Speaking Of Maces
Jun 13, 2009People. I went up to our attic with my mom today, and, man, there is so much AMAZING stuff up there. So much. For instance, my great-grandfathers aaaancient Polaroid camera (like one of the first versions, I think, leather casing and everything), with original manual and crazy-cool external flash bulb thingy. I also found a typewriter (in mint condish, I might add), tons of records, and, of course, old early-childhood memory things. Actually, we went up there first to find my mom’s old film cameras – we couldn’t find them! Oh well, they’ll probably turn up somewhere. I’m just glad we went up there – even though it’s where we store all our scary Halloween props and it reminds me of campfire stories from the 7th grade trip – and found all that other cool stuff.
I think that’s the model he had, or close to it. I’ll post a picture of ours once I.. take a picture of it. I hope it still works. Even if it doesn’t, it will be awesome to keep around and look at. In the case that it doesn’t work, and if I was going to buy a Polaroid (vintage, preferably – but I don’t need any more cameras at the moment.. heh), what’s a good place to buy one? I know, eBay probably has lots of them, but I’m afraid of getting ripped off/it looks confuzzling/is it even a decent place to buy a camera (sorry, eBay noob)? Maybe I could just find one at a yardsale!
NEW: Wait! Yes! A camera has been found! I knew they were hiding somewhere.. My mom found it in a closet (of course). She only found one, for now, and just a couple of lenses (and the manuals and stuff are in the attic, we know). Now I must learn how to use them…
What a great find! And funny that your attic has been storing all of those treasures and you didn’t know. Even if the polaroid doesn’t work, it will look great on your book shelf. I’m not familiar with ebay (NZ has it’s own version – TradeMe) but I think that garage sales/school fairs/fetes are the best places for bargains. I got a brilliant vintage Bilora Stabilo tripod for 50 cents. Can’t beat that! Have fun with the cameras :)
Try a store called B and H. Great Web site and store in NYC.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
That Polaroid (SX-70) is very trendy at the moment (sometimes going for big bucks on eBay). I’d been on the lookout for one for a while. The photos those produced were just gorgeous. They don’t make film for them anymore (and sadly, I guess other Polaroid film has stopped production by now), but there are modifications you can do to make other Polaroid film work for them. I was digging around in the storage room at my job last year and found 2 cartridges of this film in a box. I haven’t done anything with it, I keep hoping to stumble across a camera in the way that you did!
oh superb, a sx-70! I found two of them years ago in a second hand shop. a brown and a black one. and as amanda said, this camera makes the most beautiful pictures. ok, you’re still responsible for the content of the image, but the colors are really great. and let’s pray that one day they produce again films for those cameras. amen!
Ebay is great as long as you check out the seller’s feedback before you buy. Stay away from people with a lot of complaints of poor service or items. Also check their item description to see if they offer a return policy. That way, if you aren’t happy, you can send it back. One last thing: if you’re bidding on something that you really want and it starts to get pricey, remember that another one will eventually come along. Some people will outbid you just because they look at it like a contest that they have to win that item *at any price*. That’s why some records that normally sell for $25-50 sometimes get $200: two or three people were in a bidding war. Seller win! :-D
That’s such a cool looking Polaroid! I had one of those once.
I’m SO glad you appreciate all that old stuff. Your great-grandfather was quite a photo enthusiast, thank God, which is why we have so many cool COLOR photos (he took them as slides) of the family from the 1950s and 60s (even the 40s). However, if memory serves, I think that SX-70 is MINE, your mother stole it as she has most of my childhood possessions (oh, that comment will really get her going! Duck for cover!).
Can’t WAIT to see you guys next week. Bring some of your cool cameras!
You just triggered my memory re. those “crazy cool external flash bulb thing” – maybe not what you have, but my first camera had these cube-shaped bulbs that you had to purchase and attach to the camera and you’d get 4 flashes, I think, one for each side. They smelled a little after exploding. I haven’t thought about them in ages. Bet there are a lot of those things sitting in landfills in the 1974-1978 striation… Have fun with all those cameras!
Darkrooms aren’t too hard to set up and you can probably find enlargers pretty cheaply online these days (I never had any trouble with EBay but I got fed up with people who have computerized bidding, who swoop in and snatch up items at the last second, literally) – I bet you would have a lot of fun with printing.
Oh Danny……why I oughta!! First of all, that Polaroid in the picture is not the one we found in the attic. Spencer is going to take a pic of the one we found soon and post it.
Don’t even get me started about childhood possessions and the stealing of them…. Oh, I’m getting agitated just thinking about my bird flu.
Oh, and K Wild, I totally totally remember that smell from the cube flashbulbs like it was yesterday. And weren’t they hot when you tried to remove them to put the next one on? Wow.
Oh, hi Spencer.
xxoo
Ok, now you made me dig out my old Polaroid ProPack! I bought it specifically to make Polaroid transfers. I just ordered some Polaroid 669 (peel-apart) film, (there’s a smell for you!) and the still-available Fuji equivalent. We’ll see how they compare. There’s still quite a bit of Polaroid film out there! I’m told to watch the expiration dates on the Polaroid. The really older stuff will have a much greener cast to it.
I’m a huge fan of Ebay. No tax + free shipping, often = great deals! I seldom purchase from a seller with less the 95% positive feedback, and I tend to go for “buy it now” items because of the sniping. Very often you can find free shipping too. If you’re careful it’s a great place to find just about anything!
Spencer’s Mom – yes, they were hot! And sometimes you’d get a dud flash and it would just fizzle. How weird, these very intense sense-oriented memories of things that our kids will never (probably) experience. Mimeograph machine is another that conjures up an unmistakable smell and the cool feel of the prints coming out…
anyway (Spencer, cover your eyes so you don’t get a big head) – from all I’ve seen on this blog, Spencer is an awesome kid – funny, articulate, curious, kind – great job! It makes me excited about my girls’ teen years rather than just fearful.
National Camera Exchange has tons of vintage cameras and an online store.
National Camera Exchange
K Wild, I remember those cube flashbulbs.
I saw the most awesome collection of lomo and Holga cameras at Urban Outfitters when I was in San Francisco last week. I don’t think I’d bother with one of them. I’d rather just shoot with my D90 and apply those effects in Photoshop.
When I was 13, I was thrilled with my orange Supermax Hair Dryer, with attachments (the first real blow dryer) and for tunes I had a clock radio (with flipping numbers) that introduced me to the FM band! Too bad there wasn’t any FM being broadcast near my town, but late at night I could pick up some distant stations.
Polaroids were saved for rare occasions when you wanted a picture right away, because the film and bulbs were expensive. The Instamatic took clearer pictures but it seems like it took a week to be developed!
I was grateful we had ABC, CBS, and NBC. A lot of people, in other parts of the country, weren’t so lucky. If we hadn’t had 2 TV’s (a color and a B/W), my older brothers would have never let me watch the Partridge Family or Brady Bunch.
When big report was assigned, it meant nights the library, utilizing the card catalogue, hoping the books you needed weren’t checked out! You would write the whole thing out on paper first because you didn’t want to make any mistakes and have to redo a whole page on a typewriter.
I love digital music where I can hear almost any song ever!
I can take a dozen pictures with my phone, pick the best, download crop, adjust color, and even title or comment and then send it to anyone anywhere in the world within minutes at virtually no cost!
TV and/or movie options seem limitless.
Maybe toying with vintage technology will give you a better appreciation of what is currently available.
But I’m enjoying the present day!
I can’t imagine what the future will bring.