Passed by this pretty building on Beach Street. Upper Beach Street has a lot of Victorian and Edwardian architecture which I absolutely adore! This building is called The Whiteaways Arcade, and it houses art exhibitions, fashion shows, music events, and the like.
From Beach Street, we walked to Love Lane.
And..... we're here!
It is Malaysia's first camera museum and it opened in June last year, in a 2-storey refurbished pre-war shop house. Inside the museum, one gets to see how cameras from thousands of years ago look like, how they function, experience the darkroom, and more. It'll be helpful if you can get a guide to go with you so he or she can explain as you walk through the building. I didn't manage to so it was quite a waste :(
As you walk pass the photo gallery, you'll see a spiral staircase (with a cute wall mural) on your right and the ticket counter on your left. The cameras held by those photographers are in 3D! I love the quote on the wall, which is by Ted Grant: "When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls."
This label fueled my curiosity.
I love how they provide cute photo props! :D
Posing with a super super old camera.
The Smile Zone, where photos of visitors who have the best smiles (I assume) are displayed.
My family waited for me at their in-house café Double Exposure while I went up and explored the place by myself.
In the Main Hall, all sorts of vintage cameras and 3D viewers from the 1800s to the 1990s are displayed. It's an impressive collection as there are about 200 items including the camera obscura, box camera, folding camera, large and medium format camera, and the single and twin lens reflex camera.
A camera by Kodak! It reminds me of an owl hahaha.
A LEGO digital camera made in Japan. Eee so cute!
Disc film photography, which was introduced by Kodak in 1982.
Vintage prints!! :)
These cameras are not enclosed in glass shelves so yep, that means you could actually touch and play with them!
An illustrated timeline of the history of camera.
Next, I went into the Obscura Room. Here's a little bit of knowledge.
These are the camera obscuras! According to Wikipedia, the device consists of a box with a hole in one side for external light to pass through to reproduce an image - which is rotated 180 degrees - on the surface inside the box. I honestly don't know how it works, but it is one cool invention! Without these cameras, we wouldn't have our digital cameras today. Visitors get to take a look at the top of the camera...
...being projected onto the screen!
Too cool.
After that, I went into the next room that has all these unique collections. It's also known as the Spy Room as a variety of spy cameras are displayed here. I immediately thought of James Bond. Of course.
The world's smallest cameras!
This is the WWII Japanese type 89 35mm machine gun camera, which was used as a training tool for gunners and pilots during the war. It was made by the company Rokuoh-Sha which became K. K. Konishiroku in 1936, which then later became the well-known Konica.
An old tripod!
The narrow corridor leading from room to room.
Going into the darkroom was something that I was looking forward to the most. Mainly because I've never been in one before, and also because I've heard fascinating stories about it from my mom! Although I have no idea what the equipment in the room are for and how do you use them..... it was an awesome once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience to step into that magical place where photographs were once developed manually. If visitors could try their hand at developing photographs in the darkroom, it'll be SO FUNNNNN (crossing my fingers, hoping my dream will come true).
This sign scared me off a little bit. I didn't dare to move a lot in the room for fear of tripping over any electric cables... But there aren't any lying around so it's quite safe, I suppose...?
After waiting for a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, I saw all these super cool equipment surrounding me. I was so ecstatic! I wonder if all these are authentic tools that can be used...
OMG. Laboratory flasks are even needed :O So cute!
Couldn't help feeling a little bit disappointed as I emerged from the darkroom because except for having the chance to gawk at those equipment, I didn't understand the whole process of it and neither did I get to use those cool-looking tools.
The last room is the Pinhole Room. Inside here is dark as well, except for a ray of sunlight that comes through a small hole on one of the walls. Visitors can then see this image (of glass panels and roof tiles outside) being projected on the opposite wall. Think about it, the room itself actually acts like a pinhole camera! How cool is that!?
I came down to the café via a flight of stairs situated outdoors (a different one from where I came up). Lovin' these vintage-looking wall stickers!
The souvenir shop in the museum is called Snap Shop, which sells camera-inspired items such as these exclusive t-shirts designed by their own artists. I got the one on the far right :D
Address: 49, Lebuh Muntri, 10200 George Town, Penang
Opening hours: 9am-8pm daily
Admission fee: RM20 for adults, RM10 for students (with student ID) and senior citizens
Tel: +604 261 3649
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