Kodak Brownie

Back in 2022 my eldest daughter bought me a Kodak Brownie 127 for Christmas. It put a big smile on my face, I like quirky stuff and I put it on my camera shelf with every intention of seeing if I could get some film for it and use it, even if it's only the once. 

And there it sat.....

I managed to find a couple of rolls of Rerapan 127 format black and white film, a 100 iso and a 400 iso and put them in my fridge.

And there they sat.....

I had every intention of using the camera, I just couldn't find the motivation. I took it with me and loaded a roll of film in it when Keith took my wife and I to Blackpool. I took one shot and promptly forgot it was in my bag. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever find out what using a Bakelite Brownie was like. 

Redemption came on January 27th 2024 when I finally took my Kodak Brownie 127 to Mesnes Park, Wigan to shoot a roll of film for 127 Day. This is the day the dates align and photographers bring their 127 medium format film cameras out for a day and shoot some 127 film on January 27th, or 1-27 as our American chums like to say.

 I just knew it was the right time to use my Kodak Brownie and the weather encouraged me with bright sunshine, despite a cold wind. Using a Kodak Brownie 127 is so easy, a child could do it. There is one shutter speed, 1/50th of a second and one aperture, F14. You simply frame up your shot through the viewfinder and press the shutter button. Simples! 

I started at The Pavillion and photographed the Boer War Memorial, The Pavillion building, the derelict Pagefield Mill and the Bandstand. 7 photos were taken in a timely fashion. My roll of Rerapan 400 was long enough for 8 photos that I was assured would be 6cm x 4cm, which is a good size for making some reasonable contact prints to show them off. The rest of my walk was taken up with shooting a roll of colour film using my OM10 as I made my way around the park and into the town centre. 

I developed my film a couple of days later, which was easy enough. I have an adjustable reel that allows me to develop 35mm, 120 or 127 roll film. I happily loaded my roll of Rerapan 400 onto it and developed it with Zone Imaging 510 Pyro, 1+100 @ 20 celcius for 9 minutes. Stop bath was plain water and I fixed my film using Fotospeed FX30 for 8 minutes and hung it to dry in my bathroom overnight. 

I digitised my film the next day using my Nikon D700, Tamron 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Pixl-Latr and A5 led light source. I processed my RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

Considering the limitations of this most basic camera, I reckon I have done pretty good. The photos aren't going to grace the pages of a high end photo book or adorn the walls of The Tate Gallery, but that's not the point of the Kodak Brownie 127. This camera was all about giving someone a start at photography without breaking the bank.

Snapshots that could be developed with basic equipment and easily printed with just a contact printer and the right sized paper. All you needed was access to a darkroom, which were situated all over the place during the golden age of film. The Kodak Brownie 127 was a foot in the door that many an aspiring youngster took full advantage of, some even became rather famous and all because of a Kodak Brownie 127.

Here's all my photos that I shot with my Brownie, including the lone Blackpool Tower shot. It makes me wonder how many photos have been taken of Blackpool Tower or Mesnes Park, Wigan using a Kodak Brownie? Probably thousands and here's a few more. It wont be my last roll either as I still have a roll of Rerapan 100 for a sunny summer afternoon. As always I have placed then in an album on my Flickr account you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Kodak Brownie 127