Michael Meissner

I've started getting into Steampunk (which is a re-imagining of current technology in terms of Victorian times). There is an offshoot that is branching from more recent times (Dieselpunk).

My current project is to build a shell around my current DSLR camera (Olympus E-3) so that it looks like a view camera (with bellows) from the 1930's. I have a costume that goes with it to give you the idea of me being a reporter from the 1930's with my Speed Graphic to capture the latest Hollywood starlet.

My first stab at this project was to buy an actual 1915 Kodak Pony Premo 5x7 camera, and take out the lens, and put my small camera (Olympus E-P2) inside of it. It worked well, and I used it for a renaissance faire that I was the photographer at, but there are some limitations in using an antique camera (it isn't weather sealed, the lens has some issues with focusing, and the donor body is starting to show its age). You can see pictures here:
http://www.the-meissners.org/2010-large-albums/2010-pimp-my-ep2/index.html#hidecamera

So I've begun the process of building a frame from scratch, and learning elementary woodworking along the way. I have perhaps gone through 5 generations, and I'm working on my 6th. I took generation 5 to a local science fiction convention (Arisia in Boston), and had lots of people saying what a cool project it was. My web page showing the various generations and blind alleys is:
http://www.the-meissners.org/large-albums/camera-hacks/index.html#hidecamera