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The Soldier's Camera 1914-1918
The Kodak Vest Pocket (VPK) camera
The VPK camera was made in several countries, but I bought this 1917 model a few years ago from a fellow in the UK specifically because it was the Canadian version manufactured by Canadian Kodak Company Ltd. in Toronto.
So a logical guess would be that it made it across the Atlantic on a troop carrier in the knapsack of a WW1 Canadian soldier.
Quoted from Tommy's War - The Western Front in Soldiers' Words and Photographs, (shown open in the photo):
Chapter 1: The VPK camera - "In 1912 the small Vest Pocket Kodak (VPK), with its 127mm film, was manufactured, producing smaller 1 3/8 by 2 1/2 inch images, so that by the time war broke out, soldiers of any rank could take a camera with them, if they could afford it.
The camera's compact shape, its retractable bellows lens and its durable all-metal construction made it ideal for the tunic or greatcoat pocket.
Kodak was not shy when it came to advertising its VPK as the perfect camera for the front: 'the Soldier's Camera' they called it, and while the cost was a lot for other ranks to pay, it was not entirely prohibitive to the committed enthusiast.
In marketing its products to the soldier, the company naturally focused on its camera's suitability for front-line life, especially its durability and flexibility. But it also cleverly picked up on the significance and, indeed, the historical importance of the images that were already being taken at the front.
To give such a camera to a soldier, it argued persuasively, would be to ensure that a loved one did not miss out on recording such a hugely significant event as a European war."
Olympus OMD-EM10 Mark IV
Olympus M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO @ 25mm
Godox TT685 TTL bounced
► All my images are my own real photography, not fake AI fraudography.
► Toutes mes images sont ma propre vraie photographie, pas une fausse fraudographie basée sur l'IA.
■ Please don't use my images for any purpose, including on websites or blogs, without my explicit permission.
■ S.V.P ne pas utiliser cette photo sur un site web, blog ou tout autre média sans ma permission explicite.
© Tom Freda / All rights reserved - Tous droits réservés
The Soldier's Camera 1914-1918
The Kodak Vest Pocket (VPK) camera
The VPK camera was made in several countries, but I bought this 1917 model a few years ago from a fellow in the UK specifically because it was the Canadian version manufactured by Canadian Kodak Company Ltd. in Toronto.
So a logical guess would be that it made it across the Atlantic on a troop carrier in the knapsack of a WW1 Canadian soldier.
Quoted from Tommy's War - The Western Front in Soldiers' Words and Photographs, (shown open in the photo):
Chapter 1: The VPK camera - "In 1912 the small Vest Pocket Kodak (VPK), with its 127mm film, was manufactured, producing smaller 1 3/8 by 2 1/2 inch images, so that by the time war broke out, soldiers of any rank could take a camera with them, if they could afford it.
The camera's compact shape, its retractable bellows lens and its durable all-metal construction made it ideal for the tunic or greatcoat pocket.
Kodak was not shy when it came to advertising its VPK as the perfect camera for the front: 'the Soldier's Camera' they called it, and while the cost was a lot for other ranks to pay, it was not entirely prohibitive to the committed enthusiast.
In marketing its products to the soldier, the company naturally focused on its camera's suitability for front-line life, especially its durability and flexibility. But it also cleverly picked up on the significance and, indeed, the historical importance of the images that were already being taken at the front.
To give such a camera to a soldier, it argued persuasively, would be to ensure that a loved one did not miss out on recording such a hugely significant event as a European war."
Olympus OMD-EM10 Mark IV
Olympus M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO @ 25mm
Godox TT685 TTL bounced
► All my images are my own real photography, not fake AI fraudography.
► Toutes mes images sont ma propre vraie photographie, pas une fausse fraudographie basée sur l'IA.
■ Please don't use my images for any purpose, including on websites or blogs, without my explicit permission.
■ S.V.P ne pas utiliser cette photo sur un site web, blog ou tout autre média sans ma permission explicite.
© Tom Freda / All rights reserved - Tous droits réservés