This is the pond at Choate Park in Medway, photographed today, May 31, 2026, around 2 pm.
I have far better shots at this very spot — more than I can count — but none can compare to this one and the 7 others that follow below.
The camera is a Kodak Vest Pocket (KVP), also known as the Soldier’s Camera, because it was wildly popular during the war — The Great War — WW1. Mine is from 1915, one of the first cameras to use 127 film. It has a trapdoor on the back that lets the user etch notes into the film with a stylus after each frame is taken. Mine is still attached. I even have the original advert for it hanging in my studio – ‘Put a Kodak in Your Pocket’ pharmacy promo.
I had not used this camera before today. I spent some time with it this morning getting it into working order. It came to me in decent condition, but being 111 years old, it needed some attention. I took it into the darkroom and checked for light leaks by shining a flashlight through the seals and bellows. I got the shutter loosened up. The viewfinder needs a cleaning, but it served its purpose. Gaffer’s tape over anything suspicious, and I was ready for film.
The film is a story in its own right — one I’m not entirely clear on. I have no memory of where it came from. I believe it was tossed in with a bunch of stuff I picked up at Brimfield, maybe 10 years ago. A never-opened roll of Kodak Verichrome Pan 127, still in the box, expired June 1974.
The original plan was to unroll it, use the backing paper to re-spool modern film onto the old spool, and shoot the camera with something that might actually work. Then it occurred to me — I had nothing to lose. Load the old film. It works, it works. It doesn’t, I still have the spool and backing paper and I try again.
It worked.
My 111-year-old camera, loaded with film that expired 52 years ago. Eight exposures. I had no expectations. I went to my testing ground and tried different settings. This camera doesn’t have settings like most cameras — its apertures are labeled: 1 Near View Portrait, 2 Average View, 3 Distant View, 4 Clouds Marine. Shutter speeds: 25, 50, T, B. I modified my development time to give the old emulsion its best chance, and processed the roll by hand in my darkroom.
I was genuinely shocked when I unrolled the strip and saw real negatives.
The oldest camera and film I’ve ever shot. My first time working with 127. A pain to spool for development. And one of the best projects I’ve ever done. I might pick up more 127 film, or use that backing paper to roll my own — but no matter what I shoot in the future, nothing will match today. Something was created from what I fully expected would be nothing.
tr/trp
You are truly a photography aficionado!
Sometimes I don’t know what to write but I extend my appreciation to you for each one of your regular posts. “Bokeh?”
Had to look it up and learned something I never knew about that feature and earlier photographers who used it.