I’ve been running through another film my Braun Paxette over the last few weeks. It has never been a reliable camera, with a shutter that often sticks open longer than it should, and a guess-focussing system that isn’t even calibrated to its own dial. Couple that with the fact I accidentally opened the back of the camera halfway through the film, forgetting that it was loaded, and the end result is a load of very blurry, shaky, fogged and badly-focussed pictures – even using the new rangefinder I excitedly wrote about the other day.
Fortunately I was using slow film, so the film only fogged slightly, rather than being totally wiped out when the back was opened.
It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I actually really like the way some of these photos look. Kind of a lomographic feel.
So here are my favourites from the roll. Believe it or not, the first photo was taken on the beach at Weston-Super-Mare. I think incorrect exposure and then fixing it on the computer has made the pale sand go black. I love the contrast.
This one is, of course, the beach too.
And the very recognisable new pier also at Weston – not yet open at the time the photo was taken (July 2010, I think).
This is some kind of chestnut tree in Oldbury Court Estate. It looks like the shutter has stuck open in this picture, as the shakiness has caused light areas of the tree to blur into C-shapes.
And here’s some other tree.
Finally, bored of broken film cameras, Hana ran off with my digital camera and tripod. She may have had the reliable one, but I had the fun one!
Jonathan Gazeley 