Monday, April 15, 2013

Mechanical Music Extravaganza

Some shooting for "78rpm" this past weekend at the Mechanical Music Extravaganza in Wayne NJ.  An impressive array of phonographs, gramophones, cylinders, vintage radios, records, horns, needle tins, and everything else.

More than a few people were interested in the 16mm camera I was using. "Can you still get the film for it?" was a common question.  And an interesting question, in the context of being surrounded by 100 year old audio recordings and 100 year old players; all still producing music today in the same way it was 100 years ago.

Got to meet some experts and enthusiasts in early phonographic equipment and recorded music.  And when I was done shooting it was time to buy some 78s -- 1920s hot jazz and a smattering of opera.  The 78 collector in me just couldn't resist!


"That's all."

2 comments:

  1. Interesting part of audio collecting--everything you need already exists. The cylinders and disks all exist; the phonographs exist; the needles exist. Everything that needs to be fabricated (such as new needles, rubber parts, etc.) can be done in low runs and at reasonable expense. Unfortunately for those of us who love analog photography, we are at the mercy of very few manufacturers who have the capacity to make photographic film--and those manufacturers have to make large runs in order to have a profitable business.

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