I think Andy has the biggest collection of home built photo gadgets in the western world, but I've got a few..
I am not sure why some of you think this is the case although I have been forced, and enjoyed along the way,
making a bunch of accessories and support equipment proded usually by the fact I could not afford the "real"
thing. In many cases it was more fun and satisfying to make my own.
One of the first devices was a horizontal enlarger made of probably shoe boxes. I used it in a closet based
darkroom. Don't remember what I did for developing in the closet but proably had 3 small trays in there with me.
Later on an enlarger based on a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 camera that served as the negative carrier attached to an inclined
wooden "pole" and equipped with a tin lamp housing. A 400 mm lens adapted to a nesting cardboard tube with the
length adjusted to fit onto a home made reflex viewing device ala Leica Visoflex. Wide angle and telephoto lenses made
of door security gadgets and diopter lenses. Right angle finder.
I've tinkered with various slave synchronizers, shutter testers, delay circuits, tailflash circuits both electronic
and mechanical, stroboscopes both electronic and mechanical, strip and streak cameras and enlargers, stereo cameras,
macro and micro photography devices, telescopes but the one item that is fairly unique is a "conical" strip camera.
I guess most "tinkerers" forget all the improvised items that accumulate over time ... until we have to move them.
Mine mostly still clutter my work space to the dismay of the cleaning crew!
;)
andy
