Repurpose Your Unwanted Film Holders as Picture Frames
Do you have old large format film holders lying around that you no longer have any use for? You can breathe new life into them by transforming them into nifty picture frames.
Read more…
Posts Tagged ‘repurpose’
Turn Used Film Canisters Into Magnets for Your Fridge
If you still process your own film in a darkroom, you probably regularly toss empty film canisters into the trash can once you’ve popped off the cap and retrieved the film inside. The next time you’re in there, try saving those canisters: you can upcycle them into neat magnets for displaying photos on your fridge — perhaps even prints of latent photos that were once in those canisters!
Read more…
Instead of Selling Your Old Stroller, Use it to Haul Around Camera Gear
Don’t have any more babies to transport? Old strollers can be repurposed as a way to wheel your camera gear from place to place. Just load it up with your camera bag, tripod, lighting equipment, and accessories, and you’ll have yourself a mobile mini studio.
Read more…
Repurpose a Vintage Polaroid Camera for Wet Plate Photography
Have an old Polaroid camera lying around collecting dust? Did you know that you can use it for wet plate collodion photography? AlternativePhotography writes,
Most collodion photographers are using dedicated wet plate cameras, because wet plates are not nice to put into any ordinary modern cameras. There are instructions on how to use some normal medium and large format film cameras in the wet plate process. Most modern large format cameras are readily usable; only a special wet plate holder is needed. The drawback is the silver nitrate, possibly dripping from the holder inside the camera and eventually ruining it.
There are, however, certain types of cameras that you can use as is, without any modifications. Polaroid 100 – 400 series cameras were designed for Polaroid instant pack film, and the empty film holder can be converted to an excellent wet plate holder.
Once your film holder is modified to hold wet plates, you’ll also need to give the camera a makeshift “bulb mode” by covering its ‘Electric Eye’ light meter with black tape. The tutorial also discusses how you can expose wet plates using an enlarger and/or digitally printed film.
Wet plate collodion with a Polaroid camera [AlternativePhotography via Pixel Análogo]
Image credits: Photographs by Jalo Porkkala/AlternativePhotography
Repurpose Empty Film Roll Canisters as Invitation Holders
If you’ve got spent, empty film cassettes lying around collecting dust, Photojojo has a crafty idea for the mindful re-user: make them into rolled invitation or stationery holders.
It’s quite simple: cut and decorate 1.375″ x 11″ strip of paper, pop the top off the film cassette (you can use a bottle opener) and tape the inside end of the strip to the film spool. Wind the paper into the cassette and leave a tab for the recipient to unfurl the message.
Read more…
Turn Your Old Point-and-Shoot Camera Into a Creative Nightlight
Perhaps inspired by the vintage camera nightlights we shared last year, photographer Laura Merz decided to upcycle her old Kodak digital camera by turning it into a nightlight for her house. She writes,
I took out all the tiny screws and gutted the camera very carefully as to not crack the exterior case. Be careful — some of the parts are pretty sharp. Removing the lens is the last step, and allows you to insert a small round night light through the opening. I had to crack off the exterior casing on the night light, but with a little force, it snapped right off.
It’s a creative way to breathe new life into an outdated or broken digital camera.
How to Turn Your Tripod Into a Makeshift Music Stand
Love music just as much as you love photography? Want an extra music stand? You can make a makeshift one by combining your tripod with a music stand! The IKEA BRÄDA stand is perfect for this, and only costs $2.50. Peter Janssens of grow for it make his stand connect to the tripod using a bolt and the mount on an old camera.
Brada music stand (via IKEA Hackers via Lifehacker)
Image credit: Photograph by Peter Janssens
Use a Film Canister as a Flash Diffuser
Here’s a quick and easy photo hack: cut a slice out of a white film canister to soften the light from your DSLR’s built-in flash.
DIY Project: Film Canister as Flash Diffuser [Lomography]
Old Laptop Transformed into a Custom Digital Photo Frame
Erik Pettersson was looking for a nice digital frame, but found that all the commercially available ones were too small, ugly, and cheap looking. He had an old Thinkpad T42 laptop lying around, so he decided to make his own custom frame. After installing Linux and writing some custom scripts for operating the frame, he disassembled it and joined it with a nice-looking IKEA frame. Best of all, he documented his entire process and published it online as a tutorial for those who want to make their own.
Broken Lens Repurposed as a Flower Pot
Have a busted lens that isn’t worth repairing? Instead of throwing it away, you can turn it into a flower pot! Kenneth Yung has a series of photos showing how he did this with his broken Nikon 18-55mm lens (translation here). This can definitely add a fun touch to any boring workspace!
(via Nikon Rumors)
