First LF Camera and Photos

Okay, my Miniature Speed Graphic is not technically Large format since its 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 sheet film is about the size of 120 film, but I'm sure operation and everything else is nearly identical to its 4x5 brothers.

So after some fiddling around and some questions on here (thanks for your help), I have my first photo. Everything went well, but I need a sheet film tank as I had to develop photos one at a time in my Patterson tank.

The only issue I see is some tiny black marks on the negatives, only visible when scanning at a high resolution. I've seen white marks on scans and that is from dust on the scanner. Are black marks tiny specks dust on the negatives while loading the film? Any advice on preventing it? I photoshopped them out, and luckily then weren't too big or in too critical of a location.

The reason I got one is that my grandfather made a copy 60+ years ago. I wanted to try to use it, but didn't want to break it and figured I could learn on a different one as they only go for around $100 on eBay. If anyone is interested in seeing photos of the copy, I wrote it up in a blog.

So here is the first photo. Efke 100 develop in D-76. I just scale focused, since the rangefinder is off, ground glass focusing is so difficult, and the subjects are so impatient. I did use ground glass focusing on another photo which is drying.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2757/...61543f5b_b.jpg

Great start!

The black marks could be dust on the negative acquired when loaded or stored. Read up on here for people's film holder loading and anti-dust strategies. It's a regular topic.

Nice! I really enjoyed looking at the copy your grandfather made quite long ago. Very nice work.

Dust on negative film at the time of exposure doesn't result in black spots on the negative, it results in white spots (and black spots on the print). There can be many causes of black spots on a negative. It would help if you could provide a picture of the negative showing the black spots.

Nice shot...the smaller subject isn't sure if she likes this foolishness! :) You'll find that the groundglass focusing gets easier as you get more used to it.

Nice photo, Chris, you're on your way now. Soon you will have an 8x10 camera and a darkroom for developing those large sheets.

The camera your grandfather made is a beauty. It should give you many years of shooting pleasure.

Thanks for the comments and feedback. I'm sure at some point, I'll be looking for a 4x5 Crown Graphic.