Afghan Box camera Build

[pound]

oh, about the paper.... i thought agfa stopped making papers a long time ago.

how old is that paper?

Oh that an old box. I bought 25sheets ilford RC paper that are packed in soft envelope. So i transferred a few sheets each time to this Agfa box.

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[pound]

That really is brilliant! I wonder if there’s a single-bath (“Monobath”) developer/fixer like you can get away with for film?
https://filmphotographystore.com/pro...=7150244069409

Not sure will this work for paper. But with RC paper, it a minute for developing and a minute for fixing so it already quite short to process one print.

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[pound]

I forgot how, but traveling photographers used to re-expose the negative paper in the sunlight with a flap on the box and get a reversal image... I really have to try to remember...

Steve K

Yup that is how it was usually done. I did not build the flap this time. As shown in the video i jusy stick the paper negative up on a wall and use the box camera to take a photo of it to make it a positive.

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[jnantz]

great stuff !
and it is great to see another person as crazy as me
just doing contact prints the sun without chemistry

[Tin Can]

Yes! I found the process by accident when I got a box of old paper free that was light-struck. I tossed it aside spilling sheets which sat in light

Later I was amazed how dark it fogged in interesting patterns

Live and learn

Next time I will piss on it to test my personal fixer

[pound]

I have not try enough with lumen printing to see how well it keep. For now i slot the print inside a book to slow further fading.

Also i got a pinkish print as seen in a video. I saw some papers end up with a brownish tone.

Also i found if i go and fix it the print becomes very faint.

Enjoy!

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[Drew Bedo]

I like the simplicity of the concept and the relativ immediacy of the paper neg/pos internal developing. I can imagine this with a brass lens on the front and a Packard Ideal shutter inside.

Because it is still early and the second cup of coffee has kicked in:

To ruin the concept and un-simplify the whole thing .v . .It would not be difficult to use a spring back assembly in there instead of the simple GG with tape. This would allow dry plates in double sided holders and (GASP!) sheet films to be exposed. Given the size of the box formats larger than 4x5 might be possible.

OK, I am now done spoiling what is a really nice project.

Kudos and congratulations on a simple concept that has been well excecated.

[pound]

ITalking about spoiling ..i brought this box camera to a photo event last year to showcase it. Someone suggested should have a mobile phone mount in there so that the phone camera can take a photo of the image formed on the ground glass. but then maybe that is not a bad idea. hahaa

Here is a an article on this kind of camera
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/afghan-box-camera

and I quote this part
"Fascinated by its simplicity and colorful history, vintage-photography fanatics in the U.S. and Europe are able and eager to purchase the materials necessary to operate it—materials that low-income photographers in Kabul can no longer afford or access. Many are now learning how to build and use Afghan box cameras as a hobby.'

[Nigel Smith]

I'll bet you could even mount an LED source inside and do contact printing to get a positive

I made a separate 'darkbox' to do this. I chose a separate box for 2 reasons, firstly to allow me to leave the Afghan camera setup for picture taking and to optimise the interior for doing the contact prints. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the inside (it's packed away in the shed at the moment).

Here's a pic of a friend operating it.

[pound]

I made a separate 'darkbox' to do this. I chose a separate box for 2 reasons, firstly to allow me to leave the Afghan camera setup for picture taking and to optimise the interior for doing the contact prints. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the inside (it's packed away in the shed at the moment).

Here's a pic of a friend operating it.

Cool.. How do you transfer the exposed print to the 2nd box? By putting into a dark lightproof envelope?

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