Uncle Jack’s Last Shots

There’s something a bit poignant about looking at some images and realizing they were the last photographs ever taken by a person who had an enthusiasm for photography most of their life.

This was my experience recently, a story that probably began about 9 months ago when I unearthed from a cupboard some cameras that had not been used in more than 30 years. I had purchased them new and second hand back in the seventies and used them extensively until the pressure of family and career gradually reduced the photography passion. Included was a Pentax SV that appeared to be still working, so I purchased some HP5, Ilfosol 3 and fixer, and shot a roll off. From another cupboard I dredged out an old Paterson tank and processed the film. I was absolutely thrilled when every frame came out – the passion was revived! And as you do with a grand enthusiasm, I began relating the fact to family and friends and they in turn started offering all sorts of old and ancient photographic equipment, primarily to help clear their own cupboards.

One of the cameras I was given was a Contessa-Nettel Cocarette made in Germany in about 1921, a folding camera taking 120 film with 6x 9 format. It had belonged to my wife’s uncle Jack, who had passed away in 1970 and was, according family lore, a passionate photographer. Family albums are full of photographs he had taken, and he apparently was often seen with this camera over many years. The camera had been given to a cousin but had never been used. When it came to me, it looked a bit rough around the edges and still had a film in it, which appeared to have used only 3 frames. I was able to wind it on to the next frame and took a shot. Not knowing what the film was, I took a guess and exposed it at 50 ASA. However, when winding it on again everything jammed up. I had to extract the film in the darkroom and load into a developing tank. It turned out to be a roll of Kodak Verichrome Pan.

It was clear that camera had not been stored in optimum conditions over the last 50 years and I did not hold out much hope for getting anything much off the film. I used a 14/1 dilution of Ilfosol 3 at 20C for 14 minutes. When the film was removed from the tank I was amazed to see the four images, looking a little underdeveloped but recognizable, two landscapes, a rather ethereal picture, a figure is just discernible, it may even be a double exposure, and a house (the shot I had taken). Once the negatives had been scanned, it was clear from the marks and spots that the emulsion was breaking down due to age and poor storage and possibly damage from the camera jam.

But they are still reasonably clear, so the next task was to identify where and when they were taken. As it turned out, a cousin took one look and said “that was on my farm, and the woolshed was still being built so it would have been 1964” He remembered Jack visiting about that time. It would appear then that these were the last photographs Jack took, certainly on this camera, and family members don’t recall him having another. He was not in good health in the latter years of his life so it is likely the camera was put to one side and given to another family member when he passed away.
Even though I had taken one picture with it, I was not sure if the camera would work reliably. I cleaned it, sorted out the film transport and put a fresh roll through. The images looked ok, but were not a great success because of the light leaks, primarily on the corners of the bellows. Fortunately I was able to cure these with electricians liquid tape. I also dismantled and cleaned the shutter and lens, and although the 1/100 shutter speed is still a bit slow, the camera is working well again, with good sharp images. Other than cleaning I have not tried to restore the exterior, it remains looking as it did when Jack last used it. I am also using it to photograph members of the family, in particular some of the older folk who remember Uncle Jack and his camera well.

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