Ideal for the under-25s new to analogue photography, with advice on good purchases and tips on restoration, which modern films will work in which old cameras and techniques combining analogue and digital.
Illustrated with close-ups of all the cameras featured and original photographs taken using them. Will re-acquaint more seasoned photographers with old camera friends and introduce them to techniques and models which may be new to them. Featuring over 100 analogue cameras, from pinhole to Leica, via homemade and Hasselblad, including some very rare items, as well as brass and mahogany restorations and common boot-sale finds.
Creators
David Ellwand began his career in photography at the age of eighteen. He uses a variety of formats and techniques in his books: black-and-white photographs, collage with hand-tinting and full colour photography of handmade objects. He is also a mouse trainer, sculptor, and highly skilled self-taught computer artist. He lives with his wife and daughter in a village in West Sussex, England.
Reviews
The creative approaches to his art, both in the shooting and the processing of snapshots, is wondrous to behold for anyone, but inspiring and motivating for those who appreciate the craft. From the various Kodak Brownie models to the Ricoh Rangefinder, this museum-quality collection casts a wide scope. From the double lens to the pinhole camera, the approaches to capturing light on film are breathtaking. RetroPhoto is a visual delight.
Shelf Awareness
In this visually stunning book on vintage cameras, photographer Ellwand, who is also well known as a children’s book author, provides a highly personal history and celebration of camera design. Drawing on his own personal collection of over 100 vintage cameras, Ellwand organizes the book into four chapters based on film format. Each chapter includes striking images of actual equipment as well as the photographs made with each of the cameras, interspersed with factoids illuminating the exposure processes. The design and layout of the book is also remarkable for its attention to detail, with colorful inside covers revealing all shapes and sizes of film boxes to reinforce the nostalgia for the medium. Captions are concise and informative, easily accessible to those new to the field as well as seasoned professionals looking for manufacturing or design history. Ellwand provides an enthusiastic, idiosyncratic look at photography’s vintage history, enhanced with gorgeous and charming images documenting both elegant camera design and a photographer’s talented eye.
Publisher's Weekly
