1936 NY Film Camera Shoots Modern Detroit Junkyard Cars in Colorado

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

Since I spend so much time searching for interesting examples of automotive history in car graveyards and old cameras are so similar to old carburetors, I often have a film camera built between 1897 and 1989 on hand. Recently, I obtained a 1936 Kodak Bullet, designed by Walter Teague (sadly, no relation to automotive designer Dick Teague) made in 1936.

The camera was a generous bribe from the Senior Citizens Club of America at the South Carolina 24 Hours of Lemons race. Their Ecotec-swapped Datsun B210 really didn't need any help to ensure judicial fairness, but one of the team members had some old cameras from her grandmother that needed a new home.

The Bullet was a very affordable Bakelite camera with a lens that extended via a threaded shaft. I'd shot last year's Pikes Peak race with a French copy of the Bullet made by the Parisian Manufacture d'Isolants et d'Objets Moulés company later in the 1930s, but the image quality of the Kodak original was much higher.

I found that I had a couple of portrait lens attachments (sold by camera manufacturers to allow their more affordable cameras to shoot subjects closer than eight feet from the camera) that fit the Bullet, and they produced some interesting effects.

The original Kodak Bullet was designed by Walter Teague (no relation to Dick Teague of car-design fame). Considering its cheapness, the image quality is quite good.

Here's a "Gold Medal Edition" 1984 Ford Escort in Colorado Springs.

This Firebird is a healthy six decades newer than the camera that took this photograph.

With a portrait lens attachment (in this case, a Kodak #1), close-up photos may be taken with the Bullet.

The Kodak #13 portrait lens also fits the Bullet.

You'll find one in every car. You'll see.