"Early Masterworks"

So, there I was, 12 years old and the proud owner of a Balda 144-X box-type camera: Fixed focus, fixed exposure time, fixed aperture, and even a fixed format, since the frame of the 126-type film was perfectly square! The only slide film available was Agfa CT19. What could be done with such a camera?

Well, photos like these. Not very sharp, but good enough to make a 12-year-old mighty proud!

Misty Morning

During a youth summer camp at the Lanalhue lake, each morning a team had to get up before sunrise, boat across the lake, and walk to the next bus stop to fetch fresh bread for the 300 people at camp. The day I was in the chosen group, I got the chance to shoot this photo.

Cousins Paul and Alfred

While they played tennis, I played with my camera. The slow, fixed shutter speed cannot freeze any motion - which is a good thing! The color rendering of the Agfa CT material was legendary. Since dropping the CT emulsion with its rather complex processing, Agfa has never again been able to match it.

Forest Fire

For several years I spent most of summer at a small cottage in a forest. Unfortunately almost every year we had fires. Powerless to put the flames out, I opted for a desperate attempt to turn destruction into art. The oil-painting-like appearance comes from the very coarse grain of the old CT material.

Carolina

My school choir made a four-day trip to the farm of a choir member's family, for intensive rehearsal before a concert. But not all was rehearsing. We did get some play in the fields too - and some photos. The fuzzy sun, hidden behind the palm tree, does make the plastic lens flare, but I like this photo anyway. Do you?

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