Hello from central Iowa

[luke_h]

I'm wet behind the ears. I wanted to try my hand at 4x5 and made mention of this on flickr. I was graciously hooked me up with a Cambo 4x5 rig with a 90mm f8 Schneider lens.

So here I am.

My background is that I figured out the basics of photography in 2005, got into shooting and processing b&w film in 2006, darkroom in 2007...

I'm the crazy cat lady of cheap, working cameras. I own too many but primarily shoot with a Leica M2 for my 35mm stuff, a Hasselblad 503cx for my medium format stuff, and well, this Cambo now for large format.

I primarily shoot b&w because I can work with it easily at home. I'd like to start working with C41 and E6 at home this year.

I learn something new every day when it comes to photography. I'm continuing the journey into madness now with a bigger, heavier camera kit to lug around.

Here's my first ever 4x5 shot on some expired Tmax 400 that I did last night:

[AF-ULF]

Welcome. Greetings from Western Iowa (Atlantic).

Allen

[Vick Vickery]

Welcome to group therepy. That Cambo will do pretty much anything you would ask of a view camera...the 90mm lens is a good wide angle, the length I use alot, but has the same limitations of all wide angles; you'll probably want to add a "normal" length
(150mm to 160mm) and a slightly longer lens (240mm to 250mm) in the near future to provide you with a good all-around setup with which you can tackle most types of shots you might want to do. By the way, I shoot alot with a 90mm on my Cambo and usually prefer to use a bag-bellows and put both standards in front of the tripod mount to maintain maximum movements in the camera...works well that way with the 90mm on a flat board. Have fun, shoot lots!

[Jim Edmond]

Welcome, Luke. I've run across your photos on Flickr - you've got a good eye. You should haul that Cambo out to the wind turbines

[Matt Miller]

Hi Luke. Welcome to the LF Forum.

I think maybe we've met before. Did you come to Cambridge to buy a Canonet from me a few years ago?

Matt Miller
Cambridge, IA

[luke_h]

Hi Luke. Welcome to the LF Forum.

I think maybe we've met before. Did you come to Cambridge to buy a Canonet from me a few years ago?

Matt Miller
Cambridge, IA

Yes indeed. I've still got it too. I think since we last spoke I set up a darkroom in my basement. Said darkroom still has no way to make enlargements of 4x5 though since my ceiling is too low to fit a 4x5 enlarger down there.

[Wayne R. Scott]

Hi Luke,

Welcome to the madness. I'll bet a Beseler 45 enlarger will fit in your basement.

Wayne Scott
Drakesville, IA

[Michael Cienfuegos]

I like the looks of your assistant.

[Harley Goldman]

Hi Luke,

Nice job on your virgin 4x5 image. You picked some very symbolic subject matter.

[luke_h]

Thanks Harley. My basement is full of odds and ends and this just happened to be the three things I grabbed

I hooked the PC cord from a pair of novatron strobes to get enough light to test the camera and lens out. I pulled the film to 160 to avoid the aging fog the base has at 400iso development so bright light was a must until I get bulb mode working on the shutter.