My First Roll of Kodak Film

31-July-2025 - Veghel - For the past week, I've been busy with recycling my analog camera gear. This led me to watching the 2017 Netflix film Kodachrome (TV-MA) a couple of evenings ago. Yesterday, I watched the 30-min documentary National Geographic: The Last Roll of Kodachrome, chronicling how Steve McCurry shot the last ever roll of Kodachrome. These movies brought back memories of my first roll of Kodak film.

In 1972, I was stationed in Turkey, serving with the US Air Force. It was a time when Turkey was under martial law. After emptying  out my checking account to buy a Minolta SR-T 101 with a 58 mm f1.4 lens, I somehow still had enough money to buy a roll of film. I started off with Kodak color negative film. These are the first pictures I shot with my new camera. This photo shows a woman with a heavy load--I felt that time had stood still for 80 years.

PA005_first_roll_of_kodak_film_ankara_1972-03 (12)

1.     Rushing Into the Future. The sign reads, “Ne mutlu Türküm diyene – Atatürk”. Happy is the one who says, “I am a Turk”.

2.      Heavy Load

3.      On Duty

4.      Water Tower Warning

5.      Patrolling the Streets

6.      Early Takeoff from Esenboğa

7.      Anatolian Sunrise

8.      Dormitory Art

9.      Lunchtime Football Match

10.   Old Reliable

11.   Waiting for the Bar to Open

12.   Essentials Only

My Setup for Digitizing 35mm Film

Monday, 28-July-2025 - Veghel - I needed a way  to digitize our family images shot on negative and transparency film. I found may ways to do this on this internet. This is my homemade setup for digitizing 35mm film inspired by photographers Peter Forsgård and Alexander Matragos and Peter Krogh.  It's  custom made for using my Olympus TG-4. This is my alternative to using a scanner. The components and materials are listed below.

Here is my DIY copy stand for digitizing photos also inspired  by photographers Peter Krogh and Alexander Matragos. 

photos (34) 

components and materials

bilora super biloret tripod

JJC LED Film Scan Adapter

Topiky Rail Glider Base Plate

UTEBIT50mm Quick Insert Clamps (2)

homemade plywood spacer

1/4-20bolt custom made to fit

In 1971 This Song Came on the Radio

Monday, 28-July-2025 – Veghel - It was July 1971, and I was on my way from Bay City, MI to Loring AFB, ME, my next assignment for the US Air Force. I had just bought a “brand new” 1970 Chevy Nova with my Grandpa Ulbricht’s inheritance money (I left my worn out 1961 Chevy Impala behind on the lot). It was dark green and had a six-cylinder engine and a three-in-the-tree stick-shift manual transmission. I planned for three days to get there so I could enjoy the scenery along the way. I was so excited while driving on the ON-401 highway to my next adventure. I had beautiful sunny weather all the way. I was somewhere between Kingston and Montreal when this song came on the radio--in August, it would be the number 1 hit in Canada for four weeks. (I never knew who sang it, until today). I thought, Life doesn’t get any better than this.