Academic photography students regularly attempt a project using an old camera. Film alone has its own distinctive qualities, but working with a camera that could easily be a hundred years old adds to the results. Couple these with the different processing approaches and workflows, and it’s easy to see why students choose to stand out by adopting such an approach.
Among my own collection of cameras are the blue Box Brownie owned by my mother as a young woman, possibly given to her by my father, and his own cameras most of which have Voigtlander lenses.
Using a 100-year-old camera for a documentary or contemporary photography project invokes a unique blend of history, technique, and artistic expression, often producing images with a distinct texture and atmosphere that modern cameras typically don’t replicate. Such cameras often employ film formats like medium format or large format, which offer high resolution and dynamic range despite their age.
Every now and then, I contemplate doing a project like this. Here are some possibilities…
- Street Photography in Historic Urban Areas: Vintage cameras blend seamlessly into the aesthetics of historic cities. They can capture the architectural details and urban scenes with a timeless quality that complements the subject matter. Photographers like Eugène Atget, who extensively documented old Paris with early 20th-century equipment, serve as classic examples. His meticulous compositions and focus on the urban landscape without people would resonate well with the output from a 100-year-old camera.
- Portrait Photography with a Classic Feel: The natural rendering of skin tones and the soft focus effects possible with older lenses make vintage cameras ideal for portraits that aim to evoke a bygone era. Photographers like Julia Margaret Cameron, known for her ethereal and deeply expressive portraits from the Victorian era, exemplify this approach. While she worked more than 100 years ago, her style would be complementary to the capabilities of such cameras today.
- Landscape Photography Capturing the Natural Environment: The slower pace of work with older cameras, including the necessity of using a tripod and potentially slower shutter speeds, is ideal for thoughtful, expansive landscape photography. Ansel Adams, though slightly more modern, often used large format cameras that share many characteristics with 100-year-old equipment. His detailed and high-contrast images of American wilderness areas could be a model for contemporary projects aiming to link historical photographic techniques with modern environmental concerns.
- Documentary Projects on Craftsmanship or Old Trades: Documenting craftspeople or industries that have remained unchanged for decades can benefit from the authenticity and historical continuity provided by using a century-old camera. This can add a layer of depth and integrity to the project, resonating with the subject matter’s traditional nature. Walker Evans, famous for his work during the Great Depression capturing everyday life and the effects of economic hardship, often focused on old buildings and interiors that would align well with the aesthetic capabilities of older cameras.
- Experimental Photography Using Historical Techniques: Artists interested in exploring the photographic medium itself might use old cameras for their limitations and peculiarities to create unique artworks. Photographers like Man Ray and his contemporaries in the Dada and Surrealist movements experimented with photograms, solarization, and other techniques that could be interestingly paired with the mechanics of older cameras to produce unexpected and innovative results.
These approaches not only match the technical capabilities of 100-year-old cameras but also enhance the conceptual richness of photographic projects by embedding the process itself as a component of the artistic expression.
[Written with the help of ScholarGPT and Dall-e.]