Kodak, No.1 Folding Pocket Kodak, 120 roll film camera, results

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Kodak, No.1 Folding Pocket Kodak, 120 roll film camera. Photograph gallery.

The No.1 FPK has a number of endearing features, including a notched leg that extends to serve as a stand, the camera is not fitted with a tripod bush. The leg was used for the right hand of the two shots above, balanced on the parapet of a bridge. The exposure being roughly one second with the aperture fully closed at f/64 - this is considerably past the last marked setting of number 4, which equates to f/22. The film was Efke 100, my preference for ancient cameras.

Steam Roller

In overcast conditions and shooting these predominantly black and not especially reflective steam road engines, resulted in a choice of stop number 2 and an instant exposure (about 25th sec.). The main difficulty here was to try and avoid any modern objects and meandering people. Exposing for the engines lead to a very light sky that proved impossible to burn in during printing.

Below at the same venue, a steam traction engine supplies the power for a rotary saw via a belt drive, and scythes through an oak trunk with ease. Both these images had the sky burnt in during printing using the time honoured hand masking technique.

The FPK is not fitted with a film pressure plate which, coupled with a none too stiff supply spool brake, does lead to the film curving and loss of focus across the negative.

Traction engine driving circular saw