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Jayadi Sugito's antique cameras : a historical reminder
Jayadi Sugito, a collector of vintage cameras
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Jayadi Sugito, a collector of vintage cameras.
Unlike most antique collectors who trade and keep their items for personal enjoyment, Jayadi Sugito, a photographer domiciled in Malang, East Java, preserves old and valuable cameras while displaying them in his café.
Jayadi's vintage cameras sit nicely on glass shelves at his café, Kafe Mari Kemari. The café also serves as a photo studio and gallery in Malang.
'Every camera represents a generation,' Jayadi says. The 47-year-old man, called Jay, says that apart from their main function, cameras serve as historical landmarks.
Similar style: Vintage cameras are seen on display. Cameras from certain periods share similarities in design.
All the vintage camera brands have their own style, but basically they share similar features, marking a certain period in history, he says. Originally, cameras had wooden bodies, which were later changed along with advancements in their lenses.
'Mirrorless cameras, for instance, tend to have the same shape regardless of their brand,' says the man who began his professional career in photography in 2004.
His collection tells the journey of various cameras. The Polaroid cameras for instant pictures, for example, are still on the market, while analogue cameras with 35mm and 120mm film are rarely found and are being replaced by digital ones.
Oldest baby: A wooden camera made in Dresden, Germany, in 1909, is the oldest item in the collection owned by Jayadi.
His collections also include old slide projectors reminiscent of the slide films that saw their heyday from the 1970s to the early 2000s. There are also enlargers, a major device for photo printing in dark rooms, and heaps of 35mm film roll in several jars. These objects are rarely, if ever, seen by the present generation, who are more familiar with memory cards and printers.
Jay's love for antique cameras began when he was studying photography in Jakarta in 2006. At that time, he was assigned to take pictures with an old camera. 'It was quite difficult and challenging,' he says.
Ancient tool: An enlarger, one of the main pieces of equipment for printing pictures in a darkroom.
Since then, the recipient of the 2004 Adam Malik Award in the Photo Salon of Indonesia began collecting antique cameras. A 1954 German-made Rolleicord twin lens reflex became his first collectible item. The hobby continued and he more actively tracked down classic cameras while pursuing his profession.
'It's hard to stop and I've now collected about 70 cameras,' he says. Some of them were bought and others given by friends, photo clients and relatives as well as from bartering with other collectors.
He has never recorded the money he has spent on the antiques. 'The highest price was around Rp 5 million [US$374], but I forget which camera cost that much,' he remarks.
Jay is especially impressed by a 1940 British made Ensign Ful-Vue camera. 'When I visited my friend, this camera was used to block the door of his house,' he recalls, smiling with amusement.
Wondering if it was really a camera at first, he asked the owner's permission to keep the device after observing it closely. 'It was dusty and rusty, but its internal parts were relatively intact,' he says.
His Voigtlander Bergheil, made in Braunschweig, Germany, and produced from 1911 until the Second World War, is badly damaged with a number of missing parts. To respect its historic value, this camera is also kept on show in his cabinet.
The oldest camera he keeps is made from wood, a 1909 product of Dresden, Germany. The camera, still in a good condition, was obtained from his friend in Jember, East Java.
The collections are regularly cleaned and neatly arranged. Each camera is labeled with its trademark and manufacturing year.
He gives no technical data or other specifications to his collection. 'Their brand and year of production are enough because I'm just keeping a collection rather than a special camera museum,' he says.
The man who was born in Pasuruan, East Java, purposely presents his old cameras to be viewed by visitors to his studio or café for entertainment.
He says he feels happy if the cameras spark curiosity in his visitors and improve their knowledge about the forerunners of the digital cameras and cell phones of today. He also hopes these antiques will arouse the interest of photographers in the history and growth of photography in general.
In Jay's view, observing these cameras will arouse people's appreciation, because in spite of being inanimate objects, they have painstakingly helped photographers to document diverse events.
The father of three who has flown around the world to take pictures says he has no intention of engaging in the antique camera business just yet, although he collects cameras from all over the country, even from East Java.
Touring: Jayadi (center) and visitors at his studio, café and photo gallery.
Most of his old cameras still function properly, like the large-format Graflex Crown Graphic produced in the US from 1940 to 1947. 'Before I bought it, this camera had long been used to take passport photos at the owner's studio,' says the architectural graduate of Widya Kartika University, Surabaya.
He does not want to activate these cameras because they are very mechanical in nature and even if they are used, the result may not be as expected.
'Just let them rest peacefully and let me carry on recording events with present-day cameras,' he said.
The admirer of photographer Ansel Adams believes that cameras are not just a tool. They should function as the emotional repository for photographers who shoot intense pictures.
'It's like playing the piano, which is dull unless it is played with feeling and emotion.'
' Photos by JP/Nedi Putra AW
