Ultralight Hikers

[Tim Meisburger]

Hi David. You can also easily make foamcore masks that fit in the back of the camera. The advantage is they block the ground glass so you compose in the format. I used to carry several in my bag. One for 2x5 panorama, and on for 2.5x4 (which I would pop in if I was running short on film). Much easier than the darkslide trick. After a shot just open the back and shift to the other side, as its just a friction fit.

I also made one for four images on one sheet, but I only ever used that for film testing. I think I described all that one time in th eDIY thread.

[StoneNYC]

Dan, I will check out the Chamonix. My biggest concern is the rigidity of the camera especially at full bellows for my 1200mm lens. I got a chance to try my friends 8x10 Ebony with my 1200mm, and it was very rigid.

No I do not cut film in the field. I cut it at home. That said, dust can be introduced when you cut film and when you load film in the field. In either case, it took me a long time to figure out how to do those operations without getting dust on the film's emulsion side prior to exposure. In the back country you do not have vacuum cleaners or showers to increase the moisture and cleans dust from the air. In fact, many places where I change film, it is down right dusty, yet I have figured out how to change film without contaminating the film with dust.

It has gone way beyond llama dependencies. It is a progressive addition .

Attachment 111129 Attachment 111130 Attachment 111128

Is that sponge supposed to add moisture to the inside of the tent?

Or for wiping your finger tips?

Or to prevent rubbing on the tent ceiling?

Does that bag sag N1 ?

Crazy setup, your llamas make it pretty luxurious on your trips

[StoneNYC]

Another multiformat option is to carry one film size and use cut darkslide masks to make multiple images on one sheet. I do it with one mask to make two 4x10's on an 8x10" sheet, but one could also make a pair of masks for 5x7". It involves a bit more meticulous attention to avoiding double exposures, but you can label the holders with check boxes to keep track, and you can carry one format of film and holders, no reducing backs, cut down the negs after processing, and the masks are just like a few spare darkslides. If you're enlarging, you can even cut back on lenses in the pack.

Some older wooden cameras, like Deardorff, have the option of wooden masks that fit into the back to make multiple exposures on a single sheet. You need a camera with sufficient rise/fall, though, to use this method effectively.

One of the main reasons I sold off my 617 extension back for 4x5" is the realization that with the bulk of the back and camera sufficient to support it, I might as well shoot 4x10" with the half-darkslide mask on my ultralight 8x10" Gowland.

How do you prevent fogging from half the dark slide being open? I would assume some light would come over from the other side, wouldn't it?

[Stephen Willard]

Is that sponge supposed to add moisture to the inside of the tent?

Or for wiping your finger tips?

Or to prevent rubbing on the tent ceiling?

Does that bag sag N1 ?

Crazy setup, your llamas make it pretty luxurious on your trips

I use the sponge to wipe the floor of the film tent. Anything made of plastic or nylon can build up a static charge and collect dust. A wet sponge not only wipes away dust, but it also helps to remove static charge.

My film bags either hold new film or exposed film. The bag of film in the picture is labeled N-1 and informs me to under develop the negatives in the bag by one stop less at a Zone VIII value. This is done to help chemically control or reduce the contrast of the negative. The older Kodak color negative films worked very well controlling contrast by under developing the negative through N-1, N-2, and N-3. The new films do not respond well to under development, so I use my new masking technologies exclusively to control contrast.

Yes indeed, the llamas allow me to setup a very nice base camp with lots of creature comforts, a great cook tarp, an office, a solar system that can charge batteries as fast as a house wall plug, two cameras, two big tripods, fishing tackle, 13 lenses, a repair kit, and many other things that are out of reach for ultralight backpackers. Keep in mind, I was an ultralight backpacker for many years before I was a llama guy. I enjoy both....

[Drew Wiley]

There are just all kinds of possibilities masking. All the younger crowd seems to think Photoshop was the Origin of Species when it comes to image control, but don't
bother to scratch their heads when a bunch of PS controls happen to be named for darkroom graphics precedents that were already in use for decades before. But
if you want to get seriously into that kind of thing, Stone, it means meticulous darkroom method. Masking for color neg work is like power steering, and not very
forgiving of a heavy hand. You also need precise punch and register equip once you get past the elementary learning curve and decide where you want to take it.

[Drew Wiley]

Stephen - I take along a few little new poly wastebasket bags which I hold with a clip to the inside roof of the film tent to give that extra margin of cleanliness. I pack a few 100% alcohol finger wipe pads, and some nitrile finger cots, as well as a sponge. The new as well as change-out film boxes are carefully selected and
sprayed with print lacquer months in advance to make them lint and static resistant (and given ample time to fully outgas). So essentially zero dust on my negs.
But for my own needs I still prefer a full-sized 8x10 neg for anything 30x40. Better control is a number of ways. Wish it wasn't that way, because my 5x7 enlarger
is a lot less complicated electronically than the 8x10 colorhead, which suffers from EMI tanrums from all the complicated circuitry, and needs a full block and tackle
operation to get to the bulbs. But additive enlargers are their own thing. I'll probably install a conventional 8x10 Durst subtractive unit as a backup. Don't know if
I'll be able to get together enough of a facility to do workshops - there aren't a lot of people teaching color masking anymore - but when I retire, gotta go either
very small or relatively big, and the latter possibility depends more on one of my potential bus partners who has the ability to remodel expensive chunks of real
estate. Will see. The bottleneck in spreading the word on masking is the scarcity of off-the-shelf registration gear nowadays. Not hard to make if someone has machine shop skills. But most photographers don't.

[David A. Goldfarb]

How do you prevent fogging from half the dark slide being open? I would assume some light would come over from the other side, wouldn't it?

No problem at all, actually, and the masking lines are clean, just like the frame borders on a rollfilm camera. The mask is close to the film, and it's a well-established technique. You should be able to turn up a few threads about it here.

For 4x10" pano format on 8x10" film, the mask is L-shaped, covering slightly more than half the frame along the long dimension (providing a margin between the two frames) with about an inch of darkslide left at the handle end to prevent light leaks through the light trap. Only one mask is necessary, since you can flip it for either side. This doesn't show the film rebate, but it's an example of a 4x10" I've made with a half-darkslide mask--

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidag...7611396218001/

I think to make a pair of masks for 5x7" on 8x10" film you would have to cut windows in two darkslides, leaving some margin around the edges to make it work.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Hi David. You can also easily make foamcore masks that fit in the back of the camera. The advantage is they block the ground glass so you compose in the format. I used to carry several in my bag. One for 2x5 panorama, and on for 2.5x4 (which I would pop in if I was running short on film). Much easier than the darkslide trick. After a shot just open the back and shift to the other side, as its just a friction fit.

I also made one for four images on one sheet, but I only ever used that for film testing. I think I described all that one time in th eDIY thread.

That also sounds easier to cut than a darkslide.

[StoneNYC]

No problem at all, actually, and the masking lines are clean, just like the frame borders on a rollfilm camera. The mask is close to the film, and it's a well-established technique. You should be able to turn up a few threads about it here.

For 4x10" pano format on 8x10" film, the mask is L-shaped, covering slightly more than half the frame along the long dimension (providing a margin between the two frames) with about an inch of darkslide left at the handle end to prevent light leaks through the light trap. Only one mask is necessary, since you can flip it for either side. This doesn't show the film rebate, but it's an example of a 4x10" I've made with a half-darkslide mask--

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidag...7611396218001/

I think to make a pair of masks for 5x7" on 8x10" film you would have to cut windows in two darkslides, leaving some margin around the edges to make it work.

I think I see what you're saying, I was thinking it were two separate slides with a divider in the middle... But instead it's a separate dark slide you take the normal slide out then put this special cut dark slide? So you don't have to buy special holders, you can just use any 8x10 holder?

[Drew Wiley]

Gosh - you're still young, Stone. Why not just purchase a 5x7 camera if that is what you intend to concentrate on? I'd love to have one, but really prefer the more
accurate masking and duping controls I get with full 8x10 film. Otherwise, 4x5 is plenty large for up to 20x24 prints w/o an enlarged master dupe - Ektar maybe bigger. 5x7 has a wonderful proportion, though you might find yourself having to cut down 8x10 film to get what you want. But I've (sigh!) come to the realization that my that my geriatric long-haul backpacking format is likely to be 6x9 (rollfilm backs on my 4x5 Ebony). Similar proportions, but lighter wt. With films like Ektar
I can, with extra care, get a decent 20x24, or with ACROS etc in black and white, a reasonably nice 16x20. Would much rather shoot something bigger, but I'm afraid those days are rapidly ending when it comes to multi-day hiking trips. I probably shoot the last of my 4x5 Quickloads and Readyloads this summer.