Until a couple of decades ago, photography was a
costly affair practised only by those who can afford…… there were famous names
such as – Agfa, Kodak, Konica – which all sold film rolls. Anybody
returning from a foreign trip used to gift film rolls of 24 or 36 to friends
and relatives. There were some manual cameras where you had to move everytime a
photo was taken and some automatic – ..
one was unsure of the results and one
had to wait with bated breath after giving the roll – expecting some good items
captured do turn out well ! – there was the standard instruction of Only Good
prints (OGP)’ whence the shop will print only those which had come out well.
The developing might take a couple of days and another annoying thing was
that the result of the capture would never be known until the entire roll was
complete ! – all story of past !!
The name Kodak has been synonymous with the
world of cameras since the firm was founded by George Eastman in the 19th
Century. His vision to keep Kodak at the forefront of photography by the
masses has seen its peaks and troughs. George Eastman saw Kodak take off
after pioneering roll film in 1886 - an alternative to cumbersome photographic
plates normally only developed by chemists and specialists. The opaque backing
paper allowed roll film to be loaded in daylight. It is typically printed with
frame number markings which can be viewed through a small red window at the
rear of the camera. Big fish eating small fish often happens in market and
sometimes even smaller fish takes over the much bigger one – but the death of
Kotak was not by any of its competitor in Camera selling. It was the
technology of digital cameras, whose existence also is now challenged by ……………
again not cameras, but smartphones, as it is reported that the sale of ordinary
device has plummetted 30% in five years.. .. .. the selfie culture and the popularity
of smartphones having cameras built in,
meant familie - no longer buying
separate cameras.
Photography
is the science, art and practice of creating durable images by recording light
or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image
sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as
photographic film. Typically, a lens is used to focus the light reflected or
emitted from objects into a real image on the light-sensitive surface inside a
camera during a timed exposure. A negative image on film is traditionally used
to photographically create a positive image on a paper base, known as a print,
either by using an enlarger or by contact printing. World over, 29th June is Camera
day ~ and read this interesting article that appeared in New Indian Express,
Chennai edition of date.
Over
1,000 eyes look at us as we enter the humble home of C Sekar on Pycrofts Road. Eyes here, refer to the lens of the vintage
cameras that have been mounted in every nook and corner of his ‘camera house’. Some packed in covers and some kept in the
corners just waiting for it to be recognized, every camera has a story to tell.
As we settle amid the cameras, Sekar who now owns over 4,500 cameras of
different size, shapes, brands and nationality narrates his passion for these
vintage beauties. “I am from Dharmapuri and I settled in Chennai 35 years ago.
With a diploma in electronics, I had the knowledge on how to handle electronic
gadgets,” he narrates as he dusts an Ikoflex.
New Indian Express photo
With
only a handful of camera mechanics, Sekar became a sought after technician back
in the 80’s. “All the technicians here were only trained to repair and fix
manual cameras. Since I had a brief knowledge about it I was able to adapt to
the changing mechanism in cameras and I became aware of every single
equipment.” he goes on, “I always had the passion to have a vintage collection
of something like cars, stamps or coins. But, I decided to collect something I
was familiar with... Cameras!” he smiles. He not only owns the camera bodies
but also camera essentials like old bulbs, cells, films and even the smallest wires!
A
German camera with 100 feet film, a 160-year-old camera which is half-the-size
of the room, cameras that work with keys, old pocket and foldable cameras in
different sizes, wooden cameras, a camera which once took pictures of Gandhi
and a 16-mm movie camera which has the footage of the Indo-Chinese war (1962)
are some of his possessions. The 16-mm movie camera owned by L V Prasad, R
Krishnan of SudesiMitran and MGR's Hasselblad and Guernica are other notable
assets in his collection. With a major evolution in cameras from steel lenses
to digitised screens, Sekar has seen and owns it all. “Cameras have evolved so
much from the old bulb ones. Pocket cameras back then were the size of a big
DSLR today!” he laughs.
Shedding
light on how disk and floppy cameras were the first digitised cameras, he
shares that he is proud of housing and preserving everything in one place. “I
have history that is valuable to the country. But, there has been no
recognition. People from Germany and other foreign countries visit me to see
the collection. But, there hasn’t been much local support,” he shares. As we head back to his office, a room filled
with cameras and space just for two, he says, “I am planning to sell my
cameras. I would love to give it to schools and universities if they're willing
to buy.” Why? “I feed 4000 parrots every day and this is the place they fly to.
The owners of this building have decided to sell this property and the tenants
have been asked to move out. I want to buy this building with the money I get
from selling the cameras. I want the parrots to have their home intact.
Otherwise where will they go?” he asks.
Though
bidding farewell to his cameras is tough, Sekar says, “I want these parrots to
be safe. I want my cameras to be safe as well. There are people who say that
they’ll take the cameras for free. I spent my life in procuring them and
they’re asking it for free! What a weird world,” he smiles bleakly.
The man at start, Mr Sekar is known to me, has repaired
my digital camera, more than that, everytime I pass around Pycrofts Road, I turn
to look for his presence and if found, would chat a word or two happily. I had earlier on a couple of occasions posted
on the winged visitors [green parrots] flocking to his house also.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
30th June 2016.