ULF film Holders and verticals...

[Jan Van Hove]

Hi,

Here is my question...

In Ultra large format photo, when shooting verticals, how do you cope with a camera at eye level and pulling an 15-20 inches long darkslide out of the holder from the top ? Wouldn't it be simpler, since those things are custon made anyway, to use a dark slide coming out of the holder on the long side, so you can pull it out from the side instead of from the top ?

The first thing that comes to mind is " well, if you hold the film on the two short sides instead of the two long sides, it will sag more..." and it's a perfectly good objection, but with film this size, some people use double-sided-tape to hold the film in the holder, so the sagging problem is not really an issue...

The other objection i see comes from problem with light-thightness, meaning that it should be harder to make a light trap 17 inches long instead of a 7 inches long... (insert your own film sizes here... 20 inches vs 8, 14 inches vs 11, etc...)

did anyone ever try to make a vertical film holder ?

cheers,

J VH

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

If you are doing the holders of some composite material then perhaps this would work, if they are of wood, the "flap" that opens so you can introduce the film might be too weak. I already have a cracked flap in one of my 12x20, so I could see how this could easily happen with a much longer flap.

[Ole Tjugen]

How about pulling the dark slide down, instead of up? Even with 5x7" I sometimes turn the back upside down, because the camera is too high up for me to manage to pull the dark slide up (and I'm 6'3")!

[Michael Kadillak]

I find having a good step ladder with you is helpfull when shooting any subjects with these cameras not just verticles. Sometimes I take out and re-insert the dark slide in small 4-8" increments from the outer edges of the holder and it works just fine.

As previously stated, the length of the flap clearly needs to be as small as possible for structural considerations and to minimize light leaks and I am quite sure that somewhere along the way someone built them this way. But simple logic will tell us that the reason that the slides are pulled from the long edge is probably found in the rational that the majority of photographs are made horizontally. If the slides were pulled on the long edge, another photographer might be posting your question concerning the "alternative" perspective.

I guess it all comes down to your reference point.

Cheers!

[David A. Goldfarb]

In the history of the medium at least in the age when sheet and plate holders were in common use and these conventions were established, I suspect that the majority of photographs have been portraits, and the majority of those tend to be vertical.

[George Losse]

Jan,

I do the same thing Ole suggested from time to time. I've rotated the back when I've set up horizontal shots where I've set up too close to something on the right side of the camera. I just flip the camera back around and work from the other side.

I think the reason has to do with putting the light trap on te shortest length of the film. I've seen 8x10 holders start to bow out at the top, I'd hate to think of how bad that would be over the long axis of say an 8x20 holder.

[Struan Gray]

My antique wooden 12x15 and 4x5 plate holders have darkslides which bend back behind the camera when withdrawn. You don't remove them completely (there is a stop to prevent them coming out accidentally) which simplifies the light trap construction. About four fifths of the way along the darkslide is a louvred section made of overlapping thin strips and backed by a piece of blackout canvas. Once this section is out you just fold the darkslide behind the back. Works well, especially for verticals since the darkslide then just hangs under its own weight.

I don't have a digital camera, or web hosting at present, but I could email digital video stills to any homebrewers who are interested. The big holders are masterpieces of woodworking.