Thomson's Dry Plate Camera

It's little script details like "...he takes his camera off into the countryside" (from our upcoming Rats), which can prove to be challenging. Especially when the story is set in 1889. How to make this happen? Buy a camera? Antique ones aren't so expensive but look 'old' and this camera wasn't more than a few years old in 1889. Buy a repro? They look great but they cost more than the whole budget put together, which is nothing. To make one was the only real choice left, so I set to work, armed only with skip-scavenged stuff from my shed.

Stuff from the shed including broken projector & easel / Some selected bits

Rough assembly including plate holder / Light tightening in action

Undercoated front, back and plate holder / Completed camera kit

Completed with rear viewfinder on display / On tripod and ready for action!

Trickiest parts included: making moving parts light tight using 19th century materials (tip: velvet works well!) and designing the viewfinder (frosted glass and a mirror at 45 degrees for all the photophiles out there). If I did it again, I'd make a better job. I wouldn't cut my thumb next time for a start. All in all though, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Maybe the best part is that the completed camera actually works, which would be serious overkill for a mainstream movie prop, but that's one of the many benefits of guerrilla film-making; we make things up as we go along.