Episode 04: The Illusion That They Were Still Alive

2019-10-29

On this extra-spooky episode - 004. The Illusion That They Were Still Alive - Vania (@surfmartian) and Eric (@conspiracy.of.cartographers) go a bit longer than usual, but we assure you it’s worth it (and still shorter than most podcasts). Things start off in a fairly normal way as we say hello and have a quick chat about Ilford’s “new” Ortho 80. Are we excited? Sure. Are we incredibly excited? Listen and find out. We then check the answering machine, which is also a normal thing.

Things start off in a fairly normal way as we say hello and have a quick chat about Ilford’s “new” Ortho 80. Are we excited? Sure. Are we incredibly excited? Listen and find out. We then check the answering machine, which is also a normal thing.

This week’s messages are all about unexpectedly fruitful locations. We’ll hear from @elgatomagnifico @mike_on_film @ninlyone @jtheokauth and @space_critter. We also give some vague ideas about our locations.

Here’s where things get a bit spooky, so hold on. For this episode, Vania dug into the Victorian tradition of post-mortem photography. Get ready for some sad and interesting photos of dead people. But digging a bit deeper, she found some deathbed photography and even some pet photography (dead, of course). It might seem weird now, but it was pretty normal then. Basically.

This led to a talk about old timey photos, which prompted us to give Jennifer Froula Weber (@jenniferfroulaweber) a call. She’s a tintype photographer who began her analog camera journey with tintypes (seriously). We talk not just tintypes, but history, the magic of 620 cameras, and how Swedish silent films have influenced her work. (Also, big shout out to Scout Finch.)

But then it’s back to the 1800s (though it’s not really like we left it with Jennifer) for Eric’s piece on William Mumler, Spirit Photographer. He claimed to have accidentally captured a spirit on a glass negative while taking a selfie. And there it is, clear as day - the ghost and Mr. Mumler. This “accident” was replicated hundreds of times and made him a whole slew of money. Was he arrested for fraud? Was P.T. Barnum involved? How about Mary Todd Lincoln? Find out!

We end the episode with a bit of a primer for the next episode, when we’ll have our first movie night and watch Hitchcock’s Rear Window, a film that stars the Exakta Verex VX (as well as Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly).

Music was provided by Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers (@lastregiment)

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