Still Kickin' from 1947: Digitally
Duaflex by Kodak
By Dan Wetmore
25 Aug 2009
In 1947 my Dad was just an egg; an egg that wouldn't meet sperm for eleven years. My Pop wasn't born in the forties, in fact he barely made it into the fifties and thus; he just missed an era of primitive people friendly photography I'll never even know about. Yeah, it's confusing, I know. All I'm saying is that I understand little about picture taking back in those days, not even my Dad, but somehow these little Kodaks arrived at my doorstep last week and I've been obsessed with them and their history.
Okay, the two Kodak Duaflexes didn't just randomly arrive at my door; you can thank ebay for that, and I did know what I wanted these puppies for. It's hard to ignore the through the viewfinder technique these days and I thought I'd give it a spin. The Duaflexes are the perfect choice to get started with TTV photography. The main reason being they're cheaper than a roll of Portra 800 to obtain and I enjoy the distorted images they project. They usually come dirty and corroded as all hell, and I dig that. I didn't have much to lose.
When I opened the package, I couldn't believe how cheap the cameras felt. They're aluminum and plastic bodied, housing internals slightly more complex than a jack-in-the-box. I realize that these were some of the first mass market cameras; I can see the importance of simplicity. As a testament to that logic, they both work. At least the shutters do because it looks like they'd leak light terribly. The older Duaflex (photographed) had a somewhat clean viewfinder so I cleaned it throughly revealing brown stains on the mirror. Cool! It's a beautiful and simple camera. Very worthy of photographing in a cardboard lightbox.
The main device used for taking these photos is the filthy viewfinder of a Duaflex II. My particular one has the Kodar lens with aperture and focus adjustment, but it's irrelevant when it comes to TTV. Capturing the image is my trusty tourist digicam; the Nikon D40. The standard zoom lens gets pretty close at 55mm and allows a fairly clear picture when the auto-focus allows. Generally I auto-focus and then make minor adjustments with my hand, as it tends to get confused by the duaflex's curved glass element.
TTV is really a blast and the charm of the Duaflex cameras add to the appeal. The coupling of 1947 and 2007 isn't exactly ground breaking, but certainly enjoyable. Eventually I'll shoot some film through them, but right now digital is alright. In some ways they're better suited for TTV than their original purpose. It feels that way to me in 2009.
What have I learned about photography in 1947? I'd be using a Rolleiflex I think.
3 responses
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Brian Betteridge said (25 Aug 2009):
fun story and great shots. i'm just getting into it myself.
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Jason Platt gave props (25 Aug 2009):
great story and U bet i voted..Thanks for spreading the word as TTV with a duaflex is a blast...
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Dan Wetmore said (25 Aug 2009):
Hey, thanks for the comments! Happy to see you enjoyed it.
