3D Printing For My Photography Projects – By Andrea Bevacqua

A few months ago, after a bit of thinking, I bought a 3d printer. I say, “after a bit of thinking” because I did not want to spend my free time still in front of a monitor to design stuff. But, in the end, I gave in and went for a used/cheap 3d printer in order to see if it would be interesting for me. After a few months I got bored of tweaking and adjusting the old printer and I went for a brand new one… and everything changed.

I found it very satisfying and, as per photography, a great way to express myself.

Since the beginning of my photography journey, I have been interested in the Holga world and I was looking for ways to modify the camera as well as to make gadgets to expand its functionality. I had realised that it was difficult to find, for eg, the shutter cable release for long exposures. So I thought this would be a really nice little project to start my new hobby!

Based on this design I have also adapted it to hold Cokin and Lee square filters. It is a nice way to use the filters already in use with more “conventional” cameras.

I then started making adapters so I can use 35mm film. These adapters hold the canister firmly in place and if you use an empty canister to wind the exposed film keeping it safe from accidental light leaks.

Another little project for the Holga was to make new masks to have different shapes of images. The standard masks are 6×6 and 4.5×6, so I thought I’d make a 4×4, a circular and a rounded one.

For the Holga I have got other bigger ideas too, but at the moment I am enjoying myself in different projects.

Another little love of mine is the Lomo LC-A. One of the differences between the the LC-A and the LC-A+, is that the latter can shoot double exposures… but not everybody knows that this is also a feature of the LC-A too! It just requires a little and easy mod which takes 10 minutes to do. For this mod I printed the little knob in order to engage/disengage the shutter for the double exposure.

After a bit of practice I started collaborating with my local photo shop and we then came up with some fun and nice ideas which resulted in me designing and producing some small bits for the shop owner.

Some 35mm and 120 film holders.

And then probably the most interesting project I have done for him, was to convert some not working/not repairable cameras into desk lamps.

Recently I have also been asked to do a lens cover for a Yashica 124G for a friend of mine who got the camera but apparently lost the the cover. I am quite pleased with the result.

Probably, my most ambitious project so far is the construction of a pinhole camera. After a bit of studying and a few attempts, I came up with the construction of a 35mm and a 120 format camera. This project is still ongoing, as every time I look at it I find always something to refine – that said, it works, and I think it works well. The most pleasant thing of these cameras is that I tried to keep them as small as possible, so they are pocketable and light.

This one is the 6×6 format

And this is the 35mm

The little circular ring on the front is an adapter where to screw in a 46-xx step up ring (the same that can be used for the Holga lens) for a circular filter and it is kept in place with some strong little magnets.

I am not a master in pinholing, but I am quite pleased with the results

The possibilities are endless and I have got a lot of projects in minds. The problem is always the same: I just need to find the time to do everything I want to!

If you fancy, you can check out my Instagram or twitter.
You can read more about my journey into shooting film here.

Cheers,

Andrea

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