First Shots

[dazedgonebye]

Thanks to all who have helped me get started.
Here are the first 4 shots from my Crown Graphic.

FP4 developed in Barry's two-bath formula.

First, we have the obligatory "I forgot to close the shutter before removing the darkslide shot.









I have to say, I love the negatives. Even looking at them before the scan is a bit of a thrill.

[Kuzano]

That could have been your one mistake for 2008. Now, it's your one mistake allotted for 2009.

Good going. 3 out of 4 good is a good start. When I got my first 4X5... I got all ready, drove out to the lake, set up the tripod, mounted the camera, pulled out the film holders and organized them. Opened the front of the camera and remembered the lens/lens board was still in the car...(2.5 mile hike).

Mistakes you have to make...........

After all the walking, the images were scary sharp, full of color and so grand to look at.

[Rafael Garcia]

The stories are legion. I've done everything stupid that could be done. But... you have some wonderful portraits because you tried, and that is reward by itself!

[Michael Graves]

That could have been your one mistake for 2008. Now, it's your one mistake allotted for 2009.

Good going. 3 out of 4 good is a good start. When I got my first 4X5... I got all ready, drove out to the lake, set up the tripod, mounted the camera, pulled out the film holders and organized them. Opened the front of the camera and remembered the lens/lens board was still in the car...(2.5 mile hike).

Mistakes you have to make...........

After all the walking, the images were scary sharp, full of color and so grand to look at.

I got you both. I drove 30 miles to get a frozen waterfall I saw on a previous trip. Had the Toyo 810M, a dozen film holders, light meter, focusing cloth, loupe, wife to carry it all and....WTF! Where's the tripod?

Back at home, of course.

[papergiraffe]

Nice!!! What type of scanner did you use? Or did you send them to the lab for scan?

[Andrew O'Neill]

The first negative is by far the most creative one. Mistakes can sometimes open up new creative avenues.
I was out today shooting the flooding in the Fraser Valley and I forgot to close the shutter when I pulled the slide on one of the shots...My face should be right up by the lens, nice and blurry...don't know if it's under/over exposed but will develop anyways. Ya never know, eh?

[Jim Graves]

Welcome to the club ... 999 more miscues await you ... which make the great images all that much more special!

[dazedgonebye]

I'll be happy if I can keep it to one major mistake every time I mount the camera!

Of course, this leads to all sorts of additional questions to bug the forum about.

These were scanned on an Epson 4990. I know I'm not getting all that can be gotten out of my negatives (large format or otherwise) but I think it'll be more than adequate for my needs.

[JohnGC]

Congrats on the new camera and first shots! The more you play, the more you'll want to play. Working with large negs is incredible, just don't look at any 8x10 negs too soon, you'll get hooked again!

The first shot I took with my Wisner, some family and friends had gathered around to watch me use the new camera for the first time. I was explaining about focus, and depth of field. I set up a quick still life shot, placed the lens cap in the middle of the shot as a teaching aid, focused, let every one look, explained the concept as I stopped down, and took the shot...with an old Artar lens cap in the middle of the composition! It was pretty embarrassing, and three years later I still get teased about it but I fell in love with 8x10 that day!

Soon, you'll be leaving the camera set up all the time, so you can shoot judiciously like with smaller formats. Have fun!

[darr]

Congratulations, your shots look wonderful. Welcome to the club!!

Kind regards,
Darr