Greetings from Philadelphia - New to LF

[Karasugoi]

Greetings fellow photographers,

Well, I've gone and made the plunge into 8 x 10 large format photography and I'm glad I did - Bought a Toyo in decent condition. It might take me a while to get started though, still trying to figure out how to develop film in a tiny apartment, but I'm making progress. Hopefully I'll be able to share stuff with the community in the near future. I've actually been reading a lot here before I jumped in and already feel like part of the community.

Here's the thing, in typical fashion of diving in too deep, I could already use some help.

If someone would be so kind as to direct me to a particular thread... I've bought some xray film and I've seen people write about the countless records on here about bleaching one side, but I can't seem to find them. Maybe I'm just not as good as a researcher as I thought, but it would be great if someone could post a link to one of these threads. I'd appreciate it.

Thank you and here's to taking great pictures!

[John Kasaian]

IMHO, don't.
Shoot and have fun.
You can develop ortho X-ray under a red safe light.
8x10 is a blast! 8x10 contacts are a blast!

[Andrew O'Neill]

Welcome to the forum, and especially, welcome to 8x10!

[Pali K]

Looking forward to seeing your work. I am new to 8x10 and I can tell you that it is addictive

Pali

[Ari]

Welcome!
Here is one X-ray thread: http://www.largeformatphotography.in...-on-X-ray-film
And the other: http://www.largeformatphotography.in...and-comparison

If you're using an 8x10 Toyo, it must be the M or MII.
If so, here is everything you need to know: http://www.largeformatphotography.in...ource-Fan-Page
The first post has a link to all 810M/MII posts made previously.

[koh303]

It might be a G
Welcome!

[Karasugoi]

Thank you all. Ari, I'm not really sure what it is to be honest. It had all the movements I wanted and did 8 x 10. That's all that mattered to me.

And thanks for the links, I'll definitely check them out.

How could I tell from looking at the camera?

Netsoft2k (Pali), I've dabbled in some 4x5 stuff and I'm already addicted. Maybe we should start an AA group. :P

John, why not? I heard it helped with clarity... not that I really care, I'm more into this stuff for the fine art of it all. Blurriness can add a nice touch.

[Ari]

Thank you all. Ari, I'm not really sure what it is to be honest. It had all the movements I wanted and did 8 x 10. That's all that mattered to me.

And thanks for the links, I'll definitely check them out.

How could I tell from looking at the camera?

The first image is of a Toyo 810M. It's a field camera and folds up to a more compact size for portability.
The second image is of a Toyo 810G. It's a monorail, excellent for steadiness, but not so portable.
Whichever you use is great, it keeps the film business in business.

[Karasugoi]

It's probably a G then since it's on a monorail, but the frame looks more like the M in these pictures. It has a short rail for portability. The whole thing is very heavy, though I'm used to lugging around tons of equipment, not a big deal to me. Is there something on the camera that designates its type? I'll post pictures up when I can.

[Ari]

There were a few updates to each model, but you have the G, which is one of the most stable and rock-solid 8x10 platforms around.
It is heavy, I too carried it with me everywhere until I found the M field camera. The M is also one of the heaviest 8x10 field cameras available, but it is also the most stable of them all.
Yes, get some photos up when possible; let's have a look at her.