"Flowercam" Photos and Video
I went to a stag do on Labour Weekend, and I really wanted to take a light camera that I could keep in my pocket all day and wouldn’t require too much thought. I was taking the stag himself over to Wellington via motorbike to kick the weekend off, and while I was prepping my backpack the night before, I was hit with a lightning bolt. Buried in the bottom of a stack of old suitcases was the perfect camera…
I picked up this little gem (flower) many months ago at an op shop, after fiddling with it enough to realise it appeared to actually work. A stag do and accompanying antics seemed like the perfect occasion to give it it’s first outing. I used one roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 over the course of the weekend, pushed to 1600 in processing as I had only rough guesses about what the fixed settings might be.
I had many doubts about the quality of the results and whether I would actually get any photos from it, though I’m glad to say I was pleasantly surprised! I found it a refreshing challenge having no settings to change and focusing purely on framing or even just whipping it out to snap something in a split second with no thought at all. The goal was to document the weekend and it did this perfectly!
My favourite shots are the ones I spent a little more time framing, like the wharf jump and my accomodation in the morning. The cheap construction of the lens is partially disguised by the added grain from pushing the film 2 stops, resulting in an overall softness that is not out of place. It goes to show that you don’t need expensive equipment to make good photos! All it took here was a bit of creative vision and an understanding of my limitations.
We made a video of the whole thing over at Cam & Sam - check the video and photos from the day below.
-Sam
Kodak Tri-X 400 // Dev+scan by The Black and White Box
