This cartridge of 126 film was found a random “Instamatic” camera, most likely made by Kodak, came from an auction lot “grab bag” consisting of many miscellaneous photography items and ephemera. This old, 12-exposure film cartridge yielded 6 good photos with typical color-shifts to the warm side, plus 3 accidental duds, and 2 blanks. I’m guessing it’s from the 70’s!

As you may know, the 126 format is basically a square cropped out of a 35mm film frame, so it’s the next step down in image quality, but still big enough for decent photos in the right hands. Most of the time, 126 film cameras were inexpensive “snapshot” devices, wielded by everyday people recording family, friends, events, and travels.

My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic X-15 using 126 film, as detailed in The Back-Story of Cameras & Films post, and I did my best to coax better than average pics out of it. Some manufacturers, including Rollei, Zeiss, Voigtlander, Minolta, and Kodak went as far as putting great lenses and engineering into their top 126 film cameras to optimize what that smallish, square film could deliver! I’ve got a bunch of Instamatic cameras in my collection, but I’ve landed on the Rollei A26 as my favorite for shooting any expired, unexposed 126 format film I come across.

So what’s on this particular roll of 126 film? It’s got cars, RV’s, campers, boats, people on blankets in the grass, surrounded by what appear to be wild horses! My first guess is that these shots were taken in Chincoteague or on Assateague Island, in Virginia, known for its wild, untamed horses. But one of the images has the horses behind a wire fence with barbed wire at the top, so maybe it’s somewhere else. On close examination, some of the cars and vans, the ivy-covered building in one shot, and the village in a valley (with the light flare) all look like they might be in Europe… Take a look below — what do you think?

Here are the images I found on this roll of 126 film. Since all the photos were color-shifted over time, I converted the better shots into monochrome…

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What happens when we find undeveloped film? We develop it, of course!

At TEXOLUX, there’s always a piqued-curiosity, vaguely-voyeuristic, thrill-of-discovery moment whenever exposed, undeveloped film is found in an old camera. And, as you can imagine, our discovery is followed by impatient anticipation and speculation when the film is sent out to be developed:

• Will someone out there know anyone in the images we post from the roll?
• Will there be one or more interesting views into one or more lives on the roll?
• Will there be something myopic, historic, epic, simplistic, or even artistic?
• Will there be at least one or two good photographs, a hole roll of bad ones, or nothing at all on the film?

So, to satisfy your curiosity and ours, we are pleased to share images from any film we find in the vintage cameras we buy/use and sell. When available and relevant, we’ll share information about the camera-owner, the person who most likely exposed the film, and any items of interest which came with the camera…

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We hope you enjoyed this blog post! Please visit our online stores and partners at the shop in Barcelona soon…

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TEXOLUX | PHOTO

KEY PAGES & LINKS

• Cameras include: Lomography, Polaroid, Instax, NONS, MiNT & Texolux.
• Films include: Film for Classics, Kodak, Lomography, Ilford, FLIC & Film Ferrania.
• Extras include: lenses, flashes, straps, cases, skins, storage & displays.

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