The graflex at iwo jima

[Panaflex]

​I'm a cameraman for a living as well as a prop collector. It's always been interesting to me that my career and hobby crossed paths in Star Wars with the camera parts used as the props we have come to admire.

I was just watching a documentary on Netflix call "Shooting Iwo Jima" and came to find out it was a Graflex that recorded the iconic raising of the flag photo.

There are some great shots of the Graflex cameras used to record the images of the battle and the some of the photographer/soldiers who gave their lives while shooting both film and bullets.

I'd never seen the camera and the flash in this context before. Looking at my saber on the shelf, I wonder at the history our props may have witnessed.

I thought I'd share a couple of images from the film.​

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

Very neat.

That must be how we won the war, our soldiers had lightsabers.

 

[Broilermaker]

Is that box what they use to charge the light sabers?

 

[mugatu]

Very cool. In the many searches I (and others) have conducted seeking Graflexes, I have occasionally come across sets of military camera kits with Graflex cameras and flashes although a lot of times the flash handles are Heilands. It's awesome to see that this prop piece was used to take such an iconic photograph and probably so many other iconic photos as well. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Sym-Cha]

When watching time period movies of the 40's and 50's and sometimes even 60's ... I see all those G R A F L E X camera's pop real flashbulbs ... being usually discarded onto the studio floor or street as in real life ... however you'll hardly see the 'photographer's' take out the protective black slide before taking 'a picture' with the 4x5 camera ... and then putting the slide back to change the negative-cassettes or swap to the other side for an un-exposed new negative ... or even if they had multiple negatives cassettes ... that always cracks me up ... having shot several pictures with a G R A F L E X camera myself

This being the ultimate result of combining real life photography and STAR WARS shot by my good friend Alexander on a Crown Graphic Special and original black and white negative 4x5 film ... being scanned then photoshopped and FX colors added :



Chaim

 

[Apollo]

Clearly the Force was with them

 

[Wavey]

Was the camera mightier than the carbine?