Helpful Hints for Photographers from Ensign, Kodak & Coronet

 

The following was written on a coupon for a free booklet about Ensign Cameras.

HELPFUL HINTS for Photographers.

Sunshine makes all the difference to a photograph. It lights up the shadows, puts in contrasts, and makes the pictures thoroughly pleasing.

Therefore: Take your "Snapshots" when the sun is actually shining, or only lightly covered by clouds.

Don't attempt to make "Snapshots" in Winter or on dull evenings at any time. Make a "Time" exposure instead.

Always hold the Camera very still during exposure.

Don't have the sun dead in front of you - preferably it should be to one side or the other, or behind. 

When making a "Time" exposure rest the Camera on some suitable support, such as a table and hold the Camera quite still.

Try and arrange your subjects in front of a pleasant background.

Don't forget to wind your film to the next number after making an exposure.  

Double Exposures on the Fulvueflex Synchroflash

I had one roll of Catlabs X Film 80 left so I decided to have some fun and give some double exposures a try. I'd never taken double exposures before (not intentionally anyway) but I knew the basics. The second image will show up most obviously on the dark areas of the first image. Normally one would underexpose each image by one stop to make sure the final image is correctly exposed. Of course, with box cameras there's no adjusting the settings, so you have to do this in development.

There is an art to taking good double exposures. One of the most helpful demonstrations I've seen is this video by Eduardo Pavez Goye, so definitely check that out if you're interested in giving it a try.

I think I need a bit more practice yet, but these were some of the better results. In the end I pulled these shots to ISO 50 and developed them in HC110(B) for 7:50 minutes at 20°C.

Bath tub in the rushes

Beware

Extra secure storage

Portrait of my husband

Ghost boat

Beached

So, that was fun! After shooting 10 rolls of Catlabs film I'll definitely buy more. The results have been great and I think I can call my experiment a success. You can load a box camera with the same speed film in all different lighting conditions and then compensate in development. I pulled the film to ISO 50 and pushed it as far as ISO 640 and got great pictures. There are probably other film stocks that are just as versatile. I wanted to give Catlabs a go because I'd never shot it before. Like I've commented before, the grain is very fine, the latitude is impressive and the film is super versatile in development so overall very happy with the results.

Pushing Catlabs to 640

Having had good results pushing Catlabs X Film 80 all the way to 320, I decided to try my luck one stop further at 640. I loaded up the Ful-Vue model II and waited for the sun to start setting. When it was low enough I ventured out to my usual spots for test shots and returned with 12 exposed frames. I developed the film in Rodinal 1+25 at 24°C for 30 minutes. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I didn't know if the development would work or if the pictures would all be horribly underexposed.





Here are the results:

Modus - The shiniest my car has ever looked - lens set for close-ups

Backlit Daffodils - very happy with how this came out - lens set for close-ups.

Firemore Beach and Cable Hut

Loch Ewe

Jetty - with lens flare

Cave

Looking out to sea - light was getting pretty low by now

Trees - A little underexposed but still nice

Cottage

The Torridons

Gate Post - lens set for close-ups

Another view of the Torridons

So, once again, pretty impressed. That little meniscus lens produced some nice sharp images, especially of my car and the gate post. The Catlabs film handled pushing this far just fine.

1939 Advert for the Ful-Vue

I saw these adverts, which are just newspaper cuttings, on eBay and couldn't resist. I think they're fantastic. Be sure of getting 12 perfect pictures from every roll eh? Well the pics on my first test shoot weren't all perfect, but that was down to photographer error. Hands not steady enough and one accidental double exposure! At least no one lost their head. See if I do better next time.

A History of Ensign

The history of the manufacturers of Ful-Vue products is complex, full of mergers and consequently many different company manifestations. ‘Ensign’ began as a brand name in 1902, and had clearly gained enough prestige to be adopted as the company name in 1930.  As a result, the first Ful-Vue was made by Ensign Ltd, the modified model by Barnet Ensign, the model II by Barnet Ensign Ross, and the Ful-Vue Super and Fulvueflex Sychroflash by Ross Ensign.

The company certainly faced obstacles, one of the most severe being the bombing of its offices at 88/89 High Holbourn in London on 24th and 25th September 1940.  As the war continued, they were obliged to do their bit for the war effort and concentrate on the manufacture of items for the armed forces.

The company prided itself on the sale of high quality lenses in well-built cameras.  Their folding roll film cameras were prime examples of their craftsmanship.  Unfortunately though, they had an ongoing battle with the British public and the perception of British-made cameras as inferior to those made in Germany.  They were also victim to their own staunch refusal to embrace 35mm cameras, believing that 120 film was far superior.  As such they were unable to meet the increasing demand for 35mm cameras and by the early 1960s the company could no longer compete.

For more information, see: http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/companies1.html#E

and: http://www.ensign.demon.co.uk/ensigncamerapage.htm