As previously discussed, ‘TTV’ is a method of photography that produces interesting and organic in-camera aging effects without the hassle of Photoshop. I think that if something can be done organically, it’ll always take precedence over anything done digitally. Check out the previous post to get some more background on exactly what TTV is and what it might require.

So, you have a collection of working or semi-working Kodak Duaflex cameras, as well as your newfangled digital camera… how can you make neat things with them?

First of all, when you’re focusing your digital camera on the viewfinder of the analog camera, you’re going to want to eliminate all external light besides the light entering the analog camera’s lenses. Not only does this give you a clearer image, but it’ll prevent any glare on the viewfinder from obscuring your photograph. Because the distance between the two cameras is likely to be a foot or more, your setup is going to require some kind of lightproof conduit between the two cameras.

By way of example, I found an old, wooden card catalogue drawer that my local library was getting rid of. Through some fluke of fortune, my Kodak Duaflex fit perfectly into the drawer, and its lenses peeked right through the bottom slot, so this drawer served as the basis for my lightproof conduit between the Duaflex and the digital camera.

Next, I tested the automatic focusing range on my digital camera. This is the trickiest part – you want to allow your digital camera to be able to easily focus on the viewfinder of the second camera and be able to capture it cleanly. After a series of test photographs, I discovered that setting my Canon Powershot to macro mode and setting it back by about 14 inches would get me the clearest shot possible. Using that distance, I cut the drawer down to size, and wrapped any open parts (besides the very top and the small section with the lens) with black matboard and tape – all things that I had lying around the studio. At this point, the TTV device begins to take shape. The only thing left to do is seal the top!

When sealing the top, you want to leave a space just big enough to slip the camera’s optical zoom lens through. It’s pretty simple to trace around the lens and cut the resulting circle out of a piece of cardboard. Tape the top panel onto the TTV device and you’re ready to take some photos!

Of course, making this out of wood means that the device is very sturdy, but also pretty heavy. You can use any materials that you have around that can provide lightfastness when taped together – in fact, cereal boxes are favored for their neat designs, thickness, and ease of construction. Other devices use lengths of PVC pipe, and still others are made entirely our of fabric. As long as you have a clear shot between cameras with no intervening light, you’ve got yourself a TTV device. Of course, all of this was gibberish to me until I started looking at pictures, so hopefully the above images illustrate the process better than my clumsy words.

If nothing else, it’s a great use for some of the old cameras you’ve collected, especially when the cost of processing more obscure films is astronomical – if the cameras even function at all. Again, check out the small gallery here on CQ for some more images I took this week, and by all means, enjoy your cameras. They’re pretty, but they do stuff too.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 2:00 am and is filed under collecting fyi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.