Best LF accessories?

[Herb Cunningham]

I got an address, 58 West portal Ave, suite 151, in SF,

and a phone number, 415 452 9923.

Name of the company for the pocket spot is Red Light Enterprises.

Since it is the weekend, I will try monday to see if they are still around.

[Anthony Lewis]

Ebony titanium 4x5 viewing frame. It is light, easy to carry, and unbreakable. It tells me exactly the lens I want, without experimenting with a few lens. I have it tied on a string with marks that correspond to each of my lenses.

However it has a downside. I find myself in significant public places looking through this metal rectangle and varing the length of the string. When I look around I suddenly notice people staring. They either think I am stark raving mad, or a terrorist lining up a building for a hit. I will probably get a call from the thought police one day for using it.

I prefer the old days, when people would have just written me off as mad.

[Greg Lockrey]

Ebony titanium 4x5 viewing frame. It is light, easy to carry, and unbreakable. It tells me exactly the lens I want, without experimenting with a few lens. I have it tied on a string with marks that correspond to each of my lenses.

However it has a downside. I find myself in significant public places looking through this metal rectangle and varing the length of the string. When I look around I suddenly notice people staring. They either think I am stark raving mad, or a terrorist lining up a building for a hit. I will probably get a call from the thought police one day for using it.

I prefer the old days, when people would have just written me off as mad.

I made a piece of 8x10" black on one side and white on the other mount board and cut a 4x5" hole in it to use as a previewer. Come to think of it I need to make one of the 6x17.

[sog1927]

Their old website is dead, but they're still around (as of yesterday - last post to their blog):

http://meteredlight.blogspot.com/

Their blog contains the following comment:

Purveyors of MetroLux and Pocket Spot
Metered Light started as Redlight Enterprises, but when the internet came along, using redlight was not such a good idea anymore.


I think we can all sympathize ;-).

Steve

I got an address, 58 West portal Ave, suite 151, in SF,

and a phone number, 415 452 9923.

Name of the company for the pocket spot is Red Light Enterprises.

Since it is the weekend, I will try monday to see if they are still around.

[Keith Pitman]

My personal favorite - the little 2 way spirit level with mirror box found on Ebony 4x5 models - it rocks for quick set-up.

I wish I knew where I could buy one of these. Ebony will not sell them unless attached to a camera. Anyone found them elsewhere? I have several of the two-way levels that slide into the flash shoe, but it's not the same.

[Alan Davenport]

I thought I had the definitive answer, but Rafael beat me to it: a brain.

I've tried LF photography a couple of times after leaving that accessory at home, and the results were not encouraging.

[sog1927]

You forgot "forgetting to close the shutter before inserting the film holder and pulling the dark slide." I did that twice last week. :-(

Steve

Alan, having a brain is cool. But beer helps relax the brain muscles. We don't want to get a brain cramp at the decisive moment when taking a picture causing us to do silly things like drop our exposed film in a puddle of water under your tripod (seen that happen to someone), forgetting to load a sheet of film when exposing, etc. Well, heading for the fridge for a cold one, I think I feel one coming on. LOL.

[Jay W]

A blow-up queen-sized bed.

I do the majority of my shooting while camping (for 2-3 wks), and I'm old enough that sleeping pads don't cut it. I usually sleep much better camping than I do at home.

Jay

[janepaints]

Howdy

I wanna tell ya a story. This is gonna be a lot of blab to lead up to a VERY simple accessory. So sue me.

Just recently I've become a photographer again. From 1980 until 1990 photography obsessed me and I pursued it to the exclusion of all other mediums (I'm also a musician & painter--painting has been my primary livelihood since 1991). Photography had become part of my livelihood by the end of the 80's, combined with Graphics/Typography/Art Direction/Music. I shot 35, 120, 4x5, 5x7 & 8x10. Product, Portraits & Illustrative.

Eventually my love burnt out. Photography had become my JOB, no longer a passion. YUCK.

So, Goodbye Photography. I kept a 35mm SLR and a P'roid SX-70 for practical purposes.

But part of me still missed photography and I thought "someday I'll get another view camera and just make B & W contact prints for my own pleasure. Keep everything simple and non-commercial"

Seven years ago I bought a Korona 4x5 'cycle style' camera and then a 127mm Ektar-in-a-Rapax at flea markets. But I didn't do anything with them--just put them on a shelf and thought "someday."

My enthusiasm was rekindled recently after seeing 4x5 B&W negs scanned on (relatively affordable) desktop scanners and printed via inkjet. My brain got almost as busy & on-fire with the possibilities as back in '80 when I got an Argus A and fell in love with it. (the images were found here on LF Forum, but I forget whose they were--but THANKS, WHOEVER--and thanks to all of ya for all the info, tips, images, ideas & wisecracks found here.)

So I finally refurbished the little Korona VII and mounted the Ektar on it. Bought some 4x5 holders, chemicals, a graduate, a developing tank for taco style etc.

Then I went through 'The Jane Archives'. Looked at all my old photos.

Dang. Mostly, total rubbish. Jane wants to be Ansel or Walker Evans or Sinsabaugh or whoever. It was dreadful. And VERY educational.

But not all of my old photos were dreadful.

The bad photos tended to've been made when I was fancy, used the best gear, really knew my stuff. Tilt them tilts. Sheim them sheimflugs. Depth that field.

The good photos tended to've been made when I'd looked at something, gone "WOW" and clicked the shutter, empty of mind, all eye, no 'Masters Of Important Photography & Important Ultra-Technical Top-Secret Photo Information' lurking around my brain.

i.e. my good photos were about LOOKING, not gear, photographic history, other photographers or Latest Trends In Photography. Regardless of format.

Filed-away-but-vivid-again memories about making the 'good' pictures.

One afternoon when a beam of sunlight on the wall-mounted telephone made the kitchen surreal and I couldn't look at or think about anything else. Result: a haunting 8 x 10 neg. A kid with an x-mas-gift ventriloquism dummy, sitting on the sofa looking more like Howdy Doody than the dummy did. Result: a good 4x5 neg. Various NJ scenes-seen-while-driving. Jump out of the car, grab the camera and shoot, fast & excited.

So I realized GOTTA KEEP IT SIMPLE AND MINDLESS. That's what works for me. I love many images made by people who work differently, but that's what works for them....Me? I am simple and better keep that simple fact in my empty & simple mind.

So I have the Korona, basic developing gear. Holders. A 5x7 cycle-style camera & contact printing frame are arriving, gotten via eBay. I plan to get a TLR and/or folding compact 120. Got a few lenses. A basic tripod. All set to go blow lots of $$$ on GRAVEN IMAGES again.

Then...and THEN....AND THEN!!!!!

And then I saw something which would PERFECTLY help keep my large-negative photography simple, compact, lightweight and SIMPLE.

A Gorillapod. My Korona weighs like 2 pounds. Maybe 3. Often the things I wanna shoot are seen while driving, walking or riding a bicycle. The gorillapod allows me to remain in the car or use the car (or a tree limb, signpost or guard rail etc. ) as part of the camera support. Fast. Simple. The entire rig can fit in my larger purses & shoulderbags! It's light. And as simple as simple gets.

Below, My Korona on the Gorillapod. Sorry for the bad pic-- My digital camera is like The 'Digital Diana Camera'. That dreadful.

[janepaints]

Addenda to my previous post.........

I also realized that my best pix tended to happen when I had fewer options.

Fixed-lens TLR's & 35mm rangefinders. View/press cameras with just one lens.

In general, when my toolbox offered more options my pictures tended towards Worse & Worser.

Ye old 'Less Is More' knocks yet again.

The meter in my 35mm SLR went kerflooey about 1994. So I began to use the 'Sunny 16' or 'Quasi-Educated Guess' or 'What The Hey, Might As Well Try It' methods of exposure determination.

All three tactics have worked OK.

I will continue to use them on my Korona & Seneca.