Fotographiqa

Vintage cameras and old film: keeping it real since 1826.

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Down But Not Out

Watch this space: We've got some new things happening soon...

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The Reclusive Peeping Tom And His Cardboard Camera

Charming eccentric or tolerated local boogyman? The townspeople of Kyjov in Czech Republic could never quite decide. Miroslav Tichý took nearly a hundred photographs a day with his homemade camera, wandering around the streets of his hometown, often spotted at bus stops, the main square, the park and the swimming pool, although he was frequently arrested [...]

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Here's part of the story behind Robert Capa's famous D-Day landings photos, fumbling lab technicians and melted emulsions and all: 

http://icphoto.tumblr.com/post/52321591872/the-story-behind-robert-capas-pictures-of

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A wide angle 4x5 film camera built to support a Schneider Angulon 90mm f/6.8 lens that sells for US$99? The best bit: it's a brand new Kickstarter project. Love seeing new film camera projects like this!

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I know it's been a long time since the last post, but Kwanghun Hyun's series of Heartbeat cameras (he uses watch movements to power the timing mechanisms) are simply stunning.  More below:http://wornandwound.com/2013/05/20/heartbeat-by-kwanghun-hyun/

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This cardboard Nikon F is on sale on Etsy right now for US$150

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Nuff said. 

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Rest in Peace, Margaret Thatcher (13 October 1925 - 8 April 2013). You were one tough lady. (Magnum) 

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Children watch the story of "Saint George and the Dragon" at an outdoor puppet theatre in Paris, 1963. (LIFE) 

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First Ever Pre-Production Nikon F On Sale For US$370,000

A rare Nikon F camera, believed to be the earliest pre-production version of the company’s first SLR, has gone on sale in London today for £250,000.

The Black Nikon F carries the serial number 6400077 and was one of around 100 pre-production units offered to photographers and journalists for testing, before being released onto the general market in 1959, according to Nikon dealer Grays of Westminster.

Speaking exclusively to Amateur Photographer (AP), the store's founder, Gray Levett explained that the camera was discovered overseas by Japanese camera expert Toni Kowal.

‘It is an almost unbelievable find and, to the best of our knowledge, the earliest black body to have ever surfaced on the international market,' said Levett.

‘Not only is it one of the first Nikon Fs, but it is also fitted with a rare cloth shutter, which [Nikon] changed to titanium as soon as commercial production began...'

Read more at Amateur Photographer

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What most people don't know is that Stanley Kubrick started out working as a staff photographer for LOOK magazine back in 1946. The Museum City of New York has put together a charming collection of some of Kubrick's work from that period here. Below are just a few samples - click on at the end for the full article. 

Read more at The Museum City of New York

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After Audrey Hepburn, what better way to end the Oscar's than with Hollywood's leading bad boys from Marlon Brando to Alec Baldwin:  http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/03/photos-bad-boys-hollywood-alec-baldwin#/slide=1

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It's Oscar season! 

Audrey Hepburn with her Academy Award for Roman Holiday in 1954. 

(Source: Vanity Fair) 

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The Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AI in gold - how much would you pay for it? 

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Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. 

Elliott Erwitt / Magnum Photos

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Edward J. Steichen and The Invention of Fashion Photography and Photo Shoots

In 1911, Edward J. Steichen photographed models wearing gowns for a magazine and invented the modern fashion photo shoot.

Although fashion magazines like Harper's Bazaar began publishing in the 1860s, it wasn't until 1911 that Lucien Vogel, an enterprising French magazine publisher and editor, decided to feature fashion photography as an editorial feature.  He enlisted leading American photographer Edward J. Steichen to photograph the gowns of couturier Paul Poiret for publication in Art et decoration in April 1911. This magazine feature is considered one of the first examples of modern fashion photography – traces of which are still evident in fashion magazines the world over today. 

(Source: ABC) 

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