Watching
the old movies and newsreels from the forties up to the sixties from the last
century, I'm always impressed by the huge crowd of pressmen, taking pictures
from the events taking place.
The photographers
used to wear their Press Hats
while carrying their enormous press cameras with one or two huge flash guns,
trying to get the best possible position to take a news shot.
Back in 1995 I
purchased my first Speed Graphic on a fair in Holland, where I live.
First of
all, previous of taking pictures, I had to take care of the camera itself. I had
to repair the shutter, clean the lens and adjust the range finder and the
infinity stops.
At the same time I studied the working mechanism in all sorts of
photographic manuals, including the history of press photography in general.
I
learned that the first attempt to cover a public event in London was the funeral
of Prince Albert in 1861.
In the 20th century from the first world war up to the
1960ties these impressive vintage analogue press camera were very popular with
the press.
Despite the fact that these cameras were huge and heavy they were also used for
street and press photography.
As an excellent example you'll undoubtedly remember the famous Arthur Fellig, nicknamed WEEGEE, who covered day and night the events in the streets of
New York back in the thirties.
Photo cameras became more than
just tools; they became symbols of a cultural change. In America, press
photography played a crucial role in the civil rights movement, capturing
pivotal moments of social upheaval.
In Europe, photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson pioneered street photography, capturing the essence of post-war
life.
Photographers all over the world embraced these trends, integrating them
into their own rich artistic heritage.
Today an increasing number of famous photographers, some of them with a world
fame reputation, have rediscovered these classic cameras,
not only using them to
distinguish between digital simplicity and analogue craftsmanship, but mainly to
create unique photographic works of art.
Searching the site map you'll get the choice out of tons of information about
all important vintage Press Cameras.
Cameras from the start of the last century up to the fifties as well as repair,
restore and refurbishment ideas.
Further you will also enjoy to meet professional press photographers, who succeeded to work
with these classic cameras and successfully reach levels they have never
experienced before.
These perfectly build reliable photographic apparatus allowed
them to create a real artistic photographic image rather than a point and shoot digital
picture.
Further more, you'll find pages to guide you through the labyrinth of technical
problems, specifically for restoration and refurbishing these masterpieces of
camera building.
I've tried to explain most of the well know problems, being
convinced that it is impossible to expose all the solutions for repairing,
restoring and using these cameras.
These pages are published for those who want
to share my love for these extraordinary beautiful, timeless designed and hand
powered, non electronic, photo cameras.
Please enjoy and I'd welcome every contribution to these pages when sent using
my
contactform
Jo Lommen -The Netherlands