August 2011 Portraits

[Ken Lee]

Ken, that's most likely what happened. When shooting one or the other of my kids, I'm (apparently) more methodical and deliberate. When the two are together, it's bedlam. I'm done trying to shoot the pair in large format. Created a ton of consternation yesterday. Much easier with a 6x6.

I'm surprised that there isn't some kind of locking mechanism on view camera backs. The spring has to be firm enough to hold the film holder secure, but not so firm that you can't open it.

My Sinar backs have a "bail" - a lever - which allows the spring to be tighter. Even so, I still have to keep my thumb tightly on the film.

I guess it's time to find a simple clamp of some kind. I've started a new thread to see if others have invented something.

[dcypher]

[Tony Evans]

Dan,
As a newbie, I committed the same sin with Taco/Patterson once but saw the skewed funnel, back in the bag, and corrected it. Now I always run my finger around the fringe, feeing for equal height before removing from the bag (or turning on the light). I also find rotating the funnel left & right a few times lightly, seems to get it settled level before closure.
A nice first portrait. Hope I can do the same.

[yeknom02]

Dan,
As a newbie, I committed the same sin with Taco/Patterson once but saw the skewed funnel, back in the bag, and corrected it. Now I always run my finger around the fringe, feeing for equal height before removing from the bag (or turning on the light). I also find rotating the funnel left & right a few times lightly, seems to get it settled level before closure.
A nice first portrait. Hope I can do the same.

Thanks, Tony! I have now switched to using the Beseler print drum to process just two negatives at a time after I kept seeing scratches and marks on my film. (The batch with Tim's photo was the last straw.) The only thing is, this time around, I finish by fixing in a tray to make sure both sides get fixed properly. I'm hoping to do more large format portraits soon.

[D-tach]

Chamonix 45N2 - Cooke PS945 (not mine ) @ 4.5 - Efke 25

I think it gets sharpened in Flickr, original scan is softer...

Tom

[Zaitz]

Very, very cool^. That lens would be something else to own and use.

Flickr, for me, sharpens any size smaller than the largest I upload. So I upload the size I want to display on forums.

[alex from holland]

Chamonix 45N2 - Cooke PS945 (not mine ) @ 4.5 - Efke 25

I think it gets sharpened in Flickr, original scan is softer...

Tom

Hello Tom.

Nixe picture of your father !!

Alex

[Craig Tuffin]

Chamonix 45N2 - Cooke PS945 (not mine ) @ 4.5 - Efke 25

I think it gets sharpened in Flickr, original scan is softer...

Tom

Love it Tom...great work!

[maurits]

Mooi Tom!

Groeten, Maurits

[Craig Tuffin]

SAM

'Sam' is part of my 'As Faulty As We Are' series of work.
These subjects are often seen by society as having 'faults', yet those perceived faults often mask their incredible character. Sam and the others in this body of work never cease to amaze and inspire me.
Sam was born cross-eyed at birth, had numerous operations to try to correct the condition with one eye still drifting slightly to the side today.
During the shoot he said it's been one of the few times anyone has actually spoken to him about it as people generally don't want to risk offending him.
It is only a small part of the incredible person who is SAM.

8"x10" Wet Plate Collodion Ambrotype on black glass. Shot with the Cooke 18" Soft Focus Portrait @ f5.6 for 9 seconds