Hello from Southwest Idaho

[desertrat]

I've been a member of APUG for 5 years, and have tinkered with LF on and off for about 7 years. After a couple of years of not doing anything in photography, I'm about to start using my LF gear again.

I figured I could do no better than to join the best forum dedicated to LF I know of. I'm not quite a newb, but not an old hand at traditional photography, either. I prefer to search forums for answers to questions, and try not to ask any that have already been answered.

Most of my LF gear has been acquired over the years through bottom trawling expeditions at the Great Auction Site. Since my budget isn't large, I stick to the lowest cost stuff I can find.

My collection of stuff includes a Seneca Competitor View and a Seneca Improved View, both 8X10 and both made around 1910. The Competitor is reddish stained wood finish and the Improved View is black. Both cameras still have their original bellows, now stiff with age, the numerous pinholes in the folds and corners well patched with black fabric paint by their current owner. Add to that a bunch of old ratty wood and metal film holders, about half of which are currently usable. The tripod is an old short stubby affair with a metal tag attached that reads, Bruneau's Pneumatic Tripod. I can't find anything pneumatic on it, that must have been an accessory.

My lens collection consists of a well worn uncoated 12" Dagor in a betax #4 shutter, and unmarked f6.3 lens in a Wollensak Auto shutter of about 9" focal length that covers 8X10 nicely when stopped down, also uncoated, and an umarked brass Petzval portrait lens with a fixed diaphragm in its own rack and pinion mount of about 9.8" focal length. It doesn't cover 8X10 completely, but I plan to experiment with it any way. I managed to score all these items for more or less bottom dollar. I made the lens boards out of eighth-inch birch plywood from the local hobby store, and painted them flat black.

I was shooting panchromatic sheet film a few years ago, but my immediate plans are to shoot some APHS litho film I've had in storage for awhile. In my last experiments with this film a couple of years ago, I was working on a low contrast developer using just metol and sodium sulfite that was beginning to show promising results. I plan to pick up where I left off on this. Hope to have some images to post in the next couple of weeks.

Cheers!

[dsim]

Welcome to the community.

[Jay DeFehr]

Welcome Desertrat,

I'm in Caldwell, and there are a few more of we Idahoans here, too. I too shoot APHS in 8x10, and it remains a challenge, for me. I've collected some gear over the years, but nothing like some of the avid collectors here. I can't imagine a photography-related question one couldn't find an answer to here. The accumulated collective knowledge here is impressive, to say the least. I look forward to your contributions.

[Vick Vickery]

Welcome to group therepy!

[DeBone75]

Welcome. Good place to learn and share. What part of SW Idaho. I lived in Boise for 7 years. Miss it greatly.

[Sideshow Bob]

Welcome to the group! I was raised in Nampa.

Gale

[desertrat]

Thanks all for the welcome aboard. I live in the western part of Boise in what was once the town of Ustick. Two historic buildings, the old Ustick Merc and the old Ustick Bank are less than a block away. These are now a burger place and a hair salon, respectively.

Jay, I visited Boise Photo and Darkroom Supply a few times before it went out of business. Don't remember the owner's name, but he was a very personable guy who liked to chat if he wasn't busy. He showed me a large format negative you made, probably with one of your pyro formulas.

[Jay DeFehr]

Tom Cooper is his name. I used to stop in quite often. Tom's a great guy, and I miss his shop. It was always fun to talk shop with him and his colorful clientele. There's nothing like Boise Photo in the area, now. It's a real shame. If you ever feel like getting together for coffee and BS, drop me a pm.