XXL black and white analog sefie & the Hornet
The biggest black-and-white analog selfies at the moment come from Munich, specifically from our customer Josef Dreisöner (please take a look at the photos in this article and enjoy). He took them with a "Klimsch" camera that is over 60 years old. The 550 kg colossus stands in the offices of his advertising agency and photographs the "most honest portraits you can imagine", as Dreisöner himself says. After the complex production, WENZEL comes into play with its Hornet for gentle, contactless digitization.
Load film: With a 20kg cassette in the dark
To produce the XXL selfie in 50 x 60 cm format, the photographer and the person portrayed have to go back about 60 years into the past. Technically at least. Josef Dreisöner starts the process by inserting the photographic paper. This takes place in a darkroom, of course, or more precisely in his light-proof WC. "The film cassette must weigh 20 kg. Coordinating it in the dark requires routine. But I've got that now," says Dreisöner. He literally inserts the photographic paper "blind" and closes the container with a blind, hangs it back on the camera and the alignment with the subject can begin.
How did the 550 kg giant get to Munich?
Review: "Either you take it or it goes." With these words, Josef Dreisöner, owner of an advertising agency and WENZEL customer, was given the choice some time ago of "rescuing" an old Klimsch Praktika repro camera from 1957 and taking it into his premises or sending it to the scrap press. A printing company in Mönchengladbach was about to close down and still had the good piece left. After a short period of consideration, he decided to take the 550 kg colossus with him to Munich. "These devices only exist very rarely, actually only in museums, and they are hardly ever used for photography anymore. But I have space in my agency and since then I've had an elaborate but enjoyable hobby. And: it offers the biggest black and white selfie I know."
Align camera, take an honest selfie
Back to the selfie: once the cassette with the photographic paper is back on the camera, Dreisöner aligns it with the subject - in this case, the person being portrayed. "The focus is on the eye level. This means that everything a few centimetres in front of or behind this plane is blurred, which is what makes it so charming." This applies, for example, to the tip of the nose, which is always soft. Around the eyes, however, everything is razor sharp. "So sharp that every little wrinkle becomes visible. I always say it's the most honest photo you can get of yourself," adds Dreisöner, "without filters like on Instagram." This also stops one or two ladies from being photographed by him. Once the camera is aligned, he closes it with the cassette and pulls the blind up, exposing the photo paper. As soon as the customer presses the selfie button, the shutter on the front of the lens opens and the material is exposed.
All mechanical, lenses as an investment?
As romantic as working with such an old appliance is, what happens if a component is defective? "A locksmith can usually help me, because everything is mechanical, without any digital or electronic bells and whistles." The only annoying thing is if the lens at the front breaks. "That's a special design. One of them costs over 1000 euros and the price increases every year. It's actually a good investment if you think about it." Dreisöner has therefore stocked up on two replacements.
A little help from modern technology
Back to the selfie. There is a little help from modern technology: the customer can see themselves on an attached tablet and choose a facial expression. As soon as he or she likes it, they press the button in their hand and the photo is taken. Dreisöner allows three passes, "because there is no post-processing." After the three shots - each time with "darkroom, photo paper out, stow away, new photo paper in, hang up cassette" - Dreisöner puts all the pictures in a lightproof box to transport them to the photo lab.
WENZEL digitizes contactlessly and gently
After a few days, the developed photos are returned and Dreisöner scans them at WENZEL for his online marketing. "I tried to digitize the photos in a swipe scanner. The result: the photos were completely destroyed," reports Dreisöner. So he started looking for a better alternative and found WENZEL with its Hornet. "It was exactly what I was looking for: contactless, fast and gentle. It saves you the effort of building your own construction and is also absolutely fair in terms of price." He uses the digital images for his website, Instagram and Facebook presence or to pass on to interested parties. "But we don't 'tweak' them with Photoshop or anything similar," assures Dreisöner. It is and remains the most honest selfie there is.
Oh and by the way: If you think that one looks familiar... that's the Obststandl-Didi, a Munich original (here on Wikipediahere in the satirical image video).
Do you have a similar digitization project? WENZEL will be happy to help. Contact us at any time.
Yours, Matthias Wenzel
