Only The Sunny Hours
Contemporary Photography with a Brownie 127

Curated by Cally Trench

Linda Francis

Only The Sunny Hours


Brownie 127 photography
 by Linda Francis

Brownie 127 photography
 by Linda Francis

Eric Taylor, Pagham 1963

Brownie 127 photography
 by Linda Francis

Linda Francis, Pagham (June 2015)
Ilford FP4 Plus (35mm film), digitally adjusted

Brownie 127 photography
 by Linda Francis

Brownie 127 photography
 by Linda Francis

Brownie 127 photography
 by Linda Francis

Linda Francis’s photographs refer back to her own history and interrogate the style of the camera: a slightly distanced, indistinct feel, reminiscent of blurred memories. She has adapted her Brownie 127 camera, which is the first model made in the 1950s, to 35mm film, a technique which combines two out-of-date technologies and leaves visible sprocket holes on the prints.

She is retracing journeys that she made as a child, including a holiday visit to Pagham with her daughter and granddaughter in the steps of one of her family’s first holidays in 1963. Pagham now has an abandoned feeling to it; the grandly named King’s Beach Hotel is boarded up with weeds growing everywhere, but there is still an arcade, a beach shop and a cafe. The recent photographs can be compared with 1963 snapshots taken by her father, Eric Taylor, and reveal interesting differences in body language.

Linda Francis is exploring the adaptation of the Brownie 127 camera to 35mm film (Ilford FP4 Plus black-and-white film, ISO 125). She uses a washer, nut and bolt to fit the 35mm film into the camera, felt and black tape on both sides to block out the small red window at the back of the camera, and a marker pen to calculate how far to wind on the film. She adjusted the contrast and sharpness of the prints, and removed a scratch, on Photoshop Elements.

Linda Francis studied Fine Art at Bucks New University, graduating in 2002. Her work is conceptually based and uses a wide range of materials and techniques, including glass, ice, wax, photography, digital manipulation, and video. Exhibitions include At Play 2, Bracknell (2010), The Control Room, Bristol (2014) and God, Pune, India (2015).

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