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How it's made: The Zoutie 2017 calendar

Date: 09 December 2016 By: Isabel Venter

The Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror’s annual calendar project has just about finished. This project caused for a lot of excitement, as can be seen in our special edition “Making of the Calendar” movie. Apart from taking the newspaper’s vintage cameras on a special heritage photographic tour, earlier in the year, our team also made short video clips of the whole process (for the most part).

The challenge this year was to test photographers’ skills by using cameras 50 years or older to try and capture images for the calendar. The images also needed to depict the Soutpansberg. In previous years photographers could enter any photo, the only requirement being that it must show the beauty of the local area.

The invitation was also extended to photographers to make use of the cameras in the newspaper’s vintage camera collection. Some made use of the offer, but it was mostly left to the newspaper’s own photographers to try and learn some new (old) skills.

Apart from taking photos using film, the developing process also proofed challenging, with the odd film roll (or two) that had to be retaken. Luckily the process ran smooth when the video was taken.

Many readers may not be so familiar with the development process. Because film laboratories are not readily available, this had to be done at home. After carefully removing the film rolls from the cameras, each film is rolled onto a spool in a darkroom. (In the newspaper’s case a home-made black box was used). After the film is safely on the spool, it gets placed in a developer tank. The film then goes through several development steps as the different types of chemicals get poured in.

Finally, the finished product – the developed film – is unrolled from the spool and rinsed clean under water.

These rolls of film were scanned to retrieve high resolution images for the final printing stage.

The finished calendar is now available, at R50 each. As has become customary, the calendar will be distributed to the newspaper’s clients, but a couple of dozen will be for sale at the newspaper’s office. The proceeds of the sale of the calendars will go towards various charity organisations.

 
 
 

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Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

 
 

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