Every once in a while something happens that makes you go 'hhhmmm.' One of those things happened to me this summer. I have been shooting pictures for quite a while but hadn't really had much interest in cameras Ihad no real interest in shooting with. But this summer, while on a trip to southern Ontario I ran across several cameras that I thought would look 'cute' sitting on shelves in my office.
I paid $3 for a little 35mm that was produced for a Lipton's Soup ad campaign and I found a couple of little cameras that I bought just 'because.' My cousin donated an old Polaroid. Then we went to a huge flea market and I spent more time looking at old cameras than Iever thought possible. I must have picked up thirty or forty but I put every one of them down. I did buy a 3-pack of Norelco flash bulbs, mainly because they were still in the box.
As we were getting ready to leave the market, we happened past a vendor who was closing shop for the day. He was loading histruck and there on the ground was a box of 'junk' and on top were two old cameras. I squatted down and once again, picked them up. "I'll give you a deal," he said.I imagine he would. He had $60 on each of them and I offered him $15 because, well, to be honest, I wasn't sure I wanted them and also because I like tohaggle. But the guy said, "Ok, which one?" Well now, that was a dilemma, wasn't it? Which one to take? I didn't know the first thing about either, but I was prettysure neither would work and I was equally sure that I probably wouldn't use it even if I did buy it. So I considered everything: looks, weight, everything...and then I made the decision: I took the one that was in my right hand because, well, to be honest, because I'm right handed. That's the only reason.
It came with a snazzy black plastic strap too. So I put it around my neck and off we went. My friends decided they wanted an ice cream cone before we left so while they got in line, I looked my purchase over. There was a red knob on one side, which was obviously the film advance. On the other side was a small flat knobthat said "right on, left off" so like any guy with a new toy, I turn the knob to the left and lifted off the side. I immediately slammed the case shut and twisted the knob closed.
My friends were about three feet above me on some kind of platform you had to negotiate if you wanted an ice cream cone so I looked up and said,"Rob..." he looked down at me. "There's a film in it." I don't think he believed me at first but then he asked if it was new or exposed. How the hell would I know? I barely know what film is anymore.
I left the film in the camera for more than a week. I got home from my vacation and there it sat on my desk for another week while I decided what to do about it. I know the manager of a photo lab quite well so I went in and asked him about it. They don’t process that type of film anymore but he knows more than enough about it. He told me where to go to get it processed.
I finally decided to take the camera to Carsand-Mosher’s in Truro. They took the film out of the camera for me and yes indeed, it had been exposed. They sent it to their lab in Halifax for processing but I wanted to see the negatives before they printed anything.
So what was on my antique treasure?
There were a total of 11 usuable negatives so we printed them all. The dog was in five of the photos so it’s obvious that whomever took them, loved that dog. It’s also obvious that while the dog may be enjoying it, the day sure looked miserable.
Will this little gem mean anything in the great scheme of things? Probably not. But it’s the first antique camera I ever bought and this was inside it. That makes it priceless to me. I’d love to know the story behind these photos and why weren’t they developed before now?
