto a winner.

The next step was to design and build the ‘Contraption’, the light tight box that would contain the camera and hold the Nikon in place. On a nice sunny day I laid the Ferrania Elioflex on its side and measured the distance from the bottom of the camera to the front of the Nikon S8000 where I could get a good image (25cm). I took a couple of test shots with the cameras in place to make sure it was working and was happy with the result. 

The next stage was building the Contraption. Using 5mm black foam board I constructed a ‘shell’ 25cm tall around the Ferrania Elioflex. Holes were cut in the front panel to allow space for the lenses and one hole on the side panel for the wind-on knob so the panels fitted flush against the camera. The panels were securely taped around the Ferrania and a bottom plate cut to prevent light leaking into the Contraption.

One last check was performed with the Nikon in place and the measurements taken to fit the camera onto the top plate. A top piece was cut and a square cut out of the plate which would fit the camera comfortably. The Nikon was fitted to the top plate and then taped securely in place. We were ready for some through the viewfinder photography.

The combination was really easy to use. Although there was some ‘demirroring’ of the Ferrania viewfinder the results came out really nicely and I have been delighted with the images that are produced. After a few days with the Ferrania/Nikon combination the only problem is that I want to make another Contraption. Perhaps that Hawkeye wasn’t such a bad idea after all. (EDIT: I bought the Hawkeye. But not for TTV photography but for lens flipping.)

https://keithdevereux.wordpress.com/2023/07/08/through-the-viewfinder-photography-ttv-with-the-ferrania-elioflex-pseudo-tlr-camera/

#Contraption #Ferriana #Nikon #ThroughTheViewfinder #TTV #TwinLensReflex #WaistLevelFinder

This was my first outing with the Contraption so of course it was during my normal walk around the block. The Contraption itself was easy to handle, though it was difficult sometimes to clearly frame the subject. I have learned that the LCD screen of the Nikon Coolpix S8000 is not the easiest to use in bright sunlight, especially when viewed from above.

https://keithdevereux.wordpress.com/2023/07/09/through-the-viewfinder-photography-ttv-in-carris-with-the-ferrania-elioflex-nikon-coolpix-contraption/

#Contraption #Ferriana #Nikon #ThroughTheViewfinder #TTV #TwinLensReflex #WaistLevelFinder

Last week there was just time for a flying visit to Aveiro to pick up some negatives from the #CameraChallenge. Of course, I had to take the Contraption and see how Aveiro looked through the viewfinder.

Aveiro is one of those cities that put a lot of effort into making the city look good, especially for tourists visiting its famous canals, and over the years they have commissioned and display a lot of street art. Therefore, on this visit that was my primary interest. 

https://keithdevereux.wordpress.com/2023/07/19/street-art-in-aveiro-through-the-viewfinder-19-july-2023/

#Contraption #Ferriana #Nikon #ThroughTheViewfinder #TTV #TwinLensReflex #WaistLevelFinder

The #CameraChallenge is back! After a break in June for #FilmJune, a series of questions about film and gear on Twitter, July saw the return of the cheap camera challenge on Twitter.

This month was a challenge in more than name. In addition to having to use a film or digital camera costing less than £20 (23€) the theme for this month was ‘Environmental Waste’. In this day and age that should be easy, since modern life literally breeds Waste and there are always horror stories of fly-tipping being reported. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately for us) we live in the countryside, and most people in the area are very aware of not dumping rubbish around the countryside. The local authority provides plenty of communal bins and recycling stations, and they also have weekly collections of recyclicals. So here we are, trying to find environmental waste in an area that prides itself in keeping waste where it belongs.

For this Challenge  the value of the camera, be it film or digital, should not exceed £20. I opted to use both a film and digital camera with the construction of a through the viewfinder combination of a Ferrania Elioflex pseudo TLR camera (15€) and a Nikon Coolpix S8000 digital camera (8€). This brought my total spend to 23€, which at today’s exchange rate was just under the wire at £19.90.

I learned about through the viewfinder photography (TTV) a while ago from some long-forgotten YouTube video but have since become quite captivated by the idea. Put simply,  TTV is taking a photograph through the viewfinder of another camera. To take the photograph you can use any digital or film camera, but the viewing camera is often a vintage TLR or pseudo TLR camera.

Through the viewfinder photography first came to prominence in the early 21st century, and for a few years from around 2010 was quite popular. As usual with these things, I am way behind the curve but I built a light tight box out if 5mm black foam board that would contain the Ferrania and hold the Nikon in place.

As mentioned, the main difficulty was in finding suitable subjects that would fulfil the challenge of representing ‘Environmental Waste’. The worst I could find to begin with were people leaving the communal bins open, but around them were sometimes clothes or items that had been tipped out and scavenged through or left near the bins because they could not be fitted inside the bin.

Then I came across a huge pile of tree branches, waste following the cutting down or nearby woodlands. ‘Back in the day’, as they say, this waste would have been burned, but nowadays all the waste is shredded into tiny pieces and recycled into other products.

https://keithdevereux.wordpress.com/2023/07/31/an-overview-of-the-july-camerachallenge-environmental-waste-through-the-viewfinder-31-july-2023/

#CameraChallenge #Contraption #EnvironmentalWaste #Ferriana #Nikon #ThroughTheViewfinder #TTV #TwinLensReflex #WaistLevelFinder #FilmJune