A relic discovered whilst clearing my Great Grandad’s house out in late February, I knew that I had to take my Kodak Number 1 Pocket Camera away on our American Roadtrip for the sentimental values alone.

Okay… the title might be a bit ‘clickbait‘ as I don’t actually know the official age of this camera. All I know is it belonged to my Great Grandfather’s Father and had likely been in tucked away in a drawer for a number of years. The closest model I have found during research was produced by Eastman Kodak around 1926, making my model over 90 years old at least!

The Number 1 was designed to take Kodak’s then popular Autographic Film. This gave the user the ability to use a metal stylus provided with the camera to record information straight onto the negative. Autographic Film was short lived, but fortunately the camera takes modern 120 film. Framing must be accomplished using a rotating waist level viewfinder, and focus set using a worm screw on the front panel. Not an easy camera to master!

California

Following in the footsteps of the great Ansel Adams, I was hoping to be able to shoot Yosemite National Park during my time in California. Mother Nature had other ideas and Tioga Pass was still closed due to snowmelt during the few days we spent in Mammoth, meaning we couldn’t get into the park. We spent a day instead hiking in the John Muir Wilderness around Sherwin Lakes, giving me the chance to capture some less photographed landscapes.

The slow Kodak Anastigmat f6.3 lens renders colours surprisingly well, considering black and white film would’ve been the norm when this camera was introduced. Trying to frame the image using the attached viewfinder isn’t easy, and neither is focusing; I resorted to using a variety of apps to help expose and focus correctly.

There is a nagging light leak which appears on images towards the end of the roll, and as of yet I have been unable to identify the issue. The damage to the negative seems to be worse when shooting in direct sunlight. The sunset from Dante’s View seemed the perfect subject for a shot, but exposing for the scene proved to be troublesome, which has resulted in a very contrasty image with no shadow detail.

Arizona

I’m particularly drawn to landscapes when shooting with The Number 1. I think in part it’s due to how long the process is when trying to create an image; first you must unfold the camera, next extend the bellows, compose using the waist level viewfinder, estimate distance, and then shoot. And that’s if you’ve already worked out your exposure time – not exactly suitable for snapshots!

Shooting The Grand Canyon wasn’t really a question then, was it? I didn’t even want to make the 5 hour detour in order to spend the day at the park, but I’m glad we did. We spent an enjoyable evening in Williams, the ‘Gateway To The Grand Canyon’, meaning not only did I get to tick visiting The Grand Canyon off of my bucket list, but also driving on Historic Route 66 on which the town lies on.

Final Thoughts

So how does The Kodak Number 1 hold up? It’s complicated…

I don’t like shooting with it. Framing and Composition is hard – Exposure and Focus is almost guesswork. But the images aren’t bad. When the exposure and focus is correct, they look fantastic and the extra detail from shooting Medium Format is noticeable, even with the near hundred year old glass. I’m struggling to find a reason why I dislike some shots other than they’re just not what I intended when I envisioned capturing the scene before me.

Above all, the sentimental value means I can’t help but want to shoot it again and again. I can’t imagine my Great Great Grandfather would’ve imagined when he purchased this camera that nearly a hundred years later his Great Great Grandson would take it to the other side of the world in order to emulate his heroes in a quest to document the National Parks of America.

Do you have a sentimental attachment to a camera?

I’d love to hear – let me know about it in the comments below!

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