I spend more time than I would care to admit watching cameras on Ebay. I have a feeling that my knowledge of cameras has come as much from Ebay, as it has from anywhere else. Why? Because when you are considering making a purchase, you do research. Research builds knowledge, and before you know it you are an expert on obscure cameras that haven’t been in production for decades. I thought I would share some of the things that I look for in a camera on ebay, before I make a purchase.

First of all I want to give a shout out an Ebay seller named certo6. His ebay camera auctions can be found here. I am not sure if it is his full time job or not, but he is committed to selling great cameras. He buys old cameras, repairs and restores them beautifully, and then lovingly describes their characteristics thoroughly in his Ebay listing. He has earned a great reputation for having wonderfully restored cameras and as a result his cameras receive a premium final bid. I have only purchased one camera from him, but he is the only seller that I follow religiously despite rarely making a bid.

If you can’t buy a camera from certo6, you are going to drop down a notch into the deep sea of the unknown. There are so many camera auctions going on that it can be overwhelming. Here are some tips that will help you get the camera you want.

1. Hold your horses! First, don’t expect to get the camera instantly. I think this is the biggest mistake people make. People get excited when they find something cool. They make a bid before doing any research. Next thing you know someone outbids you and it becomes a battle to win the auction rather than about getting the right camera.

2. Watch similar items. This is where patience is a virtue. Before you bid on a camera you should try to get an idea for what it is worth. If you have the time to watch similar items, and track what their final selling price is then this information will give you a general idea what you can expect to pay for the camera.

3. Learn about the camera If you are bidding on antique cameras or rare camera, information is your friend. Do a Google search for the exact model and look online for as much info as you can find. There is probably a Flickr group dedicated to that specific camera where there are threads talking about it. Look for common problems, and typical problems that your camera may have. If the camera you want has a tendency to have shutters that go bad you can ask the seller to address whether or not the shutter is working. This will save you from buying a camera that looks good but is actually broken.

4. Decide what you are willing to pay and stick to it. An interesting psychological thing happens with auctions. After someone makes a bid on something they have imagined themselves owning the item. This has the side effect of giving a feeling of ownership over something you don’t actually own. Now when someone bids on “your camera” it feels like a personal insult. So you counter bid and the camera ends up selling for more than it is worth. Decide the maximum you are willing to pay for the camera and when it goes above that price walk away. I mean it. Walk away. You can take consolation in knowing that some idiot just over payed for it! This helps reduce buyers remorse, too.

5. Keep your options open. Watch a variety of auctions for the camera you want. This will help you avoid getting emotionally connected to a single item. It is much easier to walk away from an auction if you are watching another similar item.

If you follow these camera auction tips eventually you will end up with a great camera at a fair price. If you have experience buying cameras on Ebay and have tips to add to my list, please leave a comment below. Finally, here are some of the camera deals on Ebay right now…

Antique 56 inch Wooden Oak Surveying / Camera TRIPOD

US $29.25 (1 Bid) End Date: Thursday Sep-02-2010 18:53:34 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Antique American Mahogany Folding Camera

US $81.00 (19 Bids) End Date: Thursday Sep-02-2010 19:00:49 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

1927 ANTIQUE RARE RODGERS PHOTO CAMERA BELLOWS ENLARGER

US $24.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Sep-02-2010 19:20:53 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Flash Cubes for Older Cameras 8 Boxes NEW Antique Rare

US $10.50 (2 Bids) End Date: Thursday Sep-02-2010 19:33:57 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Antique Camera Sales Catalog From 40's - 50's LA Camera

US $9.98 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Sep-02-2010 19:49:36 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Antique Old Kodak No.1 KodaMatic folding camera

US $6.50 (6 Bids) End Date: Thursday Sep-02-2010 20:00:49 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

MINI CAMERA MINIATURE Spy Vintage Tiny Old Antique Hit

US $29.95 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Sep-02-2010 20:34:33 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $33.95 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Antique Polaroid Land Camera model 150 and the 800

US $7.50 (3 Bids) End Date: Thursday Sep-02-2010 20:37:37 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Antique Argus C-3 Camera!!!

US $4.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Thursday Sep-02-2010 20:39:50 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

ANTIQUE VINTAGE ARGUS AUTRONIC II CAMERA CASE 35MM SLR

US $4.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Thursday Sep-02-2010 20:50:46 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

I wanted to make a quick post saying thanks to Lost at E Minor (and Ben Keys who wrote the article) for the kind words and the traffic. Also, thanks to Hongkiat.com for mentioning my affordable tilt-shift lens tutorial.

Also worth noting is a pinhole Lego Camera Spotted on Flickr.

That’s about all going on around here. I recently purchased a dry mount press on Craigslist and am going to start framing some prints one of these days.

It seems like the number of photographers on Twitter is exploding. I have been using Twitter more and more lately and I wanted to help point you towards some lists of photographers who Twitter that I have used to get connected to Twitter Photographers. Here are some of the best lists of photographers on Twitter that I have found. Oh, and before I forget, my Twitter handle is ade3. Be sure to follow me and I will gladly reciprocate!

Photographers on Twitter from Photocritic.org
Photocritic has a great list of photographers on Twitter that is constantly being updated. If you are a photographer on Twitter you can follow @twittogs to get your name added to the list. Right now they have 406 photo twitterers and counting.

80+ Photographers On Twitter
Virtual Photography Studio has a good list of 80 photographers on Twitter that you should be following.

17 Great Photographers on Twitter
Darkwegmo.com has a list of 17 photographers on Twitter that have very high quality photos.

Flickr Photographers on Twitter
Flickr has a group called “The Twittering Photographers Society” that is dedicated just to Flickr photographers on Twitter.

Wedding Photographers on Twitter
This isn’t actually a list of photographers on Twitter but rather a list of 40 Twitter resources for wedding photographers.

20 Photographers to follow on Twitter
The Photog Formula has a list of 20 more photographer’s on Twitter.

I hope you enjoyed these links to lists of photographers who twitter. If you come accross another good list of twitter photographers let me know and I will add it to the list. And don’t forget to follow me (ade3) while you are adding photo followers.

Oh, one more thing. If you happen to be a photographer and a web designer like me, you might be interested in my list of web designers on Twitter. Cheers!

As I continue to explore solargraphy, I wanted to show you my latest experiment. After about two months sitting in front of my house, I finally couldn’t wait any longer to see if my extra long exposure would turn out. The photo above is a solargraph taken with a pinhole camera using photo paper as the “negative.” The streaks in the sky are the sun as it passes through the air. If you missed my first post explaining what a solargraph is, you can read it here.

If you would like to see a bigger version of this photo you can see it on Flickr by clicking here.

I have been talking about doing this experiment for a long time, but have never gotten to it until this weekend. It is possible to process your own film using coffee. Hard to believe, I know, but it works. The other ingredient besides vitamin C and coffee is washing soda. It was a little hard to track down, but you might look in the laundry section of your local grocery store. Here is a YouTube video showing how it is done:

For my test I used color slide film and it worked just fine. The pictures were taken with my trusty medium format Lego camera. I wasn’t sure what I would get, but the results were black and white negatives (as opposed to color positives). Interesting. Here is a photo from the roll:

Years ago in Wired magazine they showed a photograph that was a six month exposure. I remember being captivated by the thought of taking a picture for such a long period of time. Unfortunately, Wired didn’t give any info about how the photo was made. Fast forward to a few months ago when I came across another six month exposure. Fortunately this photo came with a little more explanation. It was called a solargraph.

Click here to view my solargraph experiments on Flickr.

There is amazingly little information online about solargraphy or how to make a solargraph. Trial and error being the best teacher I decided to do some experiments and teach myself how to create these images. The following is my attempt to document my experiments and hopefully give you some details that will help if you want to tackle the world of the solargraph.

So what is a solargraph? A solargraph is a photograph that was made by making an exposure long enough to track the movement of the son in the sky. Exposure time can be anywhere from a couple hours to six months.

How do you make a solargraph? A solargraph is typically made using black and white photo paper instead of traditional film. The reason for using photo paper is that it is less sensitive than film. Photo paper is 20-200 times less sensitive than film. This allows the paper to survive unthinkably long exposure times without getting over exposed.

What kind of a camera do you use? Solargraphs are typically made with a pinhole camera because the extremely small aperture (the hole that lets light in). However, I have had success making solargraphs using lens cameras. Simply load the camera with photo paper where the film usually goes. Then rig your camera so that the aperture can stay open indefinitely. Since a typical camera lets more light in than a pinhole camera your exposure time will be significantly shorter. By using a lens you can make a half-day to week long exposure. A pinhole camera is ideal for longer exposures of a week to several months.

How do you process the photo paper? Unlike a print made in a darkroom, the photo paper you use to make a solargraph is never ran through photo chemicals. This may come as a surprise to anyone with darkroom experience. Because the exposure time is so long the image actually appears on the paper without processing! If you were to run the paper through developer it would turn instantly black.

How do you preserve the image if you can’t use chemicals? After the photo has been taken you need to immediately scan the paper. Scanning itself will damage the paper because it is till light sensitive. You get one good scan before the paper starts getting dark and destroying your image. I have not come up with a reliable way to preserve the photo paper. Fixer seems to destroy the image, although not completely. If someone has a solution to this dilemma please share it.

Does a solargraph result in a black and white or color image? This is perhaps the most amazing thing about solargraphy. The image is made using black and white photo paper. The image that is created is in color! I can’t really explain how this happens, but it does. I suppose that since the paper is never ran through the the typical chemicals it is able to preserve some color.

I will try to update this page as I learn more about how to make solargraphs. If you know of resources or can correct any of my mistakes please let me know.

You might remember that I had a copy of Tom Ang’s Fundamentals of Photography to give away. Thank you to everyone who left a comment and entered there name in the drawing. My son pulled the winning name out of a hat and the lucky winner is Amod Rahatkar. Congratulations Amod!

I am proud to announce the launch of the new design for FoundPhotography.com. I invite you to update your RSS feeds and take a look around my new site. Honestly, the first design was pretty much thrown together because I didn’t know what I wanted this site to be. As I have collected my thoughts and gained some focus to my work as a photographer over the last 3+ years I am finally at a place where I can structure the site around my work and Ideas. Hopefully this will be a better experience for my readers and I am excited to get back into the routine of camera dissection. 

A few notes about the redesign, I made a switch from a Movable Type powered blog to WordPress. I have been using WordPress almost exclusively as a content management system for over a year now and it has won me over so much that I can’t imagine going back to Movable Type. 

A big part of the redesign has to do with Flickr. I have always been hesitant to embrace Flickr completely because I didn’t want to compete with myself on this site. I don’t want to post every photo twice and I don’t want to confuse my visitors. The solution to my dilemma came from researching WordPress plugins that interact with Flickr. I hit the jackpot when I discovered Flickr Photo Album which is probably the best WordPress plugin I have ever used. It allows me to host all my photos on Flickr and it automatically mirrors the information here on my blog. Flickr Photo Album works with custom templates and I plan on making my WordPress Theme available for free some time in the future. 

I should warn you that I am launching this site probably a tad prematurely. Much of the finishing touches of a redesign are easier to test and fix “live,” so I apologize if anything is funky. I am still cleaning things up in my code, so I appreciate your patience and should have everything working smoothly real soon.

I have a birthday and Christmas coming up so I have been saving my pennies to purchase a new camera. Believe it or not, I actually have my eye on a digital camera, not an antique. My old Nikon just doesn’t do the trick anymore. I have enough giant SLR’s in my collection so I want a small point-and-shoot that also has gives me plenty of manual control. I have narrowed it down to the new Canon Powershot G10 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. If you have a recommendation or preference between those two please add your thoughts in the comments.

You may have noticed a slow down in the postings here over the last year or so. I have been putting the time that used to go into camera experiments into creating a book of my photography as well as an assortment of other projects. If I am lucky, the book will be available in January, but I can’t promise anything. The tentative name of it is going to be “Isolation and Repetition,” but that may change.

The other reason for this post is to announce a redesign of this site. I am in the beginning stages of rebuilding this site from the ground up. As a result, the site will probably go down for some time while I am working on it. In the meantime, keep track of me on Flickr or my personal blog. Watch for the new Found Photography along with the book launch early next year.

I really enjoyed this YouTube clip showing a really large camera. He has it on a trailer that he can pull from location to location. Yes, I am already trying to figure out if I could build one myself. Enjoy…