Kodak Brownie Super 27: The Time Machine
Kodak had been marketing Brownie Super 27 in early 60s; 1965 was the last production year.
It is simple camera with two shutter speeds and a flash.
This one I have received a while ago from Artesia, New Mexico.
Artesia is a small town and I think the camera stayed there since 60s when somebody bought it new.
It is in the middle of the desert but because of the artesian groundwater sources found in late XIX century a new township was created there in 1903.
Then in 20s most of the water wells dried out and people have started leaving Artesia; but soon new groundwater had been found and also found oil.
Now more then 11 thousands people call it home.
G.W.Bush's speach on border security was delivered there in 2007.
In the camera was yellow time capsule of 127 format with Kodacolor II model name on it:
This film is first C41; its production has started in 1972 in 110 format only with the rest of the formats to follow in 1973.
The film has 12 emulsion layers with one old good silver-based layer among them.
So I developed it as black and white.
I have got 9 frames, all scannable despite dense orange mask always present on Kodacolors and some age fog.
Frames are about to form a simple story. There are two on them, young man and woman.
She looks pregnant on the first picture. There is someone else; it is their child.
Invisible but present is the photographer. His or her house is the place we can see.
Here is young couple just arrived, having coffee or tea:
Time frame can be derived from the context.
Man's hairs, his nylon shirt, woman's shoes, the overall look of the couple -- everything is telling as "mid 70s".
For 30-years-old undeveloped film pictures are good quality.
Ok, let's continue the story.
The first frame: young woman feels herself not very comfortable; he is an opposite.
Dog looks a bit crazy, it is probably too crowded for her:)
Let's suggest that this is old woman's house, probably young man's mother.
Time of the year is no doubt Christmas, may be Christmas Eve.
We can see Xmas tree:
Some degree of uneasiness one can see in young woman's pose on the first frame is understandable if she has visited her in-law's house for a very first time.
If it is small Artesia (which I believe it is) it would be fair to presume that young couple just arrived to celebrate the Christmas with lonely old mother.
It is she who is shooting with at least 10 years old camera;
it is she who is inserting one-time-use flash lamp and then disposing it;
and again, and again.
It is her house with all the strange furniture and paintings;
glass vases on low round tables;
crowds of statuettes everywhere;
TV set resting down on the floor;
colorfull wallpapers...she is obviously not very rich.
Picture of young couple had been taken; now it is time to photograph all the presents -- pieces of Xmas idiocy: spiral glass vase; tulip-like glasses; wall decorations -- some of them probably they brought to her and may be vice versa:
Every piece is carefully placed on the table and then she takes picture.
Flash is washing out the foreground and flattening the space but we can see every detail.
The next frame, they are going to leave:
It is hard to read the exact time but the arrow on his watch is pointing to number 10.
10 AM I think.
He is tired of his mother and glad to leave.
Young woman feels herself much better compared to the 1st frame but she is also glad the visit is over.
Here is the last frame where next to the regular Xmas present there is another, most welcomed present:
Americans work hard and vacations are usially short.
The visit was no longer than 1-2 days.
They celebrated Xmas together and then young couple left and probably never come back.
They never have seen these images.
Something had happened to the old woman so she could not print pictures -- pictures I think were important to her.
What it was -- illness?
We will never get this piece, but it is not that important.
Everything is so transparent, so clear on the images -- pieces of canned time in a yellow cylinder...