The immediate problem is that the camera uses an odd sized film -- "620" -- which I do not currently possess. The related problem is that I am incredibly impatient with some things, this being one of them, so I decided to see if there was something sitting around the house that I could use and -- VOILA! -- I found a single, ancient roll of black & white 35mm film in the back of a drawer. Wondering if I could somehow make that work, I resorted to the last repose of a scoundrel: Google. I tried a number of different searches, and finally found this website: DINNER WITH PICASSO.
STEP 1: GET YOURSELF 35MM FILM.
This is unopened roll of old 35mm film that I found in a drawer. I'm guessing I bought it in the mid-1990's, before my kids were born and I still had time and money for things like photography. The expiration date was May, 2002, almost 9 years ago. Jeeeeeez! What is the shelf-life of expired film? Not sure. In any event, it is black and white, which is my preferred medium, and had an ASA 400, which is good considering I ended up shooting it at dusk.
Here is the back of the film box. Yup: expiration - May, 2002. I'm not sure what I was doing in the middle of 2002, but since both of my kids were born by then, I'm sure that "banging my head against a wall" was included among the list.
STEP TWO: OPEN THE CAMERA AND INSPECT IT.
Maybe this should have been Step 1, but for me it was Step 2. In any event, this is what a Kodak Duaflex II camera looks like when it is open. As I said, it takes "620" film, which is a pretty wide film -- not to mention expensive and hard to find these days. The camera seemed to open OK, the take-up reel seemed to move OK, and the shutter opened and closed with a satisfying "click". All systems go.
STEP 3: COVER UP THE "PICTURE NUMBER" WINDOW.
This is what the back of the camera looks like. Back in the day, that little red window would display the picture number. Since the film I'll be using won't have picture numbers on it, and since any light that enters through that window will inappropriately expose the film inside the camera, I decided to cover up that little hole.
On the recommendations of the Dinner With Picasso blogger, I taped a small piece of cardboard under a larger piece of packing tape over the "picture number" hole to minimize the chances of unwanted light getting in.
STEP 4: Make and Insert a Little Cardboard "Film Holder" Insert Thingy
The compartment toward the top of the picture is where the "620"-sized film usually goes. This type of film is MUCH wider than the 35mm film I was going to use, so -- again on the recommendation of the Dinner the Picasso blogger, I made a little cardboard "film holder" insert thingy (see it to the left?) to help keep the 35mm film in place when I'm taking pictures.
This is the little cardboard "film holder" insert thingy in its proper place, all ready to do its job helping to keep the 35mm film from shifting around inside the camera.
Here is an exciting close-up of the little cardboard "film holder" insert thingy.
Here is an even more exciting close-up of the 35mm film canister after it is placed inside the little holder insert thingy. A perfect fit! Sort of.
STEP 5: Secure the Film to the Take-up Reel
On the recommendations of the Dinner With Picasso blogger, I taped the end of the film to the take-up reel, to help prevent it from coming loose after I start taking pictures and trying to wind them.
STEP 6: Insert the Film into the Camera
The take-up reel fits into a little compartment near the top of the camera. This is what the 35mm film looked like after it was loaded into its "film holder" thingy --and-- after I also snapped the take-up reel into place. That film looks all ready to take some exciting pictures, doesn't it? No? Well, who asked YOU?
STEP 7: Use Protection!
On the recommendation of the Dinner With Picasso blogger, I cut a small white piece of paper and placed that on top of the film. I did this because I don't know how well this camera is sealed and I sort of figured that this would help prevent any stray light from exposing the film.
DONE!
This is what the camera looked like after the film was all loaded and the camera closed. Hopefully at least one of the pictures will come out okay. We'll find out soon enough!
