Design #281: Fototecnica Rayflex: 1946 Sheaffer V-Mail: A Soldier's Camera Fantasy (南北一家親)
I find that the way I design cameras is very similar to the way I've constructed poems.
A 1946 ad for Paul Jones whiskey (now long discontinued) reinvents a soldier's fantasy camera. The current Four Roses Bourbon is one of the direct descendants of this liquor.
A scene on a New York patio in the 1940s is mixed like a cocktail to be any soldier's dream for "the greatest wedding on earth", which also is the name of one of my favorite chinese films from 1962, 南北一家. Fortunately, this film won't be that of starcrossed lovers but will show the way with references to Sheaffer's Voyager V-Mail writing kit and a luxurious Questar telescope.
The WWII soldiers' camera, an iconic item itself, is celebrated with a digitally modified 1946 Fototecnica Rayflex. The Questar's revolutionary Equatorial drive and onboard star chart as well as the internal viewfinder of the camera, made to look like a New York city rooftop, both "look" nostalgically back to the love scene from the film. When you slide the camera top mechanism forward, a well appointed lap desk is revealed with a recessed miniature version of the V-Mail letterforms as well as a red Sheaffer Balance fountain pen of that era. The rooftop IVF also houses a tiny inkwell with Scripto black ink. As an IVF, the roof door opens to reveal an eyepiece to allow viewing of an illuminated B&W slide showing the love scene from the film.
Lastly, and enameled replica of the 1946 Paul Jones ad is screwed in as a back plate. Unscrewing it will reveal a port for a digital camera. A second knob allows the entire back to be used for focusing which would also require an additional lens inside. The modification adds an extra 1.5 inches to the back and bottom of the original camera enclosure. Of course the brilliant viewfinder is recessed and a makeshift skylight is constructed as a grate over the camera top opening.
Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2015 by David Lo.
Design #281: Fototecnica Rayflex: 1946 Sheaffer V-Mail: A Soldier's Camera Fantasy (南北一家親)
I find that the way I design cameras is very similar to the way I've constructed poems.
A 1946 ad for Paul Jones whiskey (now long discontinued) reinvents a soldier's fantasy camera. The current Four Roses Bourbon is one of the direct descendants of this liquor.
A scene on a New York patio in the 1940s is mixed like a cocktail to be any soldier's dream for "the greatest wedding on earth", which also is the name of one of my favorite chinese films from 1962, 南北一家. Fortunately, this film won't be that of starcrossed lovers but will show the way with references to Sheaffer's Voyager V-Mail writing kit and a luxurious Questar telescope.
The WWII soldiers' camera, an iconic item itself, is celebrated with a digitally modified 1946 Fototecnica Rayflex. The Questar's revolutionary Equatorial drive and onboard star chart as well as the internal viewfinder of the camera, made to look like a New York city rooftop, both "look" nostalgically back to the love scene from the film. When you slide the camera top mechanism forward, a well appointed lap desk is revealed with a recessed miniature version of the V-Mail letterforms as well as a red Sheaffer Balance fountain pen of that era. The rooftop IVF also houses a tiny inkwell with Scripto black ink. As an IVF, the roof door opens to reveal an eyepiece to allow viewing of an illuminated B&W slide showing the love scene from the film.
Lastly, and enameled replica of the 1946 Paul Jones ad is screwed in as a back plate. Unscrewing it will reveal a port for a digital camera. A second knob allows the entire back to be used for focusing which would also require an additional lens inside. The modification adds an extra 1.5 inches to the back and bottom of the original camera enclosure. Of course the brilliant viewfinder is recessed and a makeshift skylight is constructed as a grate over the camera top opening.
Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2015 by David Lo.