Have you ever been mocked for LF?

[Heroique]

Recently, the devil made me mock a young man for spray-and-pray digital shots of a waterfall.

"Slow down with a film camera," I suggested, "and you might get your shot!"

He sensed I wasn't a mean person, but knew I probably wasn't pulling his leg, either. He didn't reply. Instead, he offered me a supercilious smile. Then he continued at 6 or 10 frames per second. A well-behaved young man, I thought, even if a clueless photographer.

I've never been mocked for using an LF camera, in the same manner that I mocked him, but if Karma means anything, my comeuppance is long overdue!

To help me prepare for the inevitable, I'd like to hear about your experiences.

If you've ever been mocked for LF – in the field or during a conversation – what did you hear? And if you've been mocked several times, is there a remark that's common? Also, if you've ever "hit back," what did you say? Do you carry ready-made replies in your head? Or is it generally best to ignore any disparaging remarks and continue with your work – or, like an angel who sees everyone in a good light, treat it as a disguised invitation to start a friendly conversation?

Your insights will help us all improve our behavior in the jungle out there. :D

[Light Guru]

Sounds more like you were not mocked for shooting large format, but you definitely mocked him for not shooting film.

One does not have to shoot film to whole down. Yes shooting large format forces you to slow down but it's not a requirement one can shoot just as slow with a digital camera.

Why not offer the young man a chance to look under your dark cloth. Then while explaining the process you can express how it has helped you learn to slow down and think about the image you are making more.

[Leigh]

The vast majority of the unwashed masses have no idea what I'm doing.
They don't know what a film camera of any type is, much less an 8x10.

- Leigh

[Heroique]

Why not offer the young man a chance to look under your dark cloth?

I admire your generosity!

It reminds me of an evangelical mission, a chance to save the damned.

I wasn't shooting, but even if I had been, I fear the devil would have kept his appointment with me.

[Preston]

Why not offer the young man a chance to look under your dark cloth. Then while explaining the process you can express how it has helped you learn to slow down and think about the image you are making more.

This approach gets my vote.

Any time we are making photographs with a large format camera, and we have the time to do so, we should be ambassadors to our art and craft.

If someone did mock me for using LF (which has never happened) I would offer to help them to understand my reasoning for making photographs they way I do. It's then up to them whether or not to change their views--I already know what mine are.

--P

[Daniel Stone]

Yes,
Ive been "mocked" by an older fellow, who "gladly went digital" some years ago, and still wonders why I don't "stop f****ing around with film, shoot digital and learn to actually see that film is dead?! I hardly ever see you shoot, and with this expensive equipment you have, why aren't you using it more?"

Anyhow, I just gently smile back and say, "You have your way of getting to the party, and I have mine."

Let's just say he's not usually a very cordial guy. Loves praise from others on his photographs, but is quick to talk down about others work(such as mine). He photographs models a lot, I don't. Different strokes for different folks.

He and I have some "mutual friends", so I see him somewhat regularly, but don't attempt to push buttons or raise questions ;)

[Light Guru]

I wasn't shooting

Well then you DEFINITELY were not mocked for shooting large format.

[Leigh]

Why not offer the young man a chance to look under your dark cloth.
I've done that on occasion.

The poor folks walk away more confused than when they arrived. :cool:

- Leigh

[Alan Gales]

At the local camera shop one of the salesmen told me that he had tried large format years ago and that it was too hard to do and just too much work to get an image. He suggested that I sell my large format gear and upgrade my D300 to a D800 if I wanted better image quality.

I don't know if this counts because he was being a salesman and trying to sell me a camera. ;)

[Alan Gales]

I've done that on occasion.

The poor folks walk away more confused than when they arrived. :cool:

- Leigh

It's not just large format. I took some pictures of my grandson with a Hasselblad and he got pissed at me because I couldn't show him the pictures on the back of the camera. ;)

[lenser]

Like Alan, the only place I've been hassled is at the local camera store. For years, Steve, one of their sales staff (and a good friend) has been belittling my continued film interest in all formats. He almost fell to his knees when I finally bought a digital Nikon a few years ago, but I constantly give him a taste of his own medicine so he knows where my heart lies. I do my best to come up with the most arcane questions about some of my stranger medium and small format collectables and where to find exotic large format gear just to keep the game going.

I totally agree on being ambassadors. No one is ever fascinated by a Digital Nikon or Canon except another shooter, but bring out the large format and every one from a high school student to a major corporate CEO starts asking questions. Always happy to share with them.

[Leigh]

He suggested that I sell my large format gear and upgrade my D300 to a D800 if I wanted better image quality.
Speaking as a shooter of both the Nikon D800E and 8x10 film, the detail on the 8x10 wins hands down.

This has been an on-going debate on this forum for years. Folks claim digital is better.
Of course they're comparing high-end digital with Tri-X pushed to 6400 developed in clorox.

- Leigh

[Greg Miller]

Recently, the devil made me mock a young man for spray-and-pray digital shots of a waterfall.

"Slow down with a film camera," I suggested, "and you might get your shot!"

He sensed I wasn't a mean person, but knew I probably wasn't pulling his leg, either. He didn't reply. Instead, he offered me a supercilious smile. Then he continued at 6 or 10 frames per second. A well-behaved young man, I thought, even if a clueless photographer.

I've never been mocked for using an LF camera, as I mocked him, but if Karma means anything, my comeuppance is long overdue!

To help me prepare for the inevitable, I'd like to hear about your experiences.

If you've ever been mocked for LF – in the field or during a conversation – what did you hear? And if you've been mocked several times, is there a remark that's common? Also, if you've ever "hit back," what did you say? Do you carry ready-made replies in your head? Or is it generally best to ignore any disparaging remarks and continue with your work – or, like an angel who sees everyone in a good light, treat it as a disguised invitation to start a friendly conversation?

Your insights will help us all improve our behavior in the jungle out there. :D

I wouldn't condone mocking anyone. What if this young man's photos are better than your photos? Who are you to judge his process and suggest a "better" way. We should judge on results, not process. No??? And what if he was actually shooting a stop motion sequence? I'd say your comments were rude and uncalled for. It appears you were feeling a bit superior because you use a big camera. I'm sure HCB would have a chuckle over that...

[Leigh]

I think spray-shooting can be justified in some situations, where the subject is unpredictable.

Take for example the challenge of shooting the interaction between animals.
If you wait for a good shot, it's already gone before you can trip the shutter.

- Leigh

[Heroique]

I'd say your comments were rude and uncalled for.

But it wasn't me – you missed the part about the devil! :D


For years, Steve, one of their sales staff (and a good friend) has been belittling my continued film interest in all formats.

I get this too at my local Glazer's here in Seattle.

It's all good clean fun – but I’m certain the attitude is partly due to the desire to meet ambitious sales goals. A sneaky suspicion. In any case, they're still the best film and darkroom salesmen in the nation.

Most of the in-store mocking – if one can call it that – comes from other customers in a good-natured ribbing about my failure to break away from "the old ways" they recall with so much fondness. These fun conversations always tend toward: I really should get back into film every now and then!

[Greg Miller]

I think spray-shooting can be justified in some situations, where the subject is unpredictable.

Take for example the challenge of shooting the interaction between animals.
If you wait for a good shot, it's already gone before you can trip the shutter.

- Leigh


or, as in this case, you are trying to freeze droplets from a waterfall. Quite likely this young man was doing something quite reasonable. That smiIe wasn't supercilious, it was "you don't have a clue what you are talking about."

[Alan Gales]

I think spray-shooting can be justified in some situations, where the subject is unpredictable.

Take for example the challenge of shooting the interaction between animals.
If you wait for a good shot, it's already gone before you can trip the shutter.

- Leigh

Yeah, that's what motor drives are for.

I used to shoot a lot of fast pitch softball. When the girls were batting I would hold down the shutter release and capture the ball coming off the bat when they got a hit. The girls and their parents loved those shots!

[jbenedict]

I've done that on occasion.

The poor folks walk away more confused than when they arrived. :cool:

- Leigh

Back when Polaroid was available anywhere and at a cheap price, I frequently would let someone who showed a little interest set up a shot and take one home. Sometimes, I would take a shot of a couple and give it to them to take home. It was fun and one reason why I liked having Polaroid available at a reasonable price.

I don't much care what others are shooting. I have a D300 and it is really really good for what I do with it which is take pictures of friends and action and movement. I have never thought that I was that good at that sort of photography but the D300 kind of unlocks that for me. Quality wise, it would take a MF digital to be significantly better than this camera. I've always covered up the name plates on my cameras mainly to keep the camera goons away and it is pretty effective. I don't try to disguise my Hassy because it is impossible. I either get the folks that are impressed and stand three steps back (which is fine) or the guys that tell me that their Bozoflex Mark II is just as good as a Hasselblad. If I say anything, it's "That's nice. Mine is a Hasselblad".

If any store personal mocked me for my equipment choice, I'd ask, "Does the manager know you talk to customers this way?" The only thing a brick and mortar store has to sell is their service and courtesy. Everything is available mail order with a telephone call and a credit card. Usually at a cheaper price.

[SMBooth]

My family mocks me all the time, not just for using large format either.

[Alan Gales]

My family mocks me all the time, not just for using large format either.

Don't feel lonesome. It comes with marriage and kids! ;)

[Alan Gales]

If any store personal mocked me for my equipment choice, I'd ask, "Does the manager know you talk to customers this way?" The only thing a brick and mortar store has to sell is their service and courtesy. Everything is available mail order with a telephone call and a credit card. Usually at a cheaper price.

It was ok. I know the guy and it was friendly mocking. I gave him trouble right back.

He did really piss off my good friend, Harold, though when he suggested that Harold sell his Hasselblad Xpan and learn how to stitch digital! ;)

[jcoldslabs]

I've never been mocked, but I have been asked on many occasions why I bother shooting film in this day and age. Either that or the slightly more benign, "I'm surprised you can still get film for that." I usually just smile and go on about my business.

Jonathan

[Alan Gales]

I've never been mocked, but I have been asked on many occasions why I bother shooting film in this day and age. Either that or the slightly more benign, "I'm surprised you can still get film for that." I usually just smile and go on about my business.

Jonathan

Why do you shoot film? Why do you drive a stick? Why do you still drink Busch beer? Why do you own a Weber Kettle if you have a perfectly good Weber gas grill? Why? Why? Why?

Some people need to get a life!

[neil poulsen]

I remember getting mocked one time, because I was taking so long to take the photo of the Grand Canyon. I was using a 6x9 baby Linhof Technika. Turns out that I had mistakenly left my darkcloth at home, and I was having trouble seeing the image.

[jnantz]

nope

[ImSoNegative]

actually I feel liked I was mocked the other day for the first time, I was shooting and this guy walked up to me and said "you know digital cameras have come a long way in the last 10 years" and of course he laughed, I replied yeah they have and and soon as they catch up with this one I might start shooting one.:p

[Peter Gomena]

I usually get curious questions rather than mockery. The question "is film still available for that?" is usually among them. I let people look at the ground glass if I'm not too busy at capturing an image. If someone asks how many megapixels it has, I usually tell them I can get a 500Mb file or more out of a scan. That usually floors them.

[ImSoNegative]

Why do you shoot film? Why do you drive a stick? Why do you still drink Busch beer? Why do you own a Weber Kettle if you have a perfectly good Weber gas grill? Why? Why? Why?

Some people need to get a life!

people still drink Busch beer?

[Alan Gales]

people still drink Busch beer?

Oh you're one of those people! ;)

Yeah, there are a few of us left. I was at the supermarket one weekend. It was busy so I was using the lanes where you check yourself out. I was buying Busch and another middle aged fellow was buying another brand. The cashier did not check either of our Id's to see if we were 21 so the other fellow as a joke asked why. The cashier replied that no one under 21 drinks our beer! :)

[John Kasaian]

What is it with the persecution complex around here?
Whenever I'm out with the 8x10 I usually get curious admirers looking over my shoulders.
I need to start carrying an album of contact prints around with me to give 'em something to look at.
Pictures speak louder than bantering rhetoric.

[Alan Gales]

actually I feel liked I was mocked the other day for the first time, I was shooting and this guy walked up to me and said "you know digital cameras have come a long way in the last 10 years" and of course he laughed, I replied yeah they have and and soon as they catch up with this one I might start shooting one.:p

When they tell me that digital has come a long way I tell them to buy me a Phase One IQ180 back and I'll try it out. :)

[Kirk Gittings]

When someone mocks me I slap them across the face with my dark cloth and draw my spot meter out of its scabbard with a flourish and say en-garde!

[Heroique]

That reminds me, one of the few times I shot LF with another, our day was finished, we rolled-up our dark cloths, and in a fit of spontaneity, used them as whips for a friendly "rat tail" fight. (These were the old days before I became a mature, responsible adult.)

Now, a snap from a dry dark cloth isn't as painful as a snap from a wet beach towel...

But it's certainly enough to silence the mockers! :cool:

[Tobywan]

When you have a heavy camera on a tripod it's basically a big club so not many people mock you!

[David A. Goldfarb]

Mocked? No.

[ImSoNegative]

When they tell me that digital has come a long way I tell them to buy me a Phase One IQ180 back and I'll try it out. :)

haha, that is a good one, I will have to remember that. up until that point everyone always commented how cool it was and the usual wow that must be an old camera, or can you still buy film for that etc.

[Nigel Smith]

just wait until 1000+ Travelwides are on the loose! That'll be a good conversation... "What sort of camera is that".... "a Point and Shoot".... :)

[alexn]

I get plenty of questions, onlookers, people wondering what I am doing with a sheet over my head. I have had people tell me I am crazy for still shooting film, and I've been told that a d800 is more than enough resolution for any landscape shooter. Not really mockery as much as misguided comments from the ilinformed Internet review reader. Anyone who's seen a LF slide or neg on the light table start to understand. Anyone who has seen a 50" LF print next to a 50" digital print. They understand perfectly.

[polyglot]

Usually only by my wife, but some friends from a camera club wanted to see what my 4x5 was all about. We went out to take a couple night shots; one of them was videoing me with their phone and complained that it ran out of recording duration before I could make an exposure...

[jb7]

Only on these pages...

[Brian C. Miller]

What is it with the persecution complex around here?
Whenever I'm out with the 8x10 I usually get curious admirers looking over my shoulders.

+1!

People usually wind up bug-eyed and amazed when I'm out and about with my camera. Usually my 8x10 Cambo is mistaken for a movie camera. I don't know why, the lack of Mickey Mouse ears on it should have been a dead give-away. Ah, well. I also do get asked, "Is that a Hasselblad?" People really aren't exposed to anything other than, essentially, point & shoot cameras.

[DrTang]

My photographer friend sometimes asks if I'm still 'carting all that crap around'

hahahaha

we kid each other though

[Drew Wiley]

Depends on the crowd and the neighborhood. People on the local trails encounter me with the camera sometimes and are generally very polite, and some wait till I
take the shot and then ask to look under the darkcloth. I let them. The only exception was a herd of twenty-something Japanese tourists once, vying with one
another for who had the most rhinestones on their cell phone. A couple of them chided me for using such a big old-fashioned thing that nobody else has used for a
hundred years. I simply pointed out how people a hundred years ago did not make cameras out of aircraft alloy aluminum, or delrin, or titanium, or fiberglass and
penetrating epoxy, or for that matter, use a Goretex darkcloth. Usually, it's exactly the other way around. I've had tourist from both China and India commend me
for still using a "real" camera. The software techies & engineers are particularly enthusiastic about real film still being available. On the other hand, once I get inland, into what is essentially the Midwest of California, I have to be very careful about roadside photography. Idiots will go out of their way to hit a mudpuddle
or stir up gravel and rocks. When I doubt, I stay well away from such places, and stick to the backroads and hill country.

[ghostcount]

When you have a heavy camera on a tripod it's basically a big club so not many people mock you!

"Boris 'The Blade' Yurinov: Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work you can always hit them with it. (http://www.imfdb.org/images/1/1d/S-Borris.jpg)"

[goamules]

No I haven't given or received any mocking face to face. Usually it's the opposite, you meet interesting people, or teach about the hobby.

But I haven't been mocked for the type of car I drive, refrigerator I have, or the type of jeans I wear either. It's a primitive, tribal mentality to believe that anyone different than you is somehow bad or wrong. That belief is strong in some.

[Alan Gales]

It's a primitive, tribal mentality to believe that anyone different than you is somehow bad or wrong. That belief is strong in some.

I even have a name for those types of people. I call them in-laws. ;)

[Vaughn]

Mocked? No. I guess I tend to confuse them too much to mock.

ULF Digital Camera:

[Vaughn]

But really, who would mock such a gentle gnomish-looking fellow? (Out with the MF in the rain in Fern Canyon)

Or perhaps I do not get mocked because upon getting closer, the gnome turns out to be a 250 pound, 6'4" hairy guy with a heavy object in his hand (hiking up from the Valley floor, Yosemite).

[Drew Wiley]

I don't even bother to argue technical details like pixels versus square inches of film. That kind of thing is OK on a web forum, but distinctly unwelcome when I'm outdoors trying to relax and compose something. But it almost never happens. They take one look at the size of my pack and that big Ries maple tripod strapped on the back, and they know it's something serious. And they know that the purpose for their cell phone or even DLSR is something completely different. The only ones who don't are the bird watchers, who assume that I have a big spotting scope in my pack. So they skip along the trail with their little binoculars and field guides, note that I have serious gear, and therefore assume that I know an awful lot about birds. ... So they'll see some turkey vulture or crow out in the distance, and I'll get all enthusiastic and tell them that it's some kind of super rare tropical bird never seen before on the West Coast, that I'll invent some ridiculous name for, and that will make their day.

[Robert Opheim]

Heroique I have been belittled a bit at Glazer's as well. Also many Kenmore Camera's salesmen also wonder why I shoot large format. While out shooting for the last 30 years I have been asked why I am shooting film. As early as 1986 when I visited Kyoto and was at Nara photographing the Temple and Shine - and Englishman on the tour wanted to know why I was shooting with a Nikon F-2 and not a "new" digital camera. When I am out with a large format camera here in Washington State - I have been asked: why am I taking pictures with such an old camera? Or do I work for National Geographic?

[Heroique]

Heroique, I have been belittled a bit at Glazer's as well. Also many Kenmore Camera's salesmen also wonder why I shoot large format...

Yes, thanks for mentioning Kenmore. Indeed, I'm the victim of some slight (good-natured) mocking there too!

But as I'm sure you'll agree, we LFers, plus other film users, are very fortunate to have both a Glazers and a Kenmore in the Seattle area.

I should say blessed!

[Kirk Gittings]

Being belittled by know-nothing idiots gives me a great deal of inner satisfaction.....

[ROL]

Smocked, yes. It's my official garb for LF'ing.

Mocked, no*. I have nothing but authentic inquisitions, and what for inexplicable reasons to me, seems for all the world to be envy. If you're getting mocked, maybe its not because of the camera.






* There was one time I was hauling my gear up to the Hidden Lake overlook in Glacier, one evening. Halfway up the stepped boardwalk trail, I passed a fat-ass, doughy, breathless teenage boy collapsed on the side railings. He looked up at me and said, "Having fun?". Quite unexpectedly, my carbon tipped trekking pole slipped from its tenuous wood purchase, ending up square in his chest. I was having so much fun his screams didn't even faze me. True story. :eek:

[Drew Wiley]

I've told this story before, but ... I had my 8x10 set up for a shot of some crags above Blue Lake, which is accessed by a somewhat steep goat path a couple thousand feet above the Sonora Pass area. In other words, a pretty good round trip dayhike with a big pack, but otherwise, you can actually see the Sonora Pass
road down there just before you arrive at the lake. Some German tourist in his silly lederhosen and feathered cap somehow got up there, and kept stumbling over
rocks and logs because he was staring the whole time at his GPS. "Vere issh the lake? Vere issh the lake?" (plus expletives). I told him it was right in front of him.
And it was, in plain sight. So he looked up, sized up my camera, and commented, "How dare you deshecrate nature wish that huuuge ting!" I just smiled and replied,
"Nice GPS. Is that the same model John Muir used?"

[jbenedict]

Any of you Seattle guys remember Ed Olson at The Camera Show?

The guy who used to handle the LF gear at Glazer's was a pretty good guy. The guy who handled the Canon gear ("Captain Canon") was reason enough to use Nikon.

Eddie Glazer's has been around since the 30s. I have a 3.25x4.25 Speed Graphic that my best friend's grandfather bought there in 1939. I got some 'late' model plastic holders and cut down 4x5 to shoot it once and awhile. Quarter plate Kodak B&W was available in at least Tri-X and Ektapan up through sometime in the 70s.

[I4YM]

Funny stuff..Would like to add my experiences (then answers) while carrying a 1959 Crown Graphic (bulbed reflector) as the press used it.
"Look he's carrying the first camera ever made." That is correct.
"They make smaller cameras than that." I keep losing them.
"Are you waiting for anyone famous?" Yes, you.
"Where do you get your flashbulbs from?" You don't have any in your pocket...???
For the most part it is quite fun for me. Those who are genuinely interested I give some history on the Graflex company. About how they recorded so much of American history from last century.
Then there are those whom pass on knowledge about the history of photography etc..Even met a fella who stated he was donating Big Bertha to the Baseball Hall of Fame. I feel the LF community is much friendlier towards each other.

[Robert Opheim]

Any of you Seattle guys remember Ed Olson at The Camera Show?

The guy who used to handle the LF gear at Glazer's was a pretty good guy. The guy who handled the Canon gear ("Captain Canon") was reason enough to use Nikon.

Eddie Glazer's has been around since the 30s. I have a 3.25x4.25 Speed Graphic that my best friend's grandfather bought there in 1939. I got some 'late' model plastic holders and cut down 4x5 to shoot it once and awhile. Quarter plate Kodak B&W was available in at least Tri-X and Ektapan up through sometime in the 70s.

I bought a number of lenses from Ed Olson at the Camera Show. If I had only bought the really good ones - that I couldn't afford. Ed was an interesting guy - if he liked you he would tell you all about lenses and cameras - they were his passion. I made purchase from Ed in the 1970's thru when he closed - I would guess in the 1980's. I bought an Omega DII from Clyde's - ( In the early 1970's) if you can remember that store. I bought a Veriwide from Nobi's - in the early 1980's. And Glazier's and Kenmore Camera have allowed me to empty my pockets on various occasions. There are fewer stores in Washington now.

[John Olsen]

Nobody mocks someone carrying a 17lb steel tripod, or at least only once.

[jbenedict]

I bought a number of lenses from Ed Olson at the Camera Show. If I had only bought the really good ones - that I couldn't afford. Ed was an interesting guy - if he liked you he would tell you all about lenses and cameras - they were his passion. I made purchase from Ed in the 1970's thru when he closed - I would guess in the 1980's. I bought an Omega DII from Clyde's - ( In the early 1970's) if you can remember that store. I bought a Veriwide from Nobi's - in the early 1980's. And Glazier's and Kenmore Camera have allowed me to empty my pockets on various occasions. There are fewer stores in Washington now.

I knew Ed for about that period of time also. He sold out in 1996 because he was going blind from diabetes. (He realized it was time to stop driving when he blew a stoplight he couldn't see and someone did a major skid and turn to avoid him and he said to himself, "Man, I'm glad he could see because I sure can't." He gave up the keys and that was the end of that. He sold out soon after.) I got to be friends with his son, Nick, also and once went with Nick to some of his father's hidey-holes around the neighborhood and Greater Ballard. Ed had a *lot* of stuff. When the big camera sale in Puyallup happened, Nick would take a bunch of crap down there to sell and Ed would stay in Seattle. A couple of times, he showed me some of the stuff he had ready to sell to overseas buyers who were going to be in town for the show. He would only open to invited customers on the Saturday morning of the show. I never got invited because I wasn't going to buy anything and he was going to have some heavy hitters in there who didn't want anyone to see what they were doing. He had some really rare stuff. He showed me a Nikon F he would sell to a collector for $10,000 and, at one time, he had about 15 Hasselblad 1600Fs and 1000Fs in a display case going from $1K to $5K depending on condition and rarity. He had the third 1600F off the production line in there. When he closed, he had already sold all of the good stuff and sold what was left on a "take it all or take nothing" to a guy named "Chuck the Peddler" who had a week long sale of the excess in a warehouse in Ballard. There was some way cool stuff- a Kodak Autofocus 8x10 enlarger with a custom cold light head for one but, as I said, almost all of the cool stuff was gone. On one of the shelves were about 75 Kodak 16mm Home Movie cameras from the 40s. Plus a couple of hundred box Brownies. His method of acquiring this stuff mainly was estate sales and most of them were of the "take all or take nothing" variety. So, along with the good stuff came a lot of crap. I remember Clyed's downtown. When Clyed's got out of the LF business, Ed bought all of it from them and sold it in his store. I recognized it but Ed would get offended if you asked him where he got stuff. I was in there on a Saturday afternoon and a guy asked him if he had any screw thread Canons. This guy was obviously a repeat customer because Nick brought out 15 cameras for him to look at. The Camera Show was the kind of place you just had to check into regularly if you wanted the good stuff. It was on kind of a trapline I would run every Saturday afternoon. I frequently would buy some holders- 4x5 and 8x10- if he had any even if I didn't really need any. Loved his sales policies. 30 day no argue MBG and pay with a credit card- full price. Pay with cash? Minus 7.5 %. No MBG? Minus 7.5% Pay with cash, traveller's checks and no MBG? 15% off. On stuff like books and view cameras that you could tell if it was OK just by looking at it, I'd take the 15%. Lenses and bodies I usually paid cash and took the MBG. I got to know him well enough that he would take a personal check and call it cash.

I did a lot of supply business with Dick's Camera in Burien. I bought my first camera (an Exa) and my second camera (A Leotax F with a 50/1.8 Canon which was one of the really good Leica copies from the fifties) from Dick Dalgard. Still have them both. Dick passed away just last year. Never been to Kenmore Camera. Too far off my regular path and they never gave me any reason to go out of my way. Optechs up Republican St. from Glazer's was a pretty good stopping place, too.

Color. That's what has left Seattle. Color. Down in South Lake Union, there used to be all sorts of cool industrial crap to look at and buy. I went to a friend's daughter's wedding last year in the S Lake Union area and, the outside of the building looked familiar. When I got inside, I realized it was a place I had gotten marine parts like generators, carburetors and transmissions rebuilt twenty years earlier. What a waste. My uncle was a contractor and I sometimes was sent down there to get things from a place called "T and A Supply". T was 'Trim" and A was "Accessories" and they sold things like door hinges, screen doors and stuff to install carpets. I got a "T and A Supply" hat there once and had it for years. Just look at all the big buildings so Amazon can rape and pillage the bookseller and publishing industry and line the pockets of Paul Allen... Ah, that's enough...

[kintatsu]

Not mocked, but received strange comments.

The number 1 question/comment I get here is about a speed trap. I've been asked so many times I can't count, if I was setting up a speed trap. One time, a lady came by to check it out because she heard on the radio about the "speed trap" in our town.

[Drew Wiley]

Not exactly mocked. Because it looks like survey equipment, I got accused of being a spy for Al Gore and his invasion with the UN to steal everyone's cattle. Those guys out on the highways with their tripods and making little marks on the road are part of the conspiracy too. Everybody knew that. Sounds nutty, but this kind of information was being deliberately disseminated among naive ranchers and sagebrush rebellion types, and it almost cost me my life. Of course, the UN probably couldn't successfully invade the roadside rest stop at Arbuckle, but don't tell them that. I had a choice between whacking someone with that big Ries to save my own life, and potentially killing them, or thinking really fast. As his armed wannabee militia was heading uphill on ATV's, I convinced him to make a citizens arrest of a foreign agent (me). It took hours being held at gunpoint, but finally an authentic deputy showed up, and as we drove off together in the patrol car, had a good laugh together. I never filed charges. Better having eccentric ranchers in charge of the land than developers.

[Jim Galli]

Doubly mocked since it was a fellow who leads workshops. We began together in the Nikon 35mm ~ Velvia 50 days but he went on his digital path and I went on my ever larger and weirder formats path. We re-met years later. I was in an aspen grove east of Yosemite with the 7X17 and he did some digital snaps of me and said he would put them in his book as "what not to do".

The picture in the aspen grove sucked . . but I'm a really slow learner with a very hard head.

Oh, and I think his pumped up grossly over-sharpened digital pictures with the reds dripping off the canvas look like stuff a Walt Disney illustrator concocted.

[ROL]

...with the reds dripping off the canvas look like stuff a Walt Disney illustrator concocted.

I assume that means you finally extracted comeuppance from the lout by physical recompense using one of those gigantic old lenses you're always carrying about. ;)

[Jim Galli]

I assume that means you finally extracted comeuppance from the lout by physical recompense using one of those gigantic old lenses you're always carrying about. ;)

Why, thrashing him with a 13 pound lens never entered my mind ;~'))

[David Lobato]

About a week ago the proprietor of a camera shop raised his eyebrow when I mentioned my 8x10 Deardorff. He said digital has excellent quality and there is no reason to use LF. That was after he gazed speechless for a moment at a print I showed him, taken with the Deardorff. It was a friendly shop and I will likely go there again.

[Liquid Artist]

I get mocked all the time, by none other than my future wife.

She used to be a model, and the photographer who did all the shoots was a machine gun shooter. As a result, even after 3 years together she still thinks I should do the same. However she also loves my work, and says lt blows his away.
Oh, she is the least patient person I have ever met.

I am trying to convince her to bring along a book, or something to pass the time when I want to go on a shoot. She wants to but hasn't yet.

Other than that, I've only had one person tell me I should switch to medium format digital.
He could not understand how anyone could prefer working in a darkroom rather than in front of a computer all day long.

[Robert Opheim]

I knew Ed for about that period of time also. He sold out in 1996 because he was going blind from diabetes. (He realized it was time to stop driving when he blew a stoplight he couldn't see and someone did a major skid and turn to avoid him and he said to himself, "Man, I'm glad he could see because I sure can't." He gave up the keys and that was the end of that. He sold out soon after.) I got to be friends with his son, Nick, also and once went with Nick to some of his father's hidey-holes around the neighborhood and Greater Ballard. Ed had a *lot* of stuff. When the big camera sale in Puyallup happened, Nick would take a bunch of crap down there to sell and Ed would stay in Seattle. A couple of times, he showed me some of the stuff he had ready to sell to overseas buyers who were going to be in town for the show. He would only open to invited customers on the Saturday morning of the show. I never got invited because I wasn't going to buy anything and he was going to have some heavy hitters in there who didn't want anyone to see what they were doing. He had some really rare stuff. He showed me a Nikon F he would sell to a collector for $10,000 and, at one time, he had about 15 Hasselblad 1600Fs and 1000Fs in a display case going from $1K to $5K depending on condition and rarity. He had the third 1600F off the production line in there. When he closed, he had already sold all of the good stuff and sold what was left on a "take it all or take nothing" to a guy named "Chuck the Peddler" who had a week long sale of the excess in a warehouse in Ballard. There was some way cool stuff- a Kodak Autofocus 8x10 enlarger with a custom cold light head for one but, as I said, almost all of the cool stuff was gone. On one of the shelves were about 75 Kodak 16mm Home Movie cameras from the 40s. Plus a couple of hundred box Brownies. His method of acquiring this stuff mainly was estate sales and most of them were of the "take all or take nothing" variety. So, along with the good stuff came a lot of crap. I remember Clyed's downtown. When Clyed's got out of the LF business, Ed bought all of it from them and sold it in his store. I recognized it but Ed would get offended if you asked him where he got stuff. I was in there on a Saturday afternoon and a guy asked him if he had any screw thread Canons. This guy was obviously a repeat customer because Nick brought out 15 cameras for him to look at. The Camera Show was the kind of place you just had to check into regularly if you wanted the good stuff. It was on kind of a trapline I would run every Saturday afternoon. I frequently would buy some holders- 4x5 and 8x10- if he had any even if I didn't really need any. Loved his sales policies. 30 day no argue MBG and pay with a credit card- full price. Pay with cash? Minus 7.5 %. No MBG? Minus 7.5% Pay with cash, traveller's checks and no MBG? 15% off. On stuff like books and view cameras that you could tell if it was OK just by looking at it, I'd take the 15%. Lenses and bodies I usually paid cash and took the MBG. I got to know him well enough that he would take a personal check and call it cash.

I did a lot of supply business with Dick's Camera in Burien. I bought my first camera (an Exa) and my second camera (A Leotax F with a 50/1.8 Canon which was one of the really good Leica copies from the fifties) from Dick Dalgard. Still have them both. Dick passed away just last year. Never been to Kenmore Camera. Too far off my regular path and they never gave me any reason to go out of my way. Optechs up Republican St. from Glazer's was a pretty good stopping place, too.

Color. That's what has left Seattle. Color. Down in South Lake Union, there used to be all sorts of cool industrial crap to look at and buy. I went to a friend's daughter's wedding last year in the S Lake Union area and, the outside of the building looked familiar. When I got inside, I realized it was a place I had gotten marine parts like generators, carburetors and transmissions rebuilt twenty years earlier. What a waste. My uncle was a contractor and I sometimes was sent down there to get things from a place called "T and A Supply". T was 'Trim" and A was "Accessories" and they sold things like door hinges, screen doors and stuff to install carpets. I got a "T and A Supply" hat there once and had it for years. Just look at all the big buildings so Amazon can rape and pillage the bookseller and publishing industry and line the pockets of Paul Allen... Ah, that's enough...

Ed had a number of really rare cameras - I remember him finding a first generation Kodak - the camera you sent the camera back to Kodak for film processing and printing (probably contact printing); he had big circuit cameras - one he sold to a Seattle Fireman who was very active in taking images around town - I think it was a 7x around 36 inch image. He had Hypergons that he showed to me - they were beyond my ability to buy. I bought a number on lenses from him: a 12 inch Velostigmat with variable soft focus, a 160mm Hugo Meyer WA, a 90mm Grandagon. A professional Junior tripod, numerous film holders. His place was a treat to go in. You are right about what has happen to Seattle - most of the small retail and industrial, as well as almost all of the photographic related, businesses are gone. No Color!

[Jody_S]

Have I ever been mocked for LF? Never to my face. While I'm under the dark cloth, who knows?

[jbenedict]

Ed had a number of really rare cameras - I remember him finding a first generation Kodak - the camera you sent the camera back to Kodak for film processing and printing (probably contact printing); he had big circuit cameras - one he sold to a Seattle Fireman who was very active in taking images around town - I think it was a 7x around 36 inch image. He had Hypergons that he showed to me - they were beyond my ability to buy. I bought a number on lenses from him: a 12 inch Velostigmat with variable soft focus, a 160mm Hugo Meyer WA, a 90mm Grandagon. A professional Junior tripod, numerous film holders. His place was a treat to go in. You are right about what has happen to Seattle - most of the small retail and industrial, as well as almost all of the photographic related, businesses are gone. No Color!

He had some stuff, that is for sure. I remember the early Kodak. The prints came back round images on a strip- like the negatives were laid out on paper and exposed. I had forgotten about the Cirkut cameras. I think that was one of his specialties for awhile. He did have one of the firefighter pictures up in the store. I only saw the Hypergon once when he had it out for someone else. I always wondered just what he actually had in his back room. I got my B&J 8x10 and 375/6,8 Ilex from him. Some Hasselblad stuff, a couple of lenses in and out for the 8x10. I bought a lot of books for my photo class from him as well as some developing trays and tanks. It was a lot of fun to go and see him.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Mocked once by a college student for 'the accordion camera', but he was the same one who laughed, "Can't you afford a new one?" when he learned I drove a '56 Harley and drove a '58 VW Bug. I didn't tell him I was dating a woman his age. Enough was enough.

[jcoldslabs]

In 1988 when I proudly showed off my first LF camera--a brand new Toyo 45A--to my girlfriend she said, "Why'd you buy such an old camera?" She wasn't mocking me, but she didn't understand, as many people don't, that the presence of bellows ≠ old.

The joke's on her, though, since these days she's got to put up with a Century 10A on a Semi-Centennial stand parked in her living room. Now she understands what "old" means in reference to cameras!

Jonathan

[Mark G]

If you think that you get daft questions using LF you aught to try pinhole!!!
118944
I can't remember how many times iv'e been asked "Where is the lens then?" and "why do you keep your camera in that box?"

[Liquid Artist]

If you think that you get daft questions using LF you aught to try pinhole!!!
118944
I can't remember how many times iv'e been asked "Where is the lens then?" and "why do you keep your camera in that box?"

Cool looking camera Mark, did you follow some sort of pattern or just design your own?

[Kevin J. Kolosky]

I have asked people who looked interesting to me if I could take their portrait and they refused because they could not see their "picture" right away. I don't know if that is mocking or not.

[Mark G]

Cool looking camera Mark, did you follow some sort of pattern or just design your own?
Thanks, I can't claim total originality, I used some ideas of the net, but the shutter and basic design was mine. This is one of my early attempts, I have since built a "loose" panel in the front so that any expansion and contraction are eliminated. this one is made from an old oak beam that came out of an old barn in Scotland that was dated to around 1600 A local builder had to replace this timber as it was rotten at one end, and i managed to scrounge it off him. (He was going to chop it up for firewood.) I managed to build three cameras out of the beam. The rest of the timber was too far gone to use. I took this one to Portugal with me and the dry heat split the front panel. It is now filled and covered with Duct tape and works a treat. the sight lines are brass inlay . it has brass tripod mounts for portrait and landscape also a simple shutter using a cable release. Hmmm I think that iv'e put this on the wrong thread. I'll post some pics on the proper thread later.:o

[Liquid Artist]

Thanks, I can't claim total originality, I used some ideas of the net, but the shutter and basic design was mine. This is one of my early attempts, I have since built a "loose" panel in the front so that any expansion and contraction are eliminated. this one is made from an old oak beam that came out of an old barn in Scotland that was dated to around 1600 A local builder had to replace this timber as it was rotten at one end, and i managed to scrounge it off him. (He was going to chop it up for firewood.) I managed to build three cameras out of the beam. The rest of the timber was too far gone to use. I took this one to Portugal with me and the dry heat split the front panel. It is now filled and covered with Duct tape and works a treat. the sight lines are brass inlay . it has brass tripod mounts for portrait and landscape also a simple shutter using a cable release. Hmmm I think that iv'e put this on the wrong thread. I'll post some pics on the proper thread later.:o

Very interesting Mark, thanks for sharing.
I am sorry if anyone is bothered by Marks or this post being here. Definitely my fault for asking about it.

[jnantz]

not mocked but questioned what i was doing with a birdhouse on a tripod off the side of the road when people saw me a few hours later ... it was a cyclone 3 magazine camera with the leather stripped off ...
i showed her the paper negative which was hand coated and looked like a painting and she kind of smiled and said " thats some birdhouse!"

[arca andy]

Some once kids through stones at me whilst I was shooting Tower Bridge from the banks of the Thames....does that count as mocked? They missed by the way!

[invisibleflash]

People are fascinated with LF like it is something from medieval times.

[Andrew O'Neill]

People usually just have a good look. Some ask me if it's an old camera. Some chat while I'm working with the camera and reminisce about some old camera that they used to shoot. Some are surprised that you can still buy film. I remember a guy asking me "where's the thing you light and it goes BOOM?" Never really had any mocking that I can recall.

[cyrus]

My own Dad, after I explained the LF prococess to him: "Why are you making it so hard just to produce an picture? Why not also wave a chicken in the air and stand on your head, just to make it harder?"

But I've actually had the strangest reaction when taking pictures using film cameras in third world countries, where the locals assume that the only reason why I'm still using film is because I'm too poor to buy a digital camera. I actually invoke sympathy as well as mockery.

[TXFZ1]

I was asked if I was Ghost hunter while photographing in a ghosttown! I had the camera setup and was using my Sekonic light meter to take light measurements. This was inside a hotel that was rumored to be haunted.

David

[ImSoNegative]

I was asked if I was Ghost hunter while photographing in a ghosttown! I had the camera setup and was using my Sekonic light meter to take light measurements. This was inside a hotel that was rumored to be haunted.

David

they probably saw the movie "the frightners" with Michael J fox, when he went to that house looking for paranormal activity he was actually using a spot meter, when I first saw that movie and it came to that scene, I said, "that looks like my pentax spot meter" my wife rolled her eyes lol

[dsphotog]

I was asked if I was Ghost hunter while photographing in a ghosttown! I had the camera setup and was using my Sekonic light meter to take light measurements. This was inside a hotel that was rumored to be haunted.

David

In Ghostbusters, Dan Akroyd has a GlobusScope panoramic camera hanging from his tool belt.

[Alan Gales]

I was asked if I was Ghost hunter while photographing in a ghosttown! I had the camera setup and was using my Sekonic light meter to take light measurements. This was inside a hotel that was rumored to be haunted.

David

I recently had one of those ghost hunters come out to the house. He was on Craigslist looking for broken 35mm cameras for a hobby he had of filming wrestlers. The wrestler would feign anger at a photographer for taking his photo and would destroy the 35mm camera. It was a put on of course. I sold him several junk cameras for $25.

Anyway, he told me that my house was completely clean of ghosts. You have no idea what a relief that was to me!

The best part of it is that I just wonder what the neighbors thought about his ghostbuster van in my driveway. :cool:

[John Jarosz]

The vast majority of the unwashed masses have no idea what I'm doing.
They don't know what a film camera of any type is, much less an 8x10.

Absolutely correct.

I'll say that there's been a big change in the last five years. Used to be that there would an occasional curious type.

Now I'm avoided as if I have a megaphone and a soapbox on which to stand.

[John Kasaian]

I've only been mocked by digital camera sales clerks. Well, harassed anyway.

[Rayt]

Whenever I shoot large format in China I always seem to attract young girls who want to selfie with me with the camera. I only shoot film and in all formats. I get the usual *why not go digital* comments often. My answer is always something like: Do you prefer to grill or microwave your steak? Certainly nuking all your food is more convenient but seldom with ideal results.

[brucep]

Other than the odd "how many megapixels is that", most people are interested to know more about it, and it is amazing how often the digital brigade ask if it is OK to take a picture if I'm not ready yet. When was the last time anyone worried about ruining your shots when you were using digital?

[bigdog]

I've been mocked by large format shooters while using roll film ...

[Drew Wiley]

The most common remark I get from young people is "Cool". The most common remark from older people is "Wow, wish I had one of those; it's beautiful". But they do all inevitably ask if film is still made, and where I get it.

[SergeiR]

No, but next person who will ask me "is it Hasselblad?", while stroking consumer dSLR on her/his neck and knownlingly nodding to surrounding admirers - will get whacked with tripod…
Deardorff. Its right bloody there. There is actually a name plate..

[Drew Wiley]

John - I'm not quite sure where you shop in that part of the world. But if your Central Valley passport is still valid for crossing over Altamont Pass (or you might be able to sneak over Pacheco Pass undetected), once you mention you shoot 8x10 to any camera store clerk around here, they cower behind the sales counter until an ox
arrives to sacrifice to you. Even mentioning film makes them too embarrassed to even pronounce "dig-gggg--gg-g-gg-ttt--- " On the other hand, around this part of
the world we have a very difficult time pronouncing any Armenian names, especially ones ending with "ian-ian-ian-ian". That does seem to be one application digital
memories are better at.

[dodphotography]

lol... from my own wife, who as a result of my foray into large format, hates photography. She has no idea why I drive to Maine (about an hour 45 mins) to take 2 shots. Also, why it takes me 20 minutes to tinker and then shoot. "My phone is probably just as good".

[Ron Stowell]

Never mocked, did have one man who stopped and said" now that's a real camera."
I have also had people who wondered what I was doing.

[dsphotog]

Overheard a guy describing his ipad as a large format camera.

[Jac@stafford.net]

I loaned my 8x10 Deardorff to a professor of photography and journalism. He presented it to his all-digital class and they could not make sense of it.

He popped off the back and invited the class to look inside. The common refrain was, "It is empty! How can it make a picture?"

And "Can you still get batteries?"

[dodphotography]

The most often thing people say when they see my Ritter... Wow, how old is that thing?! "You can still get film? I thought they stopped making film years ago.

Worst yet: shooting at the beach, man comes up to me with a tripod and a d800... "You know man, you can get the same resolution by just using the D800"

[C. D. Keth]

Worst yet: shooting at the beach, man comes up to me with a tripod and a d800... "You know man, you can get the same resolution by just using the D800"

To which I hope you said, "Oh, the D800 is 200 megapixel (i.e. 4x5 scanned at 3200ppi) now?"

I've never been mocked. I've had people think it's odd, cool, uber artsy, and I've had bottles thrown at me. Never really mocked, exactly.

[richardman]

I always get great reception with my view cameras. Most common phrase is "that is really old, isn't it?" Second one is probably "it's beautiful!" This last weekend though, while walking with the camera on the tripod on my shoulder, I got asked twice "are you shooting a movie?"

[dodphotography]

A group of 4 kids, rough looking in a part of town I shouldn't be in, came up to me and simply said : "hey my man, what's something like that worth". That sent a few guards up.

[richardman]

I always tell people that since everyone moves to digital, these stuff are actually quite cheap and no one else really wants them :-)

[Rayt]

I always get great reception with my view cameras. Most common phrase is "that is really old, isn't it?" Second one is probably "it's beautiful!" This last weekend though, while walking with the camera on the tripod on my shoulder, I got asked twice "are you shooting a movie?"

Yes. "That's an old camera isn't it?" And then "Do they still make film?" Never fails.

[uphereinmytree]

hanging out under the dark cloth in west baltimore. a few young fellows came by with a light sucker punch to my gut. they didn't expect my aggressive reaction and kept walking to the end of the block. They came back and I was ready to rock and roll until they asked what i was doing. I told them I was photographing social decay (still on gaurd) before gentrification spread through the area. They likely never met anyone so interested in old crumbling buildings covered in trash. After seeing an Image on a ground glass, I had their attention. The camera certainly bridged a wide cultural gap although I wouldn't dare have it out after dark and there are other blocks in the same area where I wouldn't even get out of the car.

[Drew Wiley]

It works both ways. The mocked has every right to become the mocker. If someone asks me what that "old thing" is, I point out that it's made of titanium or
aircraft alum alloy, or delrin and epoxy, whatever (depending on the specific camera), and then simply ask them if they've ever seen a real camera before. That
generally shuts them up. Just depends on what side of the "great divide" I am between the Coast here and inland. Merely owning a view camera garners respect
in this immediate area, though people might ask whether it's a "Hasselblad". In any event, they recognize it's something serious and know what it's for.

[Tin Can]

I always tell people that since everyone moves to digital, these stuff are actually quite cheap and no one else really wants them :-)

That's the best answer. Make sure they know it is worth less.

[Zndrson]

I was mocked pretty frequently by my old boss (medium format camera dealer). He spent so much time and effort selling against large format that anytime I brought it up I'd get a huge grumble and some mostly good-natured ribbing.

While out shooting I've never gotten anything but genuine questions and intrigue, which I love.

[Patrick13]

All I know is that when I showed my grandkid the 1930-ish 5x7 I was cleaning up to get usable again he was all like "that's so cool, you couldn't possibly get more retro."

Little does he know that I start cleaning on a 1890-1910-ish full plate camera soon. I'm just going to send him a text "yeah, I can possibly get more retro." :p

[Jim Cole]

Last week at the Grand Canyon I had everything from "you should shoot digital, it's easier and a lot smaller", to "that's the most beautiful camera I've ever seen", to "Wow, that's only the second camera like that I've ever seen in my life".

Most folks are quite complimentary and as one French tour group walked past my location, the tour guide stopped to ask some nice questions about the camera and he asked if he could let one of his group take his picture with it. Soon everyone was posing with the camera while their compatriots took pictures. I even showed them how to hold the shutter cable. It was quite entertaining! Fortunately, it was at a time when the light was not changing and I was working at a snail's pace anyway. It was fun to let them have a little fun. The funniest part was when one of the French tourists asked me to move farther away from the camera because I was in the picture. :D

[austin granger]

I can't remember a single instance of being mocked. My interactions with people while photographing have been overwhelmingly positive. I have gotten honked at here and there, but for all I know, they're honks of enthusiasm.

Of course, I have had my share of "You can't photograph that/get off my lawn!" type exchanges, but that's really a separate issue. :-)

[Jac@stafford.net]

I may have mentioned this before. Yes, about twenty years ago an employee tried to mock me with, "He uses some kinda accordion camera, drives a 1958 Volkswagen Bug, rides s 1956 Harley-Davidson, and codes in assembler! He's caveman!"

Of course for each of those I have STOA equivalents. When he asked me to be a reference I agreed and put on-file, "I am pleased to write that ... is s former employee."

[John Olsen]

I can't remember a single instance of being mocked. My interactions with people while photographing have been overwhelmingly positive. I have gotten honked at here and there, but for all I know, they're honks of enthusiasm. -)

That reminds me of setting up in the middle of Central Avenue in Albuquerque with hot lights at night. Cars slowly weaved around me and a police car entered the street, then turned off into an alley to avoid "seeing" me. Yeah, I think people are pretty sympathetic to our weird interests. Just keep doing it.

[Rory_5244]

Never mocked. Non-photographers are always very curious. Photographers are a bit shy and tentative on encountering a "real" photographer. :)

[Drew Wiley]

It's all about "respect". If Al Pacino (aka Scarface) decided to take up large format photography with a Sinar, and somebody made fun of his camera, he'd have a twelve gauge shotgun shell stuffed down the rail, which fired upon plunging the shutter release. "Smile!"

[alavergh]

People usually ask if I'm getting some good pictures or ask if it's old or if it's just made to look old. I've had a couple people photograph me near my camera.

I need to get it out and about more often though.

[Corran]

People usually ask if I'm getting some good pictures

I get that constantly. I always say, "maybe, I'll find out later!" Depending on the person, I either get an understanding nod or a quizzical look of confusion...

Last Christmas I was in New Orleans and a group of tourists from Britain I think it was talked me up for a long time - they thought my 6x17 and 4x5 were just the coolest thing they'd ever seen. I got one of them to pop the shutter for me so I could get a shot with my GF in front of the famous statue/cathedral, which is my favorite shot of the trip, so that was great.

Definitely had my share of "they don't make film for that anymore!" and such. If they are carrying a fancy DSLR I usually quip that my D800 is gathering dust at home.

[Alan Gales]

If they are carrying a fancy DSLR I usually quip that my D800 is gathering dust at home.

That will make em think! ;)

[Drew Wiley]

Usually people apologize for their own little DLSR or phone when asking to take a picture of me and my "real" camera. But they do routinely ask where I still
get film, since it's pretty obviously that's what I'm shooting. The only notable exception has been when a herd of young Japanese tourists has stumbled off a tour
bus and tries to get uphill to some coastal overlook - all carrying shiny electronic gadgets and all the gals constantly almost falling over from ridiculous elevator heels, which seem a bit suicidal for dirt or gravel trails .... But ya know, style seems to be way more important than functionality when you're out with the herd.

[Jmarmck]

I have been asked why I bother when a DSLR produces images that are "just as good".
I would make some quip about preferring and upside down image but that would only make them want to put their nose on the glass.
I tried to go into resolutions once. I got the blank stare. Actually, that was a good idea as they walked away but then you might run into the opinionated know-it-all.
So I just leave it to something like "I guess I am just old fashioned", in an uninterested voice.

[Drew Wiley]

On the casual weekend shoots, which are often on local trails, over and over again people have politely asked to look under the darkcloth, after I've finished the
shot. Teenagers, old folks, techies, little kids being lifted up by their parents. The 8x10 GG gives a stronger impression than the 4x5, of course; and
something dramatic like a black and white scene through a red filter helps to spice things up ... but they don't seemed bothered that it's upside down, and do seem to instinctively read it as a composition. The most common remark is "cool"... or, "wish I could do this". At least with the locals, everybody seems to already know that a DLSR is a toy by comparison. But I'm not prejudiced. Friends with DLSR's are welcome to go on walks with me, and often do. But they do tend to become film converts, and at least gravitate into med format. That's not due to my preaching - it's do to the end result.

[Geezer]

We live in an age of instant gratification. Many people can't even imagine what it's like to take a roll of 35mm film to the drug store. Let lone wait for it to be processed and printed. Technology has supposedly made our lives easier and that extends to photography so when we go through
all of the steps involved in exposing just one sheet of film they have no frame of reference. There will always be people who mock what they don't understand. Once in a while someone comes along who is truly curious. Once in a while someone wants to take a peak under the black rag we hang over our camera. Those moments might be rare but IMO the conversation can be as rewarding as the image.

[Jmarmck]

On the casual weekend shoots, which are often on local trails, over and over again people have politely asked to look under the darkcloth, after I've finished the
shot. Teenagers, old folks, techies, little kids being lifted up by their parents. The 8x10 GG gives a stronger impression than the 4x5, of course; and
something dramatic like a black and white scene through a red filter helps to spice things up ... but they don't seemed bothered that it's upside down, and do seem to instinctively read it as a composition. The most common remark is "cool"... or, "wish I could do this". At least with the locals, everybody seems to already know that a DLSR is a toy by comparison. But I'm not prejudiced. Friends with DLSR's are welcome to go on walks with me, and often do. But they do tend to become film converts, and at least gravitate into med format. That's not due to my preaching - it's do to the end result.

So that is why the old Hassys is so dadblamed expensive! It is all Drew's fault. ;)

[Steveinlondon]

Some once kids through stones at me whilst I was shooting Tower Bridge from the banks of the Thames....does that count as mocked? They missed by the way!

That counts as schoolwork in South London Andy.

[Ari]

I've never been mocked. I've had people think it's odd, cool, uber artsy, and I've had bottles thrown at me. Never really mocked, exactly.

I hope they were full bottles of Irish whisky, gently lobbed in your direction, so as to catch them more easily.

[C. D. Keth]

Ppsh, I wish. I didn't notice the label since I was ducking at the time.

[Marco Milazzo]

Have you ever seen a plein-air painter work in a public place? EVERYBODY who passes asks questions, comments, critiques, etc. At least our work is hidden until we choose to show it. Short of being assaulted (as above), photographers need to go about their business. If you let the attention of other people bother you, you'll never take a picture.

[macandal]

Never been mocked. On the contrary, lots of compliments, thumbs up, questions, etc--all positive.

[cuypers1807]

The last comment I got shooting 8x10 was " Look honey, he is using a real camera!"

[Ari]

Once, while setting up a shot with the 4x5, I overhead a little girl ask her grandmother:
"What's that, grandma?"
"That's a real photographer, honey." said Grandma, who was my hero for the rest of that day.

[Bruce Watson]

I've never been mocked for using an LF camera...

Does self-mocking count? I can't repeat in polite company some of the things I've said to myself while lugging my kit up a mountain. But it usually starts with mocking. :o

[Jerry Bodine]

Early in my LF life, I had prepared to spend a week in what is now one of my favorite areas in Washington state. I had built a box for my Sinar Norma kit that was hung on the "roll bar" of my original Kelty external pack frame with a total load of 80lbs. I started at an elevation of 1700 ft and upon arriving at 5500 ft (en route to 8000 ft) I chanced upon some climber friends who were doing their own outing. I was not mocked, instead they only said "My word, that looks heavy!" I assured them that was an accurate comment. Some of my best photos came from that trip (Ektachrome, E3 process). Nowadays I can't even imagine how I managed that.

[Jac@stafford.net]

A college student asked me if the view camera had a Blue Tooth option for the keys. Keys? Yea, it's an accordion, no?

It made my day.

[RodinalDuchamp]

I am 29. Its taken me 10 years to finish my BFA because until 1 year ago I was dabbling in psychology, marketing, graphic design, and now finally found my calling and 3 semesters away from a BFA. My parents still don't get it, they ask me all the time why I am shooting film at all. They think I should be shooting portraits at the mall on digital if I want to make real money. I have shot a few weddings in digital but once bitten by the film bug is there ever really a cure ?

[Jac@stafford.net]

[...]once bitten by the film bug is there ever really a cure ?

Yes, usually by a severe involuntary diet.
.

[Jeff Dexheimer]

Never mocked. I have had many comments though, usually admiration. People will often lament to their own days gone bye, "oh, I used to have one of those." Then they make some comment as if a spark is about to light, but not enough energy to activate the flame.

I also frequently hear some variation of, "how old is that?" Or "you must be a professional with that kind of gear." They are then surprised to hear it's only a few years old. Back when I used a metal rail camera (Cambo) for field work a guy was convinced it was some uber high end digital version of an old style camera.

[Larry Kellogg]

Have you ever seen a plein-air painter work in a public place? EVERYBODY who passes asks questions, comments, critiques, etc. At least our work is hidden until we choose to show it. Short of being assaulted (as above), photographers need to go about their business. If you let the attention of other people bother you, you'll never take a picture.

Exactly. If I have a good scene, I concentrate on the process, and don't allow myself to be distracted by other people. We all know that there are a dozen ways to screw up a shot in LF.

If the light fades, and I'm not doing anything, then I'll talk to the people around me. I've never been mocked but one guy asked me "What's the deal with the accordion thing?".

I let people look under the dark cloth, and they'll all been amazed, especially when they realize the scene is upside down.

[Peter Collins]

Not mocked, just misunderstood.

[cikaziva]

last summer i was shooting a building on a riverbank, in Montreal, its a park so traffic is not that frequent... car passes by and 3 young kids start asking me questions not leaving a car, i felt like i am in Palestine; tone was really mocking and they asked bunch of stupid questions. then they made u-turn got behind my back and stayed there for 25 minutes trying to decontaminate and intimidate me. they ware there looking for fun harnessing someone who is most definitely a geek. i did my thing and they did what they planed, i have to say mocking was funny. they got bored and left as they arrived before.

[Tin Can]

last summer i was shooting a building on a riverbank, in Montreal, its a park so traffic is not that frequent... car passes by and 3 young kids start asking me questions not leaving a car, i felt like i am in Palestine; tone was really mocking and they asked bunch of stupid questions. then they made u-turn got behind my back and stayed there for 25 minutes trying to decontaminate and intimidate me. they ware there looking for fun harnessing someone who is most definitely a geek. i did my thing and they did what they planed, i have to say mocking was funny. they got bored and left as they arrived before.

Young Rebels enforcing status quo. Such irony in their actions. I am sorry for your annoying encounter.

[Toyon]

last summer i was shooting a building on a riverbank, in Montreal, its a park so traffic is not that frequent... car passes by and 3 young kids start asking me questions not leaving a car, i felt like i am in Palestine; tone was really mocking and they asked bunch of stupid questions. then they made u-turn got behind my back and stayed there for 25 minutes trying to decontaminate and intimidate me. they ware there looking for fun harnessing someone who is most definitely a geek. i did my thing and they did what they planed, i have to say mocking was funny. they got bored and left as they arrived before.

Geez, what a bunch of feckless tools.

[cikaziva]

not bad experience at all, just a misguided youth!

[Pamelageewhizz]

Never been mocked. I was out shooting in an area in Sacramento one night - used to be a drug/homeless haven and has now been turned into a bar and restraunt area for people with too much money. I miss the was it used to be, much more interesting. Can't count the number of people that stopped to admire the camera or ask questions. I've got an 8x10 Kodak 2D. Folks assumed I was a professional. Mostly nice folk and I love chatting. The ones with money could be a little snotty, not so the homeless. I was doing night shooting so time/light wasn't a problem.
The one I fould so funny was a young kid who asked how I could see the monitor, it wan't lit up! Tryed to explain it to him, even opened up the back and said a camera is just a box of air, a lens and a place for the film. He asked again is that the monitor! Sad. Funny but sad.

[Kirk Gittings]

I get mocked more by LF snobs (I hang out with a lot of them) when I occasionally drag out my DSLR to do a stitch instead of my 4x5. :)

[Jmarmck]

Once had a collage professor ask why I shot film when digital was better.

[Drew Wiley]

I set up the 8x10 just once on the trail this past weekend. Got nothing but compliments, as usual. Of course, I'm not hiding a cell phone or DLSR somewhere on
the side. People can sense those anomalies, just like dogs can sense fear. Bad vibes. Helps to have a vintage pack too. Authenticity, just like real dents on my
truck.

[Pali K]

I was mocked by a group of what looked like college kids. They were just talking behind my back and making jokes about the size of the camera and my general stupidity for using it. While this was happening, a family walked up and started talking about the camera. They then took turns to take selfies and to look under the dark cloth and were amazed by the experience. The college kids saw this and decided to walk up and check out the camera and they were very excited at the end.

I actually hesitate taking the 8x10 out because it calls for too much attention and I am not totally comfortable with it just yet.

Pali

[Jerry Bodine]

Quite a few years ago (pre-digital) I had my Norma set up, blocking traffic, on a "single file" trail across a steep hillside just below a huge old rock slide, my tattered original Kelty on the ground near me. It had taken me a while to get everything just right. I came out from under the darkcloth, noticed two of the only people encountered all day standing and waiting to pass. I couldn't do anything about it so I just gestured with my hands, palms upward. I got a thumbs up, and went back to hurriedly try to finish. Then I heard them climbing through the boulders behind me and on they went. Not a word was said the whole time; once on the trail again, they looked back at me with another thumbs up. That kind of respect is apparently lacking since the digi revolution.

[sun of sand]

I have people wonder what I'm doing but not mocked


I live in a tiny town 15 miles outside of a tiny city and it it seems my graduating class was one of the last to play outdoors
My local church down the road has a bball court and I go regularly to shoot around dusk for 30 min

I'm always alone over there and I've had kids walk by and be like. ..wtf?
He just shoots by himself at night? Lol!!1
How can you shoot hoops with no light??!1
girls doing a mock cheerleading routine

The not so stupid kids who see I'm draining every shot will chime in and a couple times have had them stop to watch for a while or join in for a bit

People don't practice much
They don't practice much nor do they practice much what they do choose to practice
Not a whole lot of passion in the world

But that means if you do have passion for something you'll wow quite a few people who may believe its genius or god given talent
But its just work. Wanting to be good.at what you do. Care
I don't know how people live without it

Who says the guy isn't a good photographer?
Maybe he isn't
Who says all the people on this site are?

Mediocre
Decent
Good
Very good
Exceptional

More in the bottom half than top half

[steveo]

Had a French chap try and ask me some questions a few weeks back, his English was better than my French but we weren't getting any where. When I'd finished setting up I gestured to the guy who was just getting in his car to come look under the dark cloth. His grin crossed language barriers.

[Larry Kellogg]

Had a French chap try and ask me some questions a few weeks back, his English was better than my French but we weren't getting any where. When I'd finished setting up I gestured to the guy who was just getting in his car to come look under the dark cloth. His grin crossed language barriers.

Yes, a look under the dark cloth is what excites people. I usually have to tell them to stand back a bit as most people seem to expect a viewfinder type experience and press their nose against the glass. This is one a 5x7.

A nice woman and her daughter saw me standing under a tree in Central Park with my camera during a rainstorm. The woman said her daughter was reading a book in which one of the characters used a camera like mine and they wanted to know how it all worked. I explained everything and let them look under the dark cloth.

[goamules]

You meet the nicest people when photographing with any antiques, LF or 35mm. Maybe 1 out of 50 wants to be a pain, but that's the ration per capita anyway.

If someone gets a hard time often, they need to look at themselves and ask why. It's not the activity.

[Drew Wiley]

Gosh, the irony of this all! I'm smack dab in the epicenter of the digital revolution and people of all ages always compliment both the cameras
and what I am doing. They routinely ask before stepping in front of the camera or even disturbing my concentration. One day a white-bearded
old Sikh man with a huge stave, along with his entire family, including a grandson, approached me slightly off the trail up atop a ridge, after
they waited until I finished the shot. He was an electronics engineer who was CEO of his own tech venture, probably wealthy as gazoobers, but told me how he grown up in the Indian Himalayas and had been hiking all his life. He lifted his little grandson onto his shoulders and asked
if he could look under the darkcloth at what I was shooting. He said it was important for the child to experience what a real camera was -
his words, not mine.

[Larry Kellogg]

I like the people who step in front of my camera and take a grab shot with their iPhones, LOL.

Once I came out from under the dark cloth to find a guy with a Nikon and a huge zoom lens standing right behind me. I think he had already fired off fifty shots and I hadn't even cocked my shutter yet. Clearly, I had been defeated.

[macandal]

A nice woman and her daughter saw me standing under a tree in Central Park with my camera during a rainstorm. The woman said her daughter was reading a book in which one of the characters used a camera like mine and they wanted to know how it all worked. I explained everything and let them look under the dark cloth.

"The Bridges of Madison County"?

[Larry Kellogg]

"The Bridges of Madison County"?

It was a kid's book. One of the Potter books? I haven't read them so perhaps that is a silly notion.

Speaking of books, I found an error regarding the usage of large format cameras in a novel. The line went, "Photographers pulled black hoods over their lenses.". Of course, that's not going to work, LOL.

I actually mentioned this error to the author after a public reading and he turned to his agent and said, we'll fix that in the paperback edition. I'll have to check at some point in the future if it's been changed.

[macandal]

Speaking of books, I found an error regarding the usage of large format cameras in a novel. The line went, "Photographers pulled black hoods over their lenses.""Photographers pulled black hoods over their lenses, and when they went back to process their film realized that they had pulled the black hoods over their lenses and had nothing but a nice shade of black on their exposures..."

[sun of sand]

It was a kid's book. One of the Potter books? I haven't read them so perhaps that is a silly notion.

Speaking of books, I found an error regarding the usage of large format cameras in a novel. The line went, "Photographers pulled black hoods over their lenses.". Of course, that's not going to work, LOL.

I actually mentioned this error to the author after a public reading and he turned to his agent and said, we'll fix that in the paperback edition. I'll have to check at some point in the future if it's been changed.

Combined shutter cap and dark cloth
hiding under a dark cloth is the better visual

[Larry Kellogg]

"Photographers pulled black hoods over their lenses, and when they went back to process their film realized that they had pulled the black hoods over their lenses and had nothing but a nice shade of black on their exposures..."

LOL. The next line mentioned one of the characters mugging for the camera, so I didn't get the impression that the photographers threw the hoods over their lenses before they went home, something which would have made some sense.

Anyway, the book is TransAtlantic by Colum McCann, an incredibly talented writer. The line shows up on page eleven. If I can get one more person to read his work, I've done my job. "Let the Great World Spin" is another terrific book by Colum.

[Michael E]

"The Bridges of Madison County"?

It's all 35mm. Nice book, though, just a bit on the emotional side. I actually bought a Chevy truck because of this book. Turned out to be a real piece of junk...

The other day, I was out with my old Conley 5x7, when a kid (about 10) came by and asked why I was using that old camera. "Why not?" I said. "It's still working".

[Old_Dick]

I was on the summit of Pack Monadnock taking a shot when a family walked by. The father in the group, points to my Zone VI and says "look, a real camera". Nice of him to acknowledge that.

[dsphotog]

Not really mocking, just funny:
While I was under the dark cloth of my 8x10, I could hear some spectators gathering, the man said to his family "Shhh, be quiet, he's making a time exposure."

[Drew Wiley]

I was way up atop an obsidian dome off Hwy 395, having returned from a backpack trip, while my buddy was waiting down below at a picnic
table beside the dirt road itself. A jeep of tourist types pull up, and asks him what I'm doing up there with that tripod thing. Well, this same
branch road connects to the big open earthquake fault scenic turnout at its upper end, just before connecting with the paved Mammoth Mtn
ski lodge road, so right at the highway there's a forest service sign noting it as the Fault road, in addition to Obsidian Domes. So my pal tells
em I'm measuring the rate of the fault cracking up there with a special device, and that they better clear out fast or it might open up down there too, and they'll fall in! They take the bait, panic, all jump back in the Jeep and speed off.

[Pamelageewhizz]

Absolutely love it!!! Your friend must be a hoot to have around!
Also frightening just how stupid people are... Surprised they also didn't ask who's "fault" it was.

[pdh]

Yes, by far the best thing to take the piss out of strangers and send them off ignorant of what you were doing, rather than explain.
much much funnier and of course preserves the "mystique" of film photography.
God forbid we should have any stupid newcomers getting interested and spoiling our little clique

[prendt]

God forbid we should have any stupid newcomers getting interested and spoiling our little clique

Thus speaks a real Master!

[Terence Falk]

I was mocked only once in over 40 years because of my 4x5. These days with digitial so mainstream, most people don't think I am photographing in the first place. I have heard theories from passerbys such as making a movie, surveying, and my favorite, bird watching. I had the camera pointed toward the ground. What bird would allow me to watch them like that?

Once, some kids in NYC said, "Why not use a new camera?" I said, "Its actually not as old as you might think and its working fine". They were fine with that, or didn't really care.

I had a moment while shooting a landscape right off the center of a little town where a mother and her teenage son where watching. It turned out he was going to college that fall to study photography. They were so happy that I invited them to look through the camera.

Another time a middle aged man was watching me and then told me his father had cameras like mine, and watching me brought back memories of his father. He loved that I was still using a 4x5 and shooting film.

Overall, most people are simply curious or happy that I am using this kind of camera.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Yes, and for using film. One guy I know calls me a Luddite all the time.

[John Olsen]

I was thinking about this thread while shooting some ghost towns in Eastern Washington this last week. Shooting LF is a great way to meet people of all ages, it seems. Truck drivers wave and punk girls want to take a look. What else can have such a wide acceptance?

[Kirk Gittings]

I don't get this-most people I run into think using a big old film camera is cool.

[Tin Can]

Here, they love to say in a loud voice, 'Is that a FILM camera?' Like it was as old as a Pyramid. I just nod, smile and keep doing whatever I'm doing.

So many add, 'I had one just like that.' that I know they are lying.

Since in the city, I often sit down for a long time and look, they get bored. I shoot without them noticing.

I can be very still and quiet, like hunting, which I am. Talking is never helpful.

[MIke Sherck]

Just by my wife. :) Most folks don't realize that it's a camera.

Mike

[Gary Tarbert]

Never actually mocked , Just the usual how old etc , Is it B&W and where is the gunpowder flash , The only time the curiosity annoyed me was , One late afternoon i set up knowing the late evening light was going to be great , So i previewed , prefocused and waited for the magic , Almost as if on cue when the magic light was happening was when a group of tourists fronted asked questions and even requested to look under the dark cloth , I was in work mode and may be have been a little shorter than usual

[Michael E]

Shooting LF is a great way to meet people of all ages, it seems. Truck drivers wave and punk girls want to take a look. What else can have such a wide acceptance?

From my own experience: Walking through a city with a sheep on a leash. I've tried to combine both and photograph Kasper with my 4x5", but he didn't grasp the concept.

[Drew Wiley]

Is that what one calls, "getting the wool pulled over your eyes"?

[MIke Sherck]

Is that what one calls, "getting the wool pulled over your eyes"?

Go to your room!

[Jac@stafford.net]

Yes, and for using film. One guy I know calls me a Luddite all the time.

A college student called me an elitist for using LF film.

[cikaziva]

i just got an idea reading this tread. I want to shoots some building form a mid of the street and what i am going to do is this: but construction helmet, put orange vest, put 8x10 in a middle of non frequent street and shoot, pretending that i am land surveyor

[Jerry Bodine]

i just got an idea reading this tread. I want to shoots some building form a mid of the street and what i am going to do is this: but construction helmet, put orange vest, put 8x10 in a middle of non frequent street and shoot, pretending that i am land surveyor

Surrounding yourself with orange cones may save you some pain. :)

[Michael E]

i just got an idea reading this tread. I want to shoots some building form a mid of the street and what i am going to do is this: but construction helmet, put orange vest, put 8x10 in a middle of non frequent street and shoot, pretending that i am land surveyor

Orange work vest is usually all you need to look official. Has worked well for me.

[jp]

In the US, you'd add some orange cones and use a neon yellow vest. A wooden tripod certainly looks the part for surveying.

[Jac@stafford.net]

i just got an idea reading this tread. I want to shoots some building form a mid of the street and what i am going to do is this: but construction helmet, put orange vest, put 8x10 in a middle of non frequent street and shoot, pretending that i am land surveyor

Actually, I and two other photographers I know wear a safety vest whenever we shoot near a road, and sometimes in the field. One time one of them was photographing in a small neighborhood. He always works off a tripod. A woman ran from her house shouting, "Would you like me to move the car?" He answered, "Yes, please!"

[Drew Wiley]

This past Saturday some hiker passing my 8x10 setup remarked, "Guess size matters". Don't know what he was implying. But I just replied, "Sometimes it sure does". A helluva lot of intricate texture in that particular shot that deserved big film.

[Tin Can]

Ha!

I will be buying dayglow yellow work clothes to match the local road drews (typo).

Great idea!

[John Olsen]

i just got an idea reading this tread. I want to shoots some building form a mid of the street and what i am going to do is this: but construction helmet, put orange vest, put 8x10 in a middle of non frequent street and shoot, pretending that i am land surveyor
Yes, the more brazen you are the better! Shooting in the middle of Central Avenue, downtown Albuquerque at night, it was enough to run some extension cords to a couple of 1000W lights and all traffic gave me plenty of clearance. Even the Alb. police car did a right turn quickly to avoid seeing me. People really don't mind seeing someone working, you know. Just look official and have a good time.

[Pamelageewhizz]

Re: "Guess size matters"
He was talking about "boy parts." Can't think of a socially acceptable way to put it on a forum.... Not exactly what I would say in person.

[Heroique]

In the US, you'd add some orange cones and use a neon yellow vest. A wooden tripod certainly looks the part for surveying.

Yes, a few well-positioned orange cones are a great way to motivate "respect" from onlookers – but going one step further, and connecting the cones with yellow caution tape, will also inspire deep wonder, awe, and admiration.

To be sure, your group of onlookers, standing behind the tape, will be impressed, not mock you, speak only in whispers, and look somewhat like this:

:) :cool: :D

[Jerry Bodine]

...and connecting the cones with yellow caution tape, will also inspire deep wonder, awe, and admiration...

Starting to resemble a crime scene.

[Preston]

...and connecting the cones with yellow caution tape, will also inspire deep wonder, awe, and admiration...

If it was one of the wet plate guys, it would resemble a HazMat scene.

--P

[Ben Calwell]

There was a sales clerk at my local camera store (since closed) that just could not understand why I shot film. It almost irritated him. "You still shooting film?" he would say, with an expression and tone one would use when speaking to someone of reduced mental capacity.

[Drew Wiley]

"Since closed" tells it all.

[John Kasaian]

My son just got into 35mm film photography and I was listening in on conversations at our local store. It appears, from the scuttlebutt, that the next soldier to fall will be film developing---once the need falls below the level required to make a profit at the local level, it is going to become a DIY thing.

[Drew Wiley]

Funny... The camera store here all know me by first name and routinely apologize for any delays I might encounter if they're busy selling digital gear, which is an important "gateway" product line for them. And customers do move on to film, often with a format increase. This is a well educated area and real film always gets respect, and size matters too. Just too much local tradition famous large format photography for anyone to ignore. I really don't know why anyone would even be on the defensive about the subject. If some smartass made a quip about my camera, I'd just ask him if he'd never seen a camera before. If he showed me his cell phone, I'd just give him that usual sideways glance that implies "flatlander", or "ain't been around the block yet", or whatever. But no need. Even teenagers give me compliments and ask how to get in the game, and often request to look behind the groundglass. After all, they're out on the trails themselves, and not a blob of sagging lard behind a video game on the weekend.

[Tin Can]

My son just got into 35mm film photography and I was listening in on conversations at our local store. It appears, from the scuttlebutt, that the next soldier to fall will be film developing---once the need falls below the level required to make a profit at the local level, it is going to become a DIY thing.

Central Camera in downtown Chicago has a lively film development business, however they do send it out locally with quick turn around. Of course I DIY.

Whenever I am near Central Camera I stop in and now buy all roll film and 4x5 from them. They stock lot's of chems, at great prices.

New, used gear and they bargain. Then Don, the owner, offers a cookie. Good cookies!

There's a black 8X10 Seneca in excellent condition with original bellows right now...

Get an Italian beef from Al's next door. The Art Institute is 2 blocks away.

Summer in Chicago is great!

[richardman]

I was just in Chicago a couple months ago, and Central Camera saved my bacon when I took 50 sheets and I needed 70! Didn't have a chance to ask for or spoke to Don but by all accounts, he's quite a nice guy.

[Roger Cole]

Yes, and for using film. One guy I know calls me a Luddite all the time.

Throw a wooden shoe at him.

I've called myself a Luddite before. Mostly jokingly, of course. Mostly.


I don't get this-most people I run into think using a big old film camera is cool.

This does seem more common. It's 35mm that more often gets mockery, or something similar.

[Roger Cole]

A college student called me an elitist for using LF film.

That's not mockery, that's a compliment. I gladly accept that title.