MCM Images

07/11/2022

Back to Bangor. A few more modern images from around the town, all taken on a genuine vintage camera - no effects, no Photoshop, just scans of negatives created on actual film to deliver a different perspective on 'now and then'.

17/10/2022

Belfast Through a Vintage Lens.
Taking a different view, these pictures are of modern day Belfast but have all been taken on a genuine vintage camera on traditional film.

28/09/2022

Some more views through a vintage lens.
These are a few more images of modern Bangor taken with a vintage camera.

20/09/2022

Through a Vintage Lens.
We all know how historic scenes look to modern photographers. We also know how those scenes appeared to historic photographers. Well here a different perspective. These pictures are all familiar sights around Bangor and of scenes and buildings over a hundred years old. The twist is that the pictures themselves were taken recently using cameras at least 90 years old. Just for fun – enjoy.

30/08/2022

At the end of the 19th century when photographers wanted to escape their studios they turned to ‘field cameras’ such as the Thornton Pickard ‘Imperial’ seen in the first photo below. Compared to studio cameras these were much more portable, but they were still expensive and quite difficult to use. While cameras of this type were used well into the twentieth century the newer, cheaper, simpler models released by companies like Eastman Kodak, Houghton-Butchers and others lead to a surge in the numbers of amateur photographers.
You too can experience the use of a vintage camera. Get in touch to find out how.

22/08/2022

Not all Brownies were Boxes.
Kodak consistently applied the latest and most cost-effective manufacturing techniques. The basic box design, by now of all metal construction, persisted up until 1960 by which time moulded plastic was adopted. The transition can be seen in the 620 Brownie Model C and the Brownie Twin 20 in the photo.
The Model C works, and the Twin 20 will soon return to service so that you can put either of them to use. Get in touch to find out how.

11/08/2022

Not all Boxes were Brownies.
The term ‘Brownie’ is often applied to all box cameras in much the same way as every vacuum cleaner was a ‘Hoover’. The two cameras in the picture are clearly both boxes but the one on the left is an Ensign manufactured by the Houghton-Butcher Mfg. Co Ltd while the one on the right is a No2 Brownie Model F made by Kodak Ltd. Both were made in Great Britain around 1930.
Both these models still work, and you can get to use them. Get in touch to find out how.

Hands-on Vintage Photography. Based in Bangor, Co Down, UK, MCM Images offer guided photography tours for the curious. Re-visit the photographic revolution of the early twentieth century. Use a genuine vintage camera to re-produce the photos in your dusty family albums. Lewarn lessons that remain re...

18/07/2022

The earliest cameras that were affordable to the general public were made of the cheapest possible materials, mostly wood and card with a little metal. They were a simple rectangle in form and so were referred to as ‘Box’ cameras. While they changed in detail over the years the basic design remained current until the 1960 when plastics started to take over.
Many people fondly remember using these iconic cameras and thanks to the durability of some models they can still be used today. Get in touch to find out how you can explore vintage photography.

Hands-on Vintage Photography. Based in Bangor, Co Down, UK, MCM Images offer guided photography tours for the curious. Re-visit the photographic revolution of the early twentieth century. Use a genuine vintage camera to re-produce the photos in your dusty family albums. Lewarn lessons that remain re...

14/07/2022

In the nearly ten years of operating the Church Road Studio in the Ulster Folk Museum the thought often occurred: How did photographers really cope before the days of digital cameras, computers, and ink jet printers. Curiosity prompted research and research lead to a hobby and before long I had a small collection of working early twentieth century cameras. Thanks to an historical quirk there is a ready supply of suitable film and so each of the collection was frequently used around the museum and other locations

05/07/2022

A new idea for an old pastime. Explore what photography used to be like by using a genuine vintage camera complete with black and white film to capture friends and landmarks in the neighbourhood.
Discover why old photographs look the way they do. Learn the lessons that still apply to modern photography. Enjoy the process, the interaction and the results. Delve into or totally avoid the tricky art of developing and printing your images.