My name is Douwe Krooshof and I’m a Dutch amateur photographer living in Amsterdam. I’ve been shooting film for over 18 years and I exclusively shoot black and white pictures. I’m technically inclined and I try to master all parts of analogue photography. Developing and printing is part of that and over the past two years I dipped my toes into camera building and even making a UV-enlarger for cyanotypes.
I’m always trying to get better technically as well as creatively, and I’m always on the lookout for new projects to feed my curiosity. Analogue photography is wonderful medium to me because it’s hard to do well. I also feel that analogue photographers often have a unique style because there are so many choices to make in the process of making an image. Someday I hope I’ll have a recognisable style myself and until I get there I’m enjoying the ride.

You looked at the picture thinking: “I don’t recognise that camera”. That’s right, it’s a homemade 35mm panorama camera that I made myself. I could blame the pandemic for this project but in all honestly I can’t help building things regardless. The body is a gutted Minolta XE and the lens is from a Fujica GS645w. The middle is a 3d print that I designed myself. This took quite a while to get right, but I love the result: a compact scale focus panorama camera with a sharp 45mm lens and the same negative size as the Xpan. It takes great pictures too!

I try to travel light and set myself a goal when I go out to shoot, so the Thule bag is just the right size. It stops me from carrying too much gear so I can walk around for longer. The bag opens from the rear and the front flap is cosmetic, this is both practical and safer.

Apart from the camera I carry two lightmeters, the pentax digital spotmeter for zone system work (it’s so intuitive!) and the sekonic flashmate for general over-the-shoulder measurements for street photography. Needless to say, the camera is manual exposure only.

I carry a small aluminium Benro tripod for landscapes, but only when I feel it’s going to be worth it. It’s 1.5Kg and it does slow me down but when I want to use a tripod, I’m not going to settle for something flimsy.

My film goes into a little Hama film safe, because it’s a practical way of carrying 4 rolls and panorama cameras are hungry beasts. I shoot bulk-rolled Kodak Double X and Rollei Retro 80s, the latter is great for printing cyanotypes with my UV enlarger. There is one roll of Acros II in the picture – sometimes you have to treat yourself to something special.

I keep notes when I’m forced to shoot film at something other than my usual recipes. That’s 40 asa for Rollei Retro 80s (Rodinal 1:100 45min semi-stand at 20C) and 200 asa for Kodak Double X (HC-110 dilution E 12min at 20C). My reliable Lamy Safari fountain pen and a nice Clairefontaine notebook help me keep track of things. Yes, camera snobbery spills over to other domains!

The full list:

• Thule Covert DSLR Satchel
• DouwePan, the illegitimate love child of a Minolta XE and a Fujica GS645w.
• Pentax Digital Spotmeter with zone system scale
• Sekonic Flashmate L-308S
• Benro A1690T tripod
• Hama fim-safe X film case
• Bulk rolled Rollei Retro 80s and Kodak Double X canisters
• Clairefontaine notebook
• Lamy Safari fountain pen
• Waterproof jacket, face mask, wallet, keys, phone

Paris – Rue Dejean

Amsterdam – Rokin

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/analog_by_douwe/
• Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/
• Homemade Camera Podcast, episode on cyanotype enlarger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI1nWHuX3N0&ab_channel=TheHomemadeCameraPodcast
• Emulsive, article on enlarging cyanotypes: https://emulsive.org/articles/darkroom/darkroom-printing/elevating-the-humble-cyanotypewith-a-uv-enlarger-by-douwe-krooshof

Thank you for all the inspiration that JapanCameraHunter has given me, I hope I could give some back!

Take care,
Douwe Krooshof

Keep them coming folks, we need more submissions, so get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com

Send me a high resolution image of the bag. Optimum size is 1500px across. Please ensure there is a bag in the shot, unless you don’t use one. The more you can write about yourself the better, make it appealing and tell us a story. Snapshots of your gear with a camera phone and no words will not be featured.
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Cheers
JCH