Kamra #1; interchange / first print

managed to do 3 prints last night, although only 1 print produced an image. will attempt again tonight. in dire need of a sitter

WOOD RECYCLING MILL

Visited a new lead for getting recycled wood. This one very organised, and mostly hard wood with minimal damage. Turns out most of them are taken from luxury bungalows of Bukit Tunku, the western hills of KL. Attempt at building the reproduction arm that could fit as an attachment on to kanta #1 & #2. if it works well, replicated for #4 too.

OPTICS TEST

testing the optics for prototype #1 interchange for image projection, circle of confusion, focal length distance & reproduction arm calculations. another mind-bending time to figure out an aesthetic, efficient design solution

 

 

 

ENLARGEMENT PRINT

reading up on some theories from the old days, the use of the box camera as a projector to make enlargements. here are some pics of the experiment, doing alot of calculations, distances, exposure. gist of it is putting knowledge to practise. Kamra #4 doubles as a projector / enlarger

the standing easel, another flimsie (steel can), with magnets as holders. exposing 8x10" or about 150% enlargement

MOUNTING; base board

Here are the progressive pictures of the making of the base board mounting. using 3/16 nut thread (standard photographic & lighting threads). bored a hole 16mm and pressing in the nut, carving out a recess of 3mm for placing a base (50 cent coin), securing it in place with 3 screws. the design is the flushed flat and able to be mounted on all standard tripods (with converter) 

 

 

 

 

 

TRIPOD; mounting

made the base and filler from left over salvaged wood. using the standard dual lighting stud as the screw, works great!

 

 

 

TRIPOD; mounting

need to fabricate a mount system to fit all 4 kamras. Found an old surveyors field tripod

ACQUIRED; Durst M305 Enlarger

acquired an old durst 35mm enlarger, electrical still working, needed some repairs and replacement parts. will be showing how the photo printing process to would-be apprentices for the Kanta project

RESTART; unpacking kamras

for the next few stages. test prints, some more building, and preparation for field use. studio workshop is open to people who are keen to have a closer look.

HIBERNATION

NOTE; project in hibernation till february, pending completion of work for group art show "Making Space; we are where we aren't" opening set for 30th January 2015. a few experimental processes and ideas here.

DISSECTION

two lenses dissected this morning. Of the two, the nikon 35mm prime lens gave the most promising lense! also salvaged parts to use in the making of a simple spring loaded shutter. thanks Japheth Lim for the glasses!

looks like it contains 2 glass elements, did a quick test and the focal point turned out to be at 150mm. Exactly the focal length i was looking for, the image circle is bigger than a singular element, this is going to be an excellent portrait lens!

 

 

TEST PROTOTYPES

Say hello to Kamra number 1, 2, 3, & 4. After much delays and being on the back burner, all 4 prototypes are ready at test stage. Restarted the building of the kamras mid november after the completion of the bicycle map project. Finally meeting some benchmarks, with the first print few weeks back and the completion of all the prototypes (test stage). the most complex build no.4 was really pushing the boundaries of my woodwork skills, plus the unending rain is making the wood warp quite considerably. it's gonna be a photographic new year, Happy New Year everyone! 

from left; no. 4 wooden box, no. 3 upcycle, no.2 foldie, & no.1 interchangeable

FIRST GLIMPSE; proto 4

prototype 4; it's not just a wooden box, almost complete! reverse-build #kantaboxcamera #kamraefaoree #afghanboxcamera #reversebuild #camera

PROTOTYPE #4; wooden box

INSIDES; all wooden camera, the most complex and interesting build. just completed the main internal framing, next, some small tweaking, fitting in the rear swinging door before putting in the focusing mono rail #kantaboxcamera #kamraefaoree #afghanboxcamera

Enlarger head tilting

studio 25 antarabangsa; printing darkroom, back in Ampang, doing some test, tilting the enlarger head to do life size prints, calculations on distance, projection size #makingspace #instudio25 #darkroom

PRINTING STOCK

finally all printing stock ready, still in boxes, need to cut them down to sizes, do some test and flashing for test printing. photo emulsion chemicals for another art project. only the simple dev & fixer for kanta project

CHEMICALS;
ROLLEI Black Magic
Variable Grade 300ml
Gelatine base 100gr
PN Developer 260ml
Additive Hardener 250ml
Citrin Stop 250ml
FIS Neutral 250ml

ILFORD
Multigrade Developer 1 litre
Rapid Fixer 1 litre


PHOTO PAPER;
ILFORD negative paper
5x7" RC matte 100 sheets
5x7" Art paper 50 sheets
3.5x5.5" RC gloss 200 sheets

IMAGO positive paper
5x7" RC gloss 50 sheets

 

 

SPHERICAL AQUA LENS

prototype #3; upcycled kamra, spherical aqua lens. this version is built using only waste & unwanted material

LENS BOARD

eight made, fitting lenses on. 2 of the prototypes will be sharing lenses, with interchangeable built into it

FOCUS TRAIN

Constructing; call this focus train, still work in progress, it is the focusing mechanism for prototype #3; reused kamra

BOTTLES

sealed bottles & measures, repurposed expired medical containers for storing concentrate chemicals for mixing 'in-the-field'. for reference; 5ml, 10ml, 70ml, 80ml, 130ml, 160ml, 170ml & 225ml. thanks to suann for her garbage contribution to the project