Lomography Belair Shutter Release Lock

I was looking for something to use as a shutter release lock for my Lomography Belair, and I naturally turned to using 1/2 of a clothepin, since I use modified clothespins for my Holga and Diana shutter locks. The nice thing about the clothespin lock for the Belair, is that other than taking apart the clothespin, there are no further modifications needed.

I've only shot a few photos that I've yet to process. But here is a quick procedure:

1. Mount the camera on a tripod.
2. Set the ISO wheel to B.
3. Slide the clothespin wedge into the space between the camera and the shutter release.
4. Gently pull down on the shutter release lever. The lock will slide downward and lock the shutter open.
5. When the exposure is done, I hold my hand in front of the lens, and pull down on the shutter release to release the clothespin lock.
6. Remove the clothespin lock and let the shutter lever up, closing the shutter.

I hold my hand in front of the lens when closing the shutter, to minimize camera shake while I am operating the shutter release lever to remove the lock.

The roll of film I shot the other night is waiting for me to process it, and when I do, I'll post a few sample photos.

The image above is clickable, to show a full size image of the lock and camera.

My Photo in Urban Landscapes at the Center for Fine Art Photography

The Urban Landscapes show came down earlier this month, but the folks at the Center for Fine Art Photography were nice enough to send me a photo of my print in the installation. It's the square image on the upper left hand of the photo. It's not a lo-fi photo, but one shot with my Mamiya TLR, one of my vintage "sharp"  cameras.

Here is a thumbnail of the photo in the show. You may click on it to see a larger version.

More photos from my Afterhours portfolio can be found here:

http://www.kaiphoto.com/kaigallery_after.html

New Videos: Lomography Belair X 6-1

I have posted new videos for the Lomography Belair X 6-12 camera on my YouTube channel:
http://bit.ly/kBelList

The videos are:
1.Out of the Box tour of the camera
2. A Basic Operations video which includes opening and closing the camera (folding and unfolding), Installing and changing lenses and viewfinder, changing film masks, installing batteries.
3. Loading film
4. Unloading film

In the photo is the new Lomography Belair X 6-12 City Slicker shown with a vintage Kodak Jiffy Six-20 camera, one of the types of folding cameras that were the source of inspiration for the Belair.

The Lomography Belair X 6-12 has arrived!

The Belair X 6-12 camera has arrived! I've only been able to take a quick look, but the camera is very nice looking. It is much lighter in weight than an equivalent folding camera of similar size due to it's plastic body construction. It should be easier to carry around. I can't wait to get it home to load some film into it! I am also already planning the unboxing, and loading videos for this camera. 

Lomography Introduces the Belair X 6-12

Lomography will be releasing a new 120 format camera in December. It's a folding camera, which brings to mind some of the old 120 folding cameras, but with a few modern touches that Lomography likes to bring to its retro flavor cameras. The Belair will have auto-exposure control and an interchangeable lens system. It will come with a 90mm standard lens and a 58mm wide-angle lens. The camera will be able to shoot in 3 formats: 6x6,6x9 and a panoramic 6x12.

They will offer the camera in 3 decorative styles, from basic black to a snake style leather covering.

What is interesting is that this looks to be a more serious offering from Lomography than some of their other cameras. Granted, it's price is higher, but if you look around for similar cameras, you will find it's in good company, and the inclusion of interchangeable lenses and auto-exposure gives the Belair features not offered by other cameras in it's class.

Link to the Belair Microsite at Lomography.com: http://bit.ly/kBelair

The camera shown above is the Jetsetter model with brown leather covering.

Below are some sample photos taken with the camera (images supplied by Lomography)

Prices start around $250 for the black City Slicker model, and increase for the fancier leather clad models.

It is currently 30% off you pre-order before Dec 10, 2012. They say there is a limited quantity available for preorder.

I decided to give myself an early Christmas present and pre-ordered a Cityslicker model. (or maybe not so early, estimated delivery date is around Dec 19)

I look forward to trying this camera out!