Starting photography with LF

[wwelti]

Hello together!

I'm a swiss living in Germany.

About 1 year ago I decided to begin with photography. Of course, I had to get a decent camera for this purpose.

No easy task to decide upon. Of course I checked out all those DSLR's and the like. However I came to the conclusion that they are too expensive and not good enough.

So I went for a real camera. Here it is:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/5416411598_0f9605514d_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/58936876@N07/5416411598/)
Pacemaker Crown Graphic (http://www.flickr.com/photos/58936876@N07/5416411598/) von wwelti (http://www.flickr.com/people/58936876@N07/) auf Flickr

I'm not rich, so I'm trying to be cost effective. I got this camera for a good price (I believe), and I also got an used DaYi 6x12 rollfilm back. Since I really like the panoramic format, I'm feeling perfectly at home with it. So I'm now happily shooting with Fuji Provia 100F roll film. You will find some of my pictures on my flickr photo stream (click on the camera picture to get there).

(I admit I later also got a 6x9 folding camera for occasions when the Crown is too heavy to carry around... but I still prefer the Crown...)

Regards
Wilfried

[Andrew O'Neill]

Hi Wilfried, welcome aboard! I wish I had started with a LF camera in my early days. But like many, I started with an old Pentax K1000. Look forward to seeing your images.

andrew

[Bill_1856]

Welcome to the asylum.
IMO you are starting out right!
Over the years I have accumulated a multitude of 4x5 cameras, but the Crown Graphic is still the one by far most used. (In fact, right now it is sitting on a tripod in my bedroom while I evaluate a "new" Kodak 203mm Ektar for it.)

[wwelti]

Thanks, Andrew and Wilhelm!

Yes, the Crown is a groovy camera. I even did some handheld shots with it. However unfortunately I lost the strap lately. I'll have to think about how to replace it.

But of course the real value of LF photography is the ability to compose a picture on the ground glass. I love this pop-up shade mechanism of the crown! It's also funny to show people who haven't seen it before. But it's really practical too. Works great in combination with this loupe too, most time I don't need a dark cloth even.

Working with a GG is so much fun that I even started to think about the "king size" 8x10 format. However, this has to wait until I'm really satisfied with my "printing skills"... Since I really want to shoot slides, it looks the best way is to get the best of them imacon-scanned and then to get them ready for print. Which is much more complicated as I hoped, but I'll get there, I think... right now I'm considering to buy a DTP94 to get my monitor calibrated too...

As I'm an amateur and a beginner please don't expect too much from me. I love exploring nature and I'm trying to do some landscape photography. Probably you'll see simple nature pictures like this one from me:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5136/5406411154_b531e2baa1_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/58936876@N07/5406411154/)
Der Lindenstein (http://www.flickr.com/photos/58936876@N07/5406411154/) von wwelti (http://www.flickr.com/people/58936876@N07/) auf Flickr

Regards
Wilfried

[Randy]

When I joined the US Air Force back in 1978 as a photographer, they first taught us the basics with Speed Graphics. At the time, at 20 years old, I thought the logic was flawed - teaching us to use a camera that was "obsolete". We then moved to medium format and finally to 35mm.
Before I was done with my first enlistment I had built a 4X5 from a kit and had bought an old Crown Graphic and lens. I have been hooked ever since.

[Vick Vickery]

Welcome to group therepy! :) You'll find a lot of love for the old Graphic press cameras around here...especially among those of us who have been around them for many years; I have had Crowns, Speeds (both large and small), View I and View II's and even a few Busch's from time to time just to keep the Graphics on their toes! I now use a Cambo 45 and a Graphic Super and still enjoy them. Have fun with your new camera!

[wwelti]

Thanks Randy and Vick. Wow. Looks like you have lotsa experience with Graphics cameras.

Just to repeat it... I started this whole thing about 1 year ago... But only now found this nice community ;) Looks like I'm having slight problems with my bellows. It begins to develop pinholes. Any recommendations for fixing Graphics bellows?

Regards
Wilfried

[Vick Vickery]

If its only a couple of holes, black tape works well; if its a lot of holes, I'd do a search here for "pinhole" and read up on some of the repair techniques that have been recommended...if its bad enough, you can get new bellows, but they are not cheap.

[wwelti]

Thanks Vick. I'll look for recommendations for black tape.