Extreme Makeover, Camera Edition: Wood Veneers

Photographer Tyson Haslam has an interesting hobby: he takes vintage cameras and gives them a new look by replacing the rubber grips and various other panels with wooden veneers.

Unlike photographer Patrick Ng’s wooden-styled Canon F-1n, which we shared back in 2012, Haslam uses real wood veneers rather than a simple faux-wood wallpaper.

After carefully applying the wood veneers, he stains them for a finished look. His first experiment was back in August and involved a Yashica TL Electro X SLR:

I decided I'm going to learn how to veneer things….I'm pretty stoked for how this will turn out.

A photo posted by Tyson Haslam (@tyson_haslam) on Aug 24, 2015 at 2:42pm PDT

Now to stain the wood and we are good to go!!! #35mm #yashica #film #veneer #walnut

A photo posted by Tyson Haslam (@tyson_haslam) on Aug 24, 2015 at 4:05pm PDT

All done! #35mm #yashica #film #veneer

A photo posted by Tyson Haslam (@tyson_haslam) on Aug 24, 2015 at 8:50pm PDT

Since then, he has done the same thing with a number of other cameras in his collection:

Yashica Lynx-5000

Little imperfections like this mean 5 hours down the drain for just one section….time for a do-over….#yashica #electro35 #film #wood #veneer #carpletunnel

A photo posted by Tyson Haslam (@tyson_haslam) on Sep 21, 2015 at 12:58pm PDT

A photo posted by Tyson Haslam (@tyson_haslam) on Sep 4, 2015 at 3:56pm PDT

Agfa

Pentax P3

I was curious to see what a newer black camera would look like with an ebony stain wood veneer. Ended up being one of my favorites. My Nikon F2 is next in line. #pentax #p3 #film #35mm #walnut #wood #veneer #igotwoodfordays

A photo posted by Tyson Haslam (@tyson_haslam) on Sep 13, 2015 at 2:51pm PDT

Agfa

This is purely coincidental I swears it. #thesimpsons @thesimpsonsig

A video posted by Tyson Haslam (@tyson_haslam) on Sep 12, 2015 at 10:33am PDT

Meikai ELX

This is what you call a Lomographic camera, it's got a super simple shutter with only 3 aperture settings. It may look like a toy but this camera will give some really radical effects. The plastic lens distorts the light and colors while still giving a crisp image. To see what I'm talking about do an image search on Lomography, you won't be disappointed. #meikai #elx #filmcamera #filmphotography #filmisnotdead #lomography #vintage #antique #film #walnut #wood #veneer

A photo posted by Tyson Haslam (@tyson_haslam) on Sep 17, 2015 at 11:16am PDT

Nikon F2

You can follow along with Haslem’s creations on his Instagram account.

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Image creditsPhotographs by Tyson Haslam and used with permission