Web Page No 776

FIRST PICTURE: THIS SOMETHING THAT MOST OF US LADS COULD DO WITH THESE DAYS, A ‘BEATLE WIG’.


SECOND PICTURE: IT WAS THE CAMERA FOR THE MASSES BOTH POST WAR AND PRE WAR, THE KODAK BOX BROWNIE.




Smile Please and watch the Birdie

One of the things that have changed out of all recognition since we were kids is they way we take photographs and the number of picture we take today.

My first camera was bought second hand from a Boy Scout Jumble Sale in the Scout Hut in Farlington and was a Kodak Eastman Box Brownie. A very basic box with a shutter release on the side, very slow shutter speed and not at all tolerant of bad light conditions. The first Brownie, was introduced in February 1900 and was a very basic cardboard box camera with a simple lens that took 2¼-inch square pictures on 120 roll film.

In my early teens I was bought for Christmas 1960 a Kodak Brownie 127, millions of which were sold between 1952 and 1967. The Brownie 127 was a simple bakelite camera which used 127 roll film. This was cutting edge technology at the time Three models of the 127 were produced. Model 1 introduced in 1952 and Model 2 in 1959 (this was mine) had a side in orange filter but I never found out what it was supposed to be used for. The model 2 was discontinued in 1963. However the brand identity was so strong that two years later a model 3 was introduced and was produced for four years. Despite sharing the name, this was a complete redesign, with little in common with the original models. They all had the famous Kodak logo on the front and the model 2 the selling price in 1960 was £1 4s 6d. The model 2 originally took 8 6 x 4 pictures on a roll of film but this was soon stepped up to 12 4 x 4 pictures. In those days a roll of film, which was developed at the chemist, was expensive to process so a roll or two would probably have lasted you all year. It was at this time that my father an I set up dark room in the kitchen and developed and printed our own black and white prints. This was a relatively easy process as the negatives were the same size as the prints so an expensive enlarger was not needed. I then progressed on to having a flash gun with single use flash bulbs for inside work, with this new innovation we did debate going into colour processing but the chemicals were too expensive so when colour became popular it was the long walk back to the Chemist.


From the 127 type of camera things rapidly developed with the mass production of SLR (single lens reflex) cameras and the introduction of German and Japanese products at affordable prices. Most of us had one or more of these with their interchangeable lens whilst the ladies carries those small flat miniature cameras, the Instamatic type, that would fit into a handbag, I know my wife did.

From here technology moved onto Polaroid cameras and other self-processing cameras. I am not going to touch other sorts of cameras, the 8mm cine camera which progressed onto the Super 8 and if you were really good 16mm. Then on to video and huge video cameras down to the one I have now which I can put into my pocket.

But look at today all this has been bypassed and even the transparency market is falling off with the introduction of the instant view and easily printed digital camera which most of us have now.

All very efficient and we no longer have to work out exposures, lens settings, shutter speeds and the ASA speed of the film. A little gismo within our modern cameras does all this for us and gives great results but somehow we seemed to have lost the challenge of composing and taking a good picture. And all this can be done just as easily on you mobile phone today!!!!!!!


So stay in touch
Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com

YOU WRITE:

Ray Writes:

Thanks as always for your, so interesting' articles and here is some additional notes on the song: Diggin' My Potatoes was the second track on side B of the E.P. released on Decca DFE 6345 under the title "the LONNIE DONEGAN Skiffle Group", (how imaginative was that?) following behind "Bury My Body", another track which didn't meet with BBC approval at the time, both tracks having been recorded at the Royal Festival Hall on October 30th 1954. Side one consisted of "Rock Island Line" and "John Henry" which was a studio recording made on July 13th 1954. I have a (almost mint) copy of the original EP here in front of me although the cover is a little discoloured (as am I!!) but not too surprising after 50 years


NEWS AND VIEWS:

A survey of sales of records over the years has led to a definitive list of the top 40 selling Beatles singles in the UK. "She Loves You" is no.1 and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is no.2, followed by "Can't Buy Me Love," "I Feel Fine" and "Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out."


ON THIS DAY 10TH OCTOBER 1960-1965 +2

I know I normally only cover 1960-65 but today I have to cover 1967 as well as it was our wedding day!!!

On 10/10/1960 the number one single was Tell Laura I Love Her - Ricky Valance and the number one album was Tottenham Hotspur. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68.The big news story of the day was No Hiding Place (AR).

On 10/10/1961 the number one single was Kon-Tiki - The Shadows and the number one album was The Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Heller's Catch-22 published.

On 10/10/1962 the number one single was Telstar - The Tornadoes and the number one album was Best of Ball Barber & Bilk. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 10/10/1963 the number one single was Do You Love Me? - Brian Poole & the Tremoloes and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 10/10/1964 the number one single was Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was XVIIIth Olympics in Tokyo.

On 10/10/1965 the number one single was Tears - Ken Dodd and the number one album was Help - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 10/10/1967 the number one single was The Last Waltz - Engelbert Humperdinck and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Jungle Book. A pound of today's money was worth £10.99 and Manchester City were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Che Guevara confirmed dead and there was a very interesting wedding in St Andrews Church in Farlington!