Classic camera and classic radios

[silverscape]

I'm sorry if the image is too big.<p>

 

I still have a lot to learn, but I think I'm getting better. I took this

picture over the weekend, with my Minolta SR-1 camera and Ilford 400 ISO film.<p>

 

<img src="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/April202008.jpg

"><p>

 

This was with no flash, with a 10 second exposure at f11 if I remember right.

(I took several long exposures that night).     Here we have a an

ancient little Westinghouse vacuum tube radio, just one from my collection of

old radios.   I love the way those old radios sound. There's nothing

like listening to an old AM radio late at night. Like hearing a show on ghosts

on the Art Bell show at 1am on Halloween night.   Maybe you can also tell

some of my other interests from what's on the shelf.     :)<p>

 

More pictures to follow soon.

[rustys pics]

That's pretty steady and sharp for a 10 second exposure. If you think the portable AM radios

sound good, check out a wood "Cathedral" radio from the 30s or 40s. Amazing reproduction

of the human voice. Seems that wood cabinet was part of the acoustics built into the design.

I get your drift on the old radios and cameras. I often wonder if I photograph a ghost with

one of these cameras, did it came along with it!

Is that a scan from a print or from the negative?

[silverscape]

Thanks, Russ. I made a print with an enlarger and then scanned it. I took the picture with a tripod and cable release, of course, because even I can't hold a camera that steady.   :)

 

I wonder if anyone here has taken a picture of a ghost or some other "usual" things.

[rustys pics]

Well Chris, since you asked....

I took a photo of an old painting at our supposedly haunted Lemp Mansion here in St. Louis. She was known as "The Lavendar Lady" in her day. Shot on infrared film with a Nikon Fm2-nothing classic. Upon developing and printing the negative I saw how creepy the face looks. I sent it into Coast to Coast AM's website around August 2006 and they ran it in the Photo section for a couple of days. Got some interesting emails from all over the world.<div></div>

[CosteaM]

Russ, are you saying that the actual painting looks nice but didn't turn well on your neg? Have you tried to shot same painting on pan film as well to see if any difference.

[JDMvW]

An archaeologist who is interested in the evolution of the radio is Michael Brian Schiffer. You might be interested in his

 

The Portable Radio in American Life from Arizona Press.

[rustys pics]

Yes, the painting looked fine to the eye but strange on the film. Being infrared it's not so odd I suppose. Have not been to photograph that place since then.

[silverscape]

Yikes...Russ, that painting is kind of creepy, especially the eyes! I don't think I've ever seen infrared film before though.

 

By the way, those radios aren't really portable...well, they're portable because they're small and light enough that you could carry them. But they run on 120 volts AC. Actually, I think most of them could run on AC or DC, since they usually don't have transformers. I think they just put the tubes in series. Were vacuum tube radios ever battery powered?

[rustys pics]

They used tube radios extensively on aircraft and in the field during WWII, so I bet they did run on batteries or direct current.

Sadly, Kodak infrared film is now a ghost too. Kodak killed it early this year. If you really want to see some cool, ethereal and spooky black and white infrared photographs then check out the work of Simon Marsden. http://www.simonmarsden.co.uk/intro.htm

[jeff bishop]

Most of these old radios converted the power to DC before much of anything else. They are still using tubes in some modern equipment, such as the amp section in ham radio transmitters. My son designed and built a "tube amp" for his stereo system, which sounds far better than any amp I've ever bought.

[chromatic-aberration]

I don't think I will ever fully forgive Kodak for pulling HIE... *sigh*

[gatorgums]

That is an excellent result for such a long exposure.

Ps , Russ : have you tried to record "gohst"

sounds using a tape recorder, like they advised on coast to coast?

It would make a good addition to the creepy painting!

[gatorgums]

oops, ghost.

[rustys pics]

Mike I have not tried that. Way too creepy. They say the lavendar lady in the picture was a

real pain when she was alive, so I can only imagine what she'd have to say now!

[Mike Gammill]

During the 1930's battery powered tube radios were all you get use because so many places didn't have AC current. My dad grew up at that time and they had to buy a large battery every so often. When the battery got weak you could put it near the fireplace for a while and it would work a bit longer. When tube radios appeared in cars they used vibrators to pulsate the car battery voltage so it could be stepped up to run the tubes. Early electronic flashes used vibrators too until transistors became reliable enough to do the job.

[silverscape]

Mike, those recordings are called "Electronic Voice Phenomenon." I've heard EVPs, probably on the Coast To Coast AM show. That freaked me out. I don't really take anything seriously on that show, it's all just entertainment as far as I'm concerned. Just something interesting to listen to when I'm up late at night. BUT those EVP recordings did sound real and they were way too spooky!

 

I think I remember reading somewhere about some places that still used Direct Current for a long time. That's hard to believe. Alternating Current distribution was pretty well proven and established by the 1890s. Mostly due to work by the inventor Nikola Tesla. Of course, batteries always supply direct current so yeah to use it with a transformer you would have to use some kind of interrupter to change it to a pulsating current. I had an old induction coil from a Model-T one time that had this weird vibrator thing on the side that cycled battery power to around 30 breaks per second. It made pretty good sparks, probably around 10,000 volts. But this is getting WAAAAY off the topic for this site...

 

I've taken some more long exposure pictures recently, mostly outside. But they weren't as sharp as this one. I'll try to pick the best ones and post them in the forum.

[Mike Gammill]

Great photo, BTW, I got off subject too, and forgot to say so.

Those ghostly sounds, is another name for them "whistlers"? I think I recall that you would use a very long antenna for them.

Back to the photo, I think vintage radios and other vintage items look really good when photographed by available light. If I can get one of my old tube radios working, I plan to photograph the interior using the light given off by the tubes.

[jack_welsh]

Great photo! I collect old cameras and radios, too. I have 4. One is an Atwater Kent 33, (coffin), and a Zenith from the early 50's. Tubes have such better sound, that a lot of guitar amps, (Eric Clapton), use those that have tubes.