New Ideas From Old Gear

HOW TO UNLOCK CREATIVITY USING A VINTAGE BROWNIE HAWKEYE CAMERA.

- Michael Chiusano

TODAY’S DIGITAL CAMERAS have become so adept at almost any shooting situation that, paradoxically, they can inhibit creativity by always delivering a technically perfect result. With little effort, a photographer can produce a sharp, clear, well-exposed image, color balanced and, well, a bit too perfect.

The truth of this is made clear by considering the myriad of digital filters, tonal corrections, softening tools, analog film simulations, and other software conversions that have flooded the market, for better or worse, and that allow you to move away from the “straight” image produced by digital cameras. They are a recognition that great photographs are often a long way from technically perfect photographs.

I myself fell into this trap because I spent my professional career with highend cameras in both the analog (film) and the digital domains. As a retired pro now shooting for my own enjoyment, my creativity got locked into always seeking perfection with my images. And so, to break out of this pattern, I decided to try shooting with the simplest (and least perfect) camera I could find: a 1960 vintage Kodak Brownie Hawkeye film camera.

Going back in time with a box camera might be just the thing you need to unlock your own picture-taking creativity. It won’t cost you much and is just plain fun.

CLASSIC DESIGN 

I found my Brownie Hawkeye on the Goodwill Industries auction site for a price of $7. They also show up a lot at yard sales, flea markets, and charity drop-off places. I didn’t really know much about the camera itself, having just a vague recollection that Kodak sold them in great quantity to amateurs. It is a triumph of old-school Bakelite plastic design, charming in a retro sort of way and ideally suited for its intended purpose.