New member from Holland

[Janf]

Hi everybody!

Not exactly a new member but mostly lurking until now :)

My name is Jan and i am a full time (digital) photographer. But for free work i want to work also on film.
In the 'old days' my tool was a Hasselblad but i didn't want to go back to MF. So large format it will be! :)
Until now i mostly being collecting info and gear. But i'm ready to go now!

I want to do extreme close ups on 4x5. I have build a camera for this with a Horseman LE as base. 'Bellow' up to 5 meters!

Next to that i want to make beauty/fashion/portraits on 30x40 cm x-ray film.
The gear:
- 100 year old 45x45 cm repro camera. I can use the camera but it is not mine. It's a great start but very (very!) heavy and almost no adjustments. Besides that i need a bellow of about 2 meters(!) I wil be building a camera in the coming year that wil have all the features i need.
- Apo-Nikor 610mm F9 as my main lens.
- Nova 10x16 inch slot processor.
- Heidelberg Nexscan F4200 to scan the negatives.

It's a start. :) I hope to find and share a lot of info (and pictures of course) here!

[John Kasaian]

Welcome aboard!

[Alan Gales]

I think most of us lurked before we joined the forum. At least that way you know what you are getting into! :)

Welcome to the forum. We are glad to have you!

[Eric Woodbury]

Janf, if you like extreme closeups, check out this dude.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Bentley

And welcome to the best photo forum.

--ew--

[AtlantaTerry]

Welcome Jan!

I own 2½ Cambo 4x5" cameras which were made in Holland so that kinda sorta makes us related. :)

(Don't anyone ask about the ½ of a camera.)

May I ask why you what you will be photographing that you will need a camera with a 5 meter bellows?

Since you are planning on using a lens that has a maximum aperture of f/9 won't you need a hell of a lot of light to focus and create images?

Are you sure that lens is designed for such extreme close-ups? I would think a shorter focal length would be in order, but then I know so little about extreme close-ups.

Thanks,
Terry

[Janf]

Thanks!

@Eric: I didn't knew him. Maybe something for the future... connecting a ULF to a microscope. :)

@Terry: Proud to be from Holland. Home of Cambo! :) They make nice stuff! I have a Cambo studio camerastand and is rock solid.
I will start photographing flowers. (Or parts of flowers) And just see where it goes. The 610mm nikor is the main lens for the 30x40 cm camera because of the image circle. But i have other LF lenses. How they hold up under these conditions i don't know. Testing! :)
In my commercial studio i have lots of light. Big Broncolor Pulso packs and if necessary i can use multiple flashes. The tungsten/focus lights (what is the correct english term?) of the Broncolor heads is 600 watt. I hope this is enough the focus.
I have a separate lounge/make up room in my studio. This space can be transformed in a big darkroom. I'm thinking of making a hole in the wall so i can set the lights in the studio and focus in the darkroom. If its completely dark it should be possible to focus (i hope)
Lot of testing to do...! :)

[AtlantaTerry]

Jan,

It is my understanding if one is going to create close-up photographs such as you are planning, what you actually want to use is a wider focal length lens. Because your imaging area is 30x40cm when creating close-ups almost any lens will suffice because it is "seeing" a small subject area then throwing the light back to create the image.

Therefore what you would want is a short focal length lens designed for close-up work.

I am learning about this myself, it was discussed recently here in a thread about Polaroid MP-3/MP-4 lenses. One of the members supplied a chart as part of the discussion.

Something I have learned about close-up photography is one often wants to move the whole camera system in order to focus, not the lens. To this end I purchased a three axis macro focusing stage. In your case I assume most of your critical focusing will be with the film end of the camera, not the lens.

[DrTang]

Holland huh? land of the Cambo TWR

I bet there are lenses and lensboards and cams a plenty just laying about in old country camera store there

[koraks]

Another cloggie aboard! Welcome Jan, I'm looking forward to seeing your LF work!

Coffee takes about 5 minutes to make, feel free to drop by if you want ;)