Box Brownie 2 Camera
Brora Heritage Centre

The leather-covered metal box contained a roll of film which captured the images. However, film was expensive, so photographs were taken sparingly. A single snap was taken at a time by pressing the shutter release button. The film would then be wound onto the next frame, ready for another snap.

Professional developers, often at the local chemist, developed the film using a cocktail of chemicals in a dark room.

The whole process, from loading the film to seeing the developed images, was very precarious. Many things could go wrong: the film might not be properly loaded, the image might have been out of focus, or, worse still, cut peoples’ heads off! This camera belonged to Kathleen Evans.