I always thought about getting back into film photography. I remember being in high school and enjoying the process from start to finish, taking photos, using a photo enlarger, and developing prints. I know I took it more for granted back then since digital was where I wanted to be, and film was the “old way.” Getting back into it always seemed daunting; I believed I needed a darkroom, a bunch of chemicals, a photo enlarger, not to mention film, and of course, a camera. But then I had a friend jump in and said he would do the developing for me, and why do prints when scanners exist? With those things solved, it made it much easier to get started.
Where do I start? Something familiar, similar to the DSLRs of today? No, I chose a different route. I want old, minimal settings, something unfamiliar. Enter the 1938 Kodak 620 Brownie Special.
The Kodak 620 Brownie Special was a fun yet sometimes frustrating experiment. I had never used medium format 120 film, and to add to that, Kodak used 620 film. There is literally no difference in the film; the difference is the spool the film is on. Kodak wanted people to buy only their film for their cameras, so they made the spool ends slightly thinner. I found this out when I received the camera. 620 film is no longer made, so it requires 120 film to be rewrapped onto a 620 spool. You can do it yourself or pay double the price and order the film rewrapped on the 620 spools. Shout out to the Film Photography Project for doing this; I definitely went this route for my first few spools. Another issue with this camera was the viewfinder. The years were not kind and the viewfinder as it is full of mold. Most of the photos I took blind, only knowing the general direction. Luckily I did have photos turn out!
Handheld La Crosse Downtown at sunset.
For my first rolls, I purchased Portra 160 and black and white Ilford 400. I started with the Porta 160, for one, it is easier to develop, two, I could see imperfections in the lens and camera better, and three, I am far more used to color photography. My first roll was ruff. I went on the assumption that the shutter was 1/60 based on searching around online. I believe age made the camera shoot a little bit slower (but not always). For best results, it worked better when the camera was on a solid flat surface. When holding the camera as still as possible, it was 50/50 if a blurry image would happen. The camera also has a bulb setting and I did attempt a few long exposures but nothing turned out to my liking.
Handheld double exposure of the Cass Street Bridge at sunset.
My second problem, I kept forgetting to wind the film after each photo! I was so used to digital or even disposable cameras that wind themselves. This resulted in multiple photos being double exposed. Some turned out rather interesting, while others were a hot mess (hot messes are not going to be shown).
As for the Ilford 400 B&W, I loved it. I consider it a standard tried and true film that has great results. I had the same issues like the color film mentioned above, but there is something to b&w that has a classic, iconic feel in the right setting. Being ISO 400 it was great to also see the difference in exposure, knowing the shutter was relatively the same.
Handheld exposure of a Freedom gas station that has been closed for years.
Overall, The camera was a nice intro back into the world of film photography. It really forced me to slow down and think about what I was doing. The camera is very simple, and because of that simplicity, it requires extra thought. I had to think about how I was going to capture something for far longer than digital. The Kodak Brownie only takes 10 photos per roll, so every shot counts. That is something I have learned to appreciate as my camera collection has grown. This was a fun camera to start on and only lead to me wanted to learn and explore more cameras and films. For now it will be retired to a shelf, but one day I am sure I will return to it.