Délicious!

Meanwhile the Eastman Developer is three weeks old and it still works fine, wow! The AgfaOrtho is over 25 years old, and the Смена more than 55, so the only fresh stuff this morning is the cappuccino at Délifrance. And their cookies! OMG they are good!
Et merci beaucoup, mes amis.

Checkpoint Charlie on ORWO

My NP22 ORWO of today was made when the Berlin wall was about to come down. At that time the new Wall in Nijmegen was built, and now that is crumbling! The problems are known for over six years and nothing has been done! Shame!

My 1973 Salyut is still watertight and shock proof.

Bücherbummel

Okay, das bedeutet glänzende Limusinen und fine cigars, ein Glas Wein und eine Fliege im Vorbeigehn.
Ja, Bücher auch; Soljanka in meinem Fall. Wie üblich abgeschlossen bei Vecchio, man gönnt sich ja sonst nichts.


In der 1938 Leica war 1973 FP3 hinter der 1945 Elmar 9cm. Entwickelt in Eastman Uralt.

Ensign 29 (4: after the war)

Shortly after the war photographic material was scarce, to say the least. But amateurs did want (need) to enjoy their hobby again, and the shop keepers had to earn a living. So old material was cut shorter (not 8 but 6 exposures), rolled again and sold under guarantee (Victor Latty, look below). In England import was restricted for a very long time, on the continent things were ehhhhrm different. The Americans didn't consider Leica worthwile, the shrewd Russians took Zeiss and Contax and converted them to "aus Jena" and Киев. The Americans wère in Bitterfeld, but left soon so the Russians also got Agfa Wolfen and made it ORWO. Kept working on that Agfa-colour system but that just wasn't the right way to go - C41 was better.

So Agfa Wolfen became Агфа Вольфен first, look at all the languages on the box - even "fabricacion alemana" (Spanish?) and selling, probably, old stock (6 iso 8) and, vèry weird: in this E29 size. For whom? I don't know of any Russian or German * 129 camera, and in the fifties? But I was very glad to be able to put them in my Ensign, compare them with contemporary HP3 ( Weston 125 ! became later ASA 400 of course) in the bakelite Soho (with that incredible depth-of-field, how did they manage thàt!)

*Yes, there was a very nice Welta Perle for 129 film around in the thirties! Welta became later VEB Pentacon...

(The mill left: "die Geismühle", look below. Right: "the Giant" in Ottersum.)

Tribute to a fallen hero

Yes you are right, a bit cheap, social kitsch. But there is more to this picture than the 2012 contrast, the 1987 Agfa Ortho and the 1956 Argus C3.


The Eastman Kodak Developing Powder.


Yes, the Giant is now on his knees, but we should never forget the great quality stuff we all enjoyed.

This developer could well be a century old (look at my flickr photostream erwinruys) and it still performed as promised by uncle Eastman.
Because these "developing powders" are nameless, I think they are pre D76, 
and that is ± 1927!

Ensign 29 (3: die Geismühle)

Für mich immer mit Urlaub verbunden: die Geismühle. Erster K&K-Pause bei jeder Italienfahrt. Und für Daumenfahrer der Start ins Unbekannte (wird das noch gemacht übrigens?)
Ich fahr' meistens nur vorbei, fünfzehn Minuten vor Oberkassel, U75 und Starbhhh - heute mit Putenschmaus feucht aus dem Kühlfach.
Aber ich brauche noch das Test-Vergleichsbild zum HP3 also steige ich grinsend aus, 1955 Agfa in der 1930 Ensign,
 ± 1 Sekunde.
Feriengenuss pur.

After the war

No, not Victor Lazlo, from Casablanca, or the once almost unbearably beautiful singer; Victor Latty, from Bristol.
No date, no information at all, in fact, but we have clues: the very old-fashioned spool (one round hole), and the 3/4 length. So it will be not very long after WWII, maybe even old stock. It's very thick also, almost like sheet film.
On the back paper: Kodak. So: probably "fourties" Verichrome.
In the red 1930 Brownie 2.

The mill: "Rest after Work", Ven-Zelderheide.

"Mediterranean Avenue"

Or, in Dutch: "Dorpsstraat, Ons Dorp". The cheapest Monopoly street.
No cars - need I say more?
Behind the 1938 Elmar was probably FP3.
Test material, turned out very well, grey fog but perfectly usable.
Which is nice, because I bought 200 feet of it.

the Ensign 29 camera and film (2)

Because there is a lot of interest, not only from Germany: this is the 1930 Ensign 29 with that very rare < 1955 Agfa Wolfen film.
I will soon compare it with a contemporary Ilford HP3, and tell you a bit more about this interesting pre-Orwo фильмфабрика Агфа Вольфен.