Leitz Bellows II
Toronto. A bellows is synonymous with film photography. For decades, a bellows was one means used to adjust the focal distance between lens and sensitive media so the camera could accommodate any subject distance from say a metre or two to infinity.
Also a bellows could be made very flat. Kodak used a bellows on its folders to allow the camera to be both focussed and ‘folded’ to make it more compact for carrying.
When the minicam craze hit, cameras became smaller and a metal helical device often served as a focussing device. Bellows continued on as a pricier alternative to extension tubes to flexibly separate the camera body and lens for macro photography.
And most enlargers use a bellows to adjust the distance from negative to lens so the projected image on the easel can be made sharp and adjusted over an infinite range of sizes within the capacity of the particular enlarge/lens combination.
NB. The title is a riff on the old saying, “water, water, everywhere” which Samuel Taylor Coleridge used in his poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner“.
