The Kodak Duex

This camera came from a friend's basement, where it had sat for quite some time.  Other than the usual dust and grime that comes from sitting around, it was in great shape.  There is some internal dust on the lens, but it did not seem to affect the negatives.  It sat in a box for over a year after we moved to NC, and in preparation for a zine on toy cameras, I thought it would be worthwhile to give the camera a try. The Duex was manufactured from 1940-42, and my example came from Canada, and was manufactured there.  It's hard to believe that the camera is about 80 years old.  Yet, it's rather stylish, but still, a pretty simple camera.  

The Duex is one of the few Kodak cameras that shoots 16 images on 620.  The camera is unusual and readily identified by the large Bakelite helical that extends from the body to the proper length for taking photos.  The lens has an aperture of f/11, and the shutter speeds are Instant ( ca. 1/30 sec) and Bulb.  The base of the camera has a tripod socket.  The direct vision viewfinder is centered on the top deck of the camera.  The camera has a surprisingly comfortable feel in the hands, with its rounded, thin body.  

There are a lot of potential toy cameras out there that would be ideal shooters if it were not for the fact that they require 620 film, which was discontinued by Kodak in 1995.  It can be quite frustrating to a novice to pick up a nice vintage camera only to find that a spool of 120 film does not fit into it.  For starters, any camera made by Kodak after 1931 that takes 6x4.5, 6x6, or 6x9 cm images uses 620 film.  It's a different scenario when looking at vintage roll film cameras from Europe, most of which used 120 film.  Of course, I had to re-spool a roll of film to test this camera, but with a changing bag and 2 620 spools it's quite easy. The reason for two 620 is spools is that I spool from the 120 to the 620, but of course, that roll would be backwards if used in the camera. So, I then spool from the first 620 spool to another 620 spool to get the film back into its original state.   All done inside the changing bag, of course.

I took the Duex on a short trip to Marshall, NC and then along the French Broad River.  I shot one roll of Tmax 100, expired in 2000. The images are really quite good, much to my surprise.  I used a tripod on the long exposures, but otherwise, it was handheld.  It's a little disconcerting turning it sideways to shoot in landscape mode, but the camera handles well.  

The following scans are of the Tmax 100, developed in HC-110B for 6 minutes.  HC-110 is recommended for expired films as it seems to keep the base fog down.

Actually shooting with the Duex really changed my mind about the camera.  The images came out great, with very little distortion, and no vignetting.  Certainly much better than a Diana.  This camera now gets my vote as one that people should try shooting with.  Since it has a tripod mount, you can use it in B mode, and if the light is too bright, or you want to go for the long exposure, you can tape a ND filter over the lens. 

Monochrome Mania Issue 2

When I set out to produce my photography zine, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted it to become. It's a creative outlet for me, as I had been involved in writing and publishing for my entire professional career, and also in my hobbies over the past 30 years. However, a photo zine is somewhat different  - yes - it's a vanity press, but it's a way for me to connect with people with photography, and to get my work in the hands of people at a price that's less than two lattes at a coffee shop.

I had already seen a number of other photo zines, and I can tell you that like anything in photography, they represent a broad range of interests and subject matter. However, they are all out there because people want their work to be seen, on terms that they can control.  We are lacking in print outlets for a lot of photography. The plethora of photography magazines that existed 20 years ago have been decimated by the digital tsunami.  In addition, print publications depend on advertising revenue to be able to publish and pay employees.  Subscriptions fall, advertisers leave, and the print publication goes online -only, and then it may cease to exist altogether.  I am not an online magazine reader.  I like the physicality of a publication, and that it can be read anywhere, as an escape from the ever-present smartphone and computer screens.

So, we now have many photographers that have something to say with their work, and  apart from some curated photography publications, nowhere to publish.  Back in the late 1980s, desktop publishing was just becoming a reality, with the software and laser printing that allowed press-ready work to be done by anyone.  That changed the way things like newsletters and small-market publications were done, not to mention the rest of the publishing industry. I was the editor of an entomological journal, and when I started, I sent physical manuscripts to the typesetters (which were typed in), and by the time I left that position, everything was a digital file, including illustrations, supplied by the authors, which were formatted for publication by the typesetters and sent to production. Now, the journal is only available online, and while I am sure that it saves the organization thousands of dollars, individual papers can be printed out by the user, if necessary.  So, what does that have to do with a photo zine, you ask? 

In my opinion, makers of photo zines are wanting to do exactly the opposite - those of us that produce photo zines recognize that the physical manifestation of an image may be as important as the image.  For those of us that use film - we already know that an image is a tangible thing. It exists whether we print it or not, as a negative or a slide. Yes, we can share it on social media, Flickr, and other online resources after we digitize it, but it may not have the same impact and audience that a print would have. People see an image for a few seconds on a screen, and click "like", and go on.  I think that those of us that produce zines want to do something more than that - we value the tangible, the permanence, and the physical attributes of the image.  Hence, we produce zines to showcase our vision, our interests, and to connect via the printed page. 

page 9, MM #2.

I have had some requests for pdfs of my first Monochrome Mania.  It's still available in print. I'm not giving it away, but at $10, it's pretty cheap. No pdfs will be available, because they are made only to produce the printed copy.  I have so far limited production to 100 copies per issue, and when they are gone, that's it. You may think that only 100 copies is a small number.  If you had any image purchased by 100 people, you'd be really, really happy.  That's kind of how I look at it.  I produce Monochrome Mania as a sort of self-indulgent creative outlet.  This issue number 2 is very different from No. 1. Number 3 will be even more different, as it will be all about "Toy Cameras."  Like other makers of zines, it is a way to share my passion about photography, and get it into your hands at a very low price. 

Issue Number 2 is Michigan Meanderings, and consists of photographs taken in various places in the state of Michigan. Having lived in Michigan for 37 years, I have visited most areas of the state, but seriously photographed places only since about 2006.  Some parts of the state have been shot extensively (Marquette, Ann Arbor), and I have lots more material for other future compilations. Nearly half of the photos in this issue were taken while my friend Marc Akemann and I were on photo trips together from 2008-2017.  I have dedicated this issue to his memory, and wish he were still alive to see it.  I am just about finished developing and scanning rolls of film that he left behind, and I have found a number of the rolls are from our joint trips.  That's a bittersweet experience, and maybe someday I'll be able to put some of them side-by-side with my images from those trips.

Me, taken by Marc, June, 2013

You can purchase Monochrome Mania No. 2 by going to the link on the right side bar, or by clicking here.