vintage

This Oldest Surviving Photo of a U.S. President May Sell for $250,000+

Back in March 1843, the sixth US president (serving from 1825–1829), John Quincy Adams, sat for a portrait photo in a Washington studio. Fast forward to the modern day, and the photo is now the oldest surviving photo of a U.S. president. It's going to auction and carries an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000.

This First-Ever Solar Eclipse Photo Was Shot in 1851

For those in North America, the solar eclipse on August 21st, 2017, could be the most photographed, viewed, and observed eclipse of all time. But back in 1851, cameras were in short supply, and that was the year the very first photograph was taken of a solar eclipse.

Turn a Cheap Vintage Lens into a DIY Selective Focus Lens for $10

Lensbaby's creative selective focus lenses like the Composer Pro will run you around $400; even the relatively affordable Spark costs $90. If all of that sounds too expensive for your taste, you should definitely check out this hacked version Mathieu Stern created for just 30 bucks!

I Used a Smartwatch to Turn a Vintage Camera Into a Digital Slideshow

Last fall, in preparation for a fair for my wedding photography business in Helsinki, I wanted to create something out-of-the-ordinary that would attract attention to my booth. A friend of mine suggested a type of vintage camera that visitors could look through.

Vintage camera with a mini slideshow inside? Sounds like a plan!

Using a Rolleiflex to Make Tintypes and Daguerreotypes

Those who have known me long enough are aware of my passion for Rolleiflex cameras. Back before I got deeper and deeper into alternative photography I used to shoot my TLRs all the time.

Video Shows You How to Use a Vintage Mechanical Light Meter

Light meters aren't nearly as popular these days as they once were, but even if you have one in your bag, it's probably nothing like what you're about to see here. The meter in this video by YouTuber Mind Splurge is a vintage 'Walz Coronet' mechanical light meter, and it's dripping with hipster allure.

This Vintage Nikon Camera is Made of Chocolate

Here's a camera that provides smooth results... on your taste buds. Over in the UK, the chocolate shop The Amazing Chocolate Workshop is selling a vintage Nikon SLR camera created entirely of luxury Italian chocolate.

Tessina: A Vintage Mini 35mm Camera You Can Wear Like a Watch

The Tessina is a vintage Swiss camera that was created by an Austraian chemical engineer named Rudolph Steineck and introduced in 1957 in Switzerland. What's neat about the camera was that one of the accessories was a special wrist bracket that allowed you to wear the camera on your wrist like a watch.

Photo Challenge: Using a 15-Year-Old DSLR for a Modern-Day Portrait Shoot

It's easy to forgot how easy we have it shooting digital in 2016, because when digital cameras first started picking up steam they were not easy to use. How difficult were they? Watch as Jared Polin of Fro Knows Photo takes the 15-year-old Nikon D1X out for a modern day on-location portrait shoot.

Review: Zenit TTL is a Solid SLR for the Price of a Roll of Fuji Slide Film

In the 1970s and 1980s, photographers on a budget had help from an unlikely corner. While the West may have faced occasionally tense stand-offs against the Eastern Bloc, two of the Communist world’s biggest camera makers made millions of cameras that helped amateur shutterbugs get on the first rung of proper picture-taking.

Using Vintage Nikon Super-Telephoto Lenses on a Sony NEX-5

A rare Nikon 1200mm f/11 lens recently appeared on eBay. The earliest Nikon non-refractive long lenses were the Nikkor-Q 400mm f/4.5, Nikkor-P 600mm f/5.6, Nikkor-P 800mm f/8, and Nikkor-P 1200mm f/11. All of them were on the market around 1964 and withdrawn in the mid-1970. These lenses are actually lens heads and require a focus unit to be functional.

I Shot Expired Film at the Kentucky Derby

Photo projects usually are planned, researched and given approval to. This one just kind of fell into my lap after a single day of shooting on a bunch of expired film on a whim at the Daytona 500.