20X24 Ebony

[Curt]

Hi Tom,

Alas, this 20X24 Ebony does not belong to me but to a fellow named Monty.

Working with a format this size is quite a bite for anyone. Until very recently I owned a 20X24 camera made by Richard Ritter. Unfortunately a couple of rotary cuff surgeries made it impossible for me to continue using it so I had to sell it. But the RR 20X24 was quite light, and in fact I back-packed it several times to locations 1-2 miles from the car.

No way you could back-pack Monty's 20X24, unless you are a mule!!


Sandy

Accidents are real setbacks, I recently finished two months of physical therapy on my left shoulder. Sanding drywall and painting under the pressure of my wife's insistence on an early termination of the project caused me to obtain a repetitive motion injury. Before that I had just glued down a bamboo floor.

Now I'm into the build of a Rosewood & Ebony 11x14 camera. There's a few miles from the car, a few yards from the car, next to the car, and finally my solution; in the car. In reality I'm realizing this isn't a backpacking camera. I'll take it out but with judgement. Like you stated about Richard Ritter's design, lightweight, that's the key. It'll be my next endeavor, a light weight field camera. After that, d***tal perhaps, who knows. Sorry to digress.


An Ebony 20x24 would be too heavy for me, I'd have to put on my engineer and architects hat to design one of that size!

[e]

Amazing..that anyone would even take it out of the studio..just looking at that sagging bellows..and gigantor lens..and thinkin about the film sagging in that huge holder..makes my skin crawl..hahah!
I have Wisner 12x20 and 16x20..
Would luv a 20x24..but man..

[dave_whatever]

Ebony 20X24 with one really big lens set up at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina.

Sandy

Are we sure that's not just a 10x8 and a midget?

[Otto Seaman]

My best memory of Penland was sitting on the porch while waiting to pick up a student. I thought it was rather pleasant rocking back and forth, and I kind of wished to be stoned. Well... I reached down and felt under the lip of the rocking chair and low and behold, there was a roach stuck into the corner with spittle.

Mhhhm....

And then I saw this cartoon character with a giant camera.

[ZoeRayor]

I just had the honor of working with Monty at Penland and used this GARGANTUAN camera--it is SO AMAZING!!!

[TML74]

Hello every body, can someone tell me what is the bag that is on the picture and that allow to carry this big camera ?
I will myself recieve a big one and need to find a way to carry it;
I thank you for your answers.
Thierry M.L.

[David R Munson]

I would guess it's a custom soft case. There are a number of manufacturers making them - you might look to see if there's anyone in France who can work with you to make something to your specification.

[Diane Maher]

I am curious. What workshop is Monty giving?

[sanking]

I am curious. What workshop is Monty giving?

Hi Diane,

Monty was doing a workshop on wet plate collodion. These days people use this process to make both negatives on glass, and prints on black trophy aluminum, and perhaps on other surfaces as well.

Clay Harmon was also giving a workshop there at the same time, on photopolymer gravure.

Lots of very creative work going on.

Sandy

[jk0592]

The bellows always seem to sag on these ULF cameras. Does it interfere with image taking ?
I can only admire users of these cameras. Not too long ago, I thought that 4x5 was large...