Tenleymayfield’s Weblog

Today was a great day. I went to school and got back mid-term grades. When I got out of school today, it was time to get down to business. I started cutting cameras today. The first camera that I cut was the Golden Eye. It was an easy cut because most of the material is thin plastic with a minimal amount of metal. The next camera was Brownie Hawkeye. Out of all the cameras, these were the two that were the least complicated regarding their insides and the material that the cameras were made out of. After cutting these two, the next few cameras that were cut were the Minolta, the Canon, the Polaroid Land Camera and the Argus Instant Load. These last four cameras were a little more complicated because of the pieces that they are comprised of. The Minolta and the Canon cameras are comprised of an equal ratio of plastic and metal. So the after effects need a little cleaning up around the edges. With a trusty Dremel tool this should not be a problem. Now, the struggle is size. I have to decide what arrangement each camera will take after it is set in the resin. All of the cameras except for the two Polaroid Land cameras are around the same size. So, the size of the final mold will be spilt in two sizes, which will be determined this weekend. So, for now here are a few images of the cameras during the sawing process and after.

So, this week is midterm week at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. As it has approached, I decided to take one week off my timeline to study and prepare for midterms. Next week I plan on hitting the Senior Thesis project strong. So far this week, I have worked on a video for my digital video class, (see category “Digital Video” on my Word Press Blog to check out other videos I have worked on in class so far this semester.) I have written a five page paper comparing and contrasting John Singleton Copley’s Watson and the Shark (1778 and 1782), studied slides for an Art History midterm, taken photographs for an individual study and have been working on my artist statement and bio. Needless to say, I needed one week away from the actual work with cameras and resin. Once the weekend rolls around and midterms are over, I can get my schedule back to normal and get back to work on the task that are closely at hand and due dates that are creeping up extremely fast.

Cameras, cameras and more cameras. Over the past few weeks, I encountered a bump in the road regarding completion of my senior thesis presentation. When I first started gathering information and equipment for the items I needed, I developed a preliminary list of questions. I kept fighting myself on the idea of bringing digital cameras into the project or solely staying with film cameras. Once I started trying to find cameras that were digital I encountered an even larger problem with cost. I could not justify spending hundreds of dollars on a camera that I would saw in half I also fought with myself over the whole idea of film meets digital and the exploration within. There are definitely a lot more film cameras that are easy to access (older in age and newer in age) then there are when you step into the realm of digital. So, when all was said and done, I decided that it would be more appropriate to stay with all film cameras for this project. The decision is made.

Here is a list of the cameras that will be used; Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model (May 1949 to July 1961), Golden Shield (1958 to1966), Argus Instant Load 270 (1966 to 1967), Polaroid Land Camera 340 (1969 to1971), Polaroid Super Colorpack (1971 to 1972), Nikon F2 (1959 to 1974), Minolta Maxxum 5000 (1986 to 2004), Canon Rebel 2000 EOS (1999 to present).