Imperial Herco toy camera 6×6 black and white photos
By Daniel J. SchneiderPosted:
The spires of St. John’s Cathedral on Washington Street and 14th Avenue in Denver’s historic Capitol Hill neighborhood. This 100-year-old cathedral is full of beautiful stained glass and surrounded by park-like grass and trees, and visible from blocks away. (Daniel J. Schneider)
I acquired the Imperial Herco at an antique mall for $8 in the summer of 2011. Long a fan of old things and already a photographer, I thought of it as a nice piece of brick-a-brack to display on my wall someplace. It’s like a cheap brownie knockoff, but it’s actually a very attractive little camera.
As my interest in film photography (beyond the take-it-to-MotoPhoto variety I knew when I was younger) I decided to test it with a roll of film.
The photo above are mostly just test shots, some from a walk with the dog in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, and some from a drive to Conifer, Colorado, and over Guanella Pass in search of colorful Aspen trees as the turned for fall.
The first things I noticed after developing the film were that the emulsion was deeply scratched throughout the roll, and that the images are more and more distorted as they reach the edge of the frame. That the edges would be out of focus at the edge didn’t surprise me, and with a camera that originally sold for less than $3 (not very expensive even in 1954) even the distortion wasn’t a surprise. The degree of distortion, though, was. The scratches on the negatives are clearly from the cheaply-cast bakelite film path. I noticed several burrs when I first inspected it and was able to smooth them some with my thumbnail.
St. John’s Cathedral on Washington Street and 14th Avenue in Denver’s historic Capitol Hill neighborhood. This 100-year-old cathedral is full of beautiful stained glass and surrounded by park-like grass and trees, and visible from blocks away. (Daniel J. Schneider)The buttresses and churchyard to the east of St. John’s Cathedral on Washington Street and 14th Avenue in Denver’s historic Capitol Hill neighborhood. This 100-year-old cathedral is full of beautiful stained glass and surrounded by park-like grass and trees, and visible from blocks away. (Daniel J. Schneider)The outside of the ambulatory and choir of St. John’s Cathedral on Washington Street and 14th Avenue in Denver’s historic Capitol Hill neighborhood. This 100-year-old cathedral is full of beautiful stained glass and surrounded by park-like grass and trees, and visible from blocks away. (Daniel J. Schneider)Another view of St. John’s Cathedral in Denver’s Capitol Hill shows the distortion in the Herco’s tiny lens. Notice how the spires appear to curve inward as they climb to the top of the frame — the don’t actually do that. (Daniel J. Schneider)Lion’s Head north of Conifer, Colorado, as ominous clouds roll in from the southwest in late September, 2011. Visible in the foreground are the brightly-colored Aspen trees on the promontory’s southern slope, preparing to shed their leaves for winter. (Daniel J. Schneider)A view of the trees in a valley north of Conifer, Colorado. Notice again the distortion toward the edges of the frame, and notice also the scratches on the negative from the inexpensively cast bakelite film path in the Herco Imperial. (Daniel J. Schneider)A view of the trees in a valley north of Conifer, Colorado. Notice again the distortion toward the edges of the frame, and notice also the scratches on the negative from the inexpensively cast bakelite film path in the Herco Imperial. (Daniel J. Schneider)My dog, Batta, enjoys some shade on a sunny September afternoon in a valley north of Conifer, Colorado. Taken with my Herco Imperial bakelite toy camera. (Daniel J. Schneider)My dog, Batta, is loving some freedom from the leash on a sunny September afternoon in a valley north of Conifer, Colorado. Taken with my Herco Imperial bakelite toy camera. (Daniel J. Schneider)Mount Bierstadt and the saw tooth leading to Mount Evans, seen from the scenic overlook near the top of Guanella Pass, south of Georgetown, Colorado, as the afternoon rainclouds begin to clear. (Daniel J. Schneider)
These shots were taken with Kodak T-Max 100, rerolled from 120 onto spare 620 spools, and developed in Ilford Ilfotec DD-X developer at 1+4.
Photoshopping included: Adjusting exposure with levels to compensate for over-exposed and under-developed film; minor use of Spot Healing Brush to eliminate the worst dust from the scanner bed. I did not attempt to repair the scratches in the negatives.
