Photographer Builds Aluminium Camera at Home

Photographer Lucus Landers took it upon himself to build an aluminium camera, which he finished with flying colors and named it the Landers AL6.

With most DIY cameras being crafted from wood and easy to manipulate materials, Landers’ metallic medium format camera is a welcomed surprise. It’s not Landers’ first project of the kind though, as the photographer shoots almost exclusively with his own, handmade analogue cameras, but it is his latest achievement.

Making the pour for the nose cone. #homefoundry #casting #aluminumcasting #aluminum #handmade #camera #cameramaker

A post shared by Lucus Landers (@cropped_camera) on Oct 10, 2017 at 5:42am PDT

Landers started the project by making sand molds using a red sand called Petrobond, commonly used for high-precision mold making. Unlike other sands, it responds well to aluminium, which was the base product for his camera.

The finished nose cone. Casted in aluminum, machined to dimension and polished. #aluminum #aluminumcasting #casting #lathe #Turning #machining #manuallathe #polish #handmade

A post shared by Lucus Landers (@cropped_camera) on Oct 9, 2017 at 5:49am PDT

On Instagram, alongside snapshots taken with his handmade cameras, Landers shares snippets of his hands-on approach when it comes to the camera construction. 

He states that he builds everything in his Brooklyn apartment. The only pieces he does not make himself are, understandably, the lens and the shutter. 

After all the hard work, Landers loves to put his creations to good use: 

Shot with my new handmade camera, the AL6.

A post shared by Lucus Landers (@cropped_camera) on Aug 29, 2017 at 5:29am PDT

Shot on my handmade medium format camera.

A post shared by Lucus Landers (@cropped_camera) on Oct 11, 2017 at 5:21am PDT

All of his AL6 photography and more, can be found on his official website.