Barbershops: Through the Viewfinder of a Hasselblad

Photography Tips

British freelance photographer Carl Pendle makes a living with digital photography and videography, but he still loves film and vintage cameras and has found the perfect way to merge the two. In his short film series, “Into the Hasselblad” Pendle uses a digital camera to film the viewfinder of an old Hasselblad 500 C/M as he snaps film shots of local shops and people. In the second installment, Pendle finds beauty in old-timey, traditional barbershops of today:

Pendle has always had a love for Hasselblads, but when he first started experimenting with TTV (through the viewfinder) photography years ago, he used a vintage Kodak Brownie reflex camera. He thought of filming the process then, but he always had trouble with glare and reflections in the viewfinder. It would be another five years before he found a solution.

Inspired by “Paris Through Pentax“, where the creators used black cardboard to block out reflections over a Pentax camera, Pendle took the concept one step further. He used a similar set up to clearly capture the viewfinder, then put film in the Hasselblad and each shot seen in the video is actually a digital scan of the 120 negative (Kodak Portra 400 120 film).

His first installment of “Into the Hasselblad” was just a test video to make sure the setup worked, but it turned out beautifully.

For “Into the Hasselblad – Barbershops”, he spent over two months bouncing around England—from London to the Southcoast—photographing over 20 barbershops.

Through the viewfinder of a Hasselblad 500 C/M

Pendle plans to continue making these films. We can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!