My love for photography started when I was in secondary school. One of my family's asset was a Kodak Brownie C box camera. Living in a small town Kuala Pilah, photographic material supply is simply non existence. My ambition then was trying to print my own black & white photograph. There were 3 reprint shops in town but the technology was well guarded. I remembered making attempt to develope the film in a small dark room under the stair. A 3x6 feet space with a stair ramp running over my head, no standing please!
The joy was as big as invention of the bulb to Edison when one of my films developed faintly show image taken with my beloved Brownie. After the discovery of technique, I work on it, later became school photographer and managed to make few dollars by taking photograph or design book marks and sell it in school. Later I bought a China made Shanghai Twin Lens Reflex to improve my photograph quality from 35mm range finder to 6x6cm twin lens reflex film size.
I pick up antique camera collection in Dunedin, New Zealand when a creative fellow Malaysian student from Sabah tried to attach a Polaroid film cartridge in place of film plate of a plate camera Sanderson ( early camera film is made from glass ). After he failed, he decided to get rid of the camera, like throwing away the golden pan when one could not find golden sand. I bought it at give away price. The Sanderson Tropical Field Camera (1905-1920) is work of science and art . That begins my next hobby to collect classic and old cameras.
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An unforgettable experience is how I bought my second Sanderson, Sanderson Regular Model (1903-1920). Old Harry run an antique shop at St. Kilda, Dunedin. Sometime in June, I step into the shop, I saw the Sanderson. Harry asked for NZ 60.00. That's a lot of money for me. I told him I was a student could not afford it at that time. Perhaps due to my enthusiasm, he asked me when can I saved enough money. I told him in December. Harry said "Come back in December, I will put it aside for you ". I was skeptical about his promise. When I return in December, I got the Sanderson. There is something in the New Zealander that we can learn from ! That was about 34 years ago. Thank you Harry, I did not sell it away like the other student inventor!
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Sanderson Regular Model |
The birth of digital camera at turn of millennium changed the history of camera. Processing of photograph shifted from chemical to electronic micro processing, rendering consumer film camera to oblivion eventually. The new high pixel digital camera is able to produce photograph quality equal to celluloid film camera. Digital images can be duplicated, edited, transmitted instantly without having to send in to reprint shop. You don't have to get your hands wet to print it. Here I present to you my humble collection of classic and modern cameras. Catch a glimpse of camera evolution before we or our younger generation slowly forgetting the good old film camera which contributed much to mankind in the past 160 years. - SK Lim 2006