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Thread: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

  1. #11
    Vaughn's Avatar
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    Re: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

    Rather than making a square opening in the darkslide, you might consider just cutting off the end of a darkslide, leaving only about 2 3/8 inch of the original darkslide. Then all you have to do is mask off an inch on the one end of the GG.

    Cutting a hole in the darkslide would leave a very fragile darkslide.

    I have done similar things to 8x10 darkslides to get two 4x10 negs on an 8x10 sheet of film. As with the image below. Fortunately, my GG is gridded, and I just use the gridlines to compose. The modified darkslides are close enough to the film to be fairly accurate.

    PS -- I prefer to mask the negative so that I have a rebate around the image for contact printing.

  2. #12

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    Re: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

    Quote Originally Posted by KyledeC View Post
    Thank you all! The only reason that I don't want to just crop in the darkroom is because I would like to be able to compose in the square format. With that being said, just making a dark slide with a 3 7/8x3 7/8" opening is a great idea. But do you have any ideas on how I would be able compose in the square format while using the dark slide idea to make a square exposure.

    If I were to do the dark slide method, would I have to worry about the distance between the plastic of the slide and the film?

    Thank you all so much!
    Mark it out on the groundglass.
    One man's Mede is another man's Persian.

  3. #13

    Re: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

    Quote Originally Posted by Vaughn View Post
    Rather than making a square opening in the darkslide, you might consider just cutting off the end of a darkslide, leaving only about 2 3/8 inch of the original darkslide. Then all you have to do is mask off an inch on the one end of the GG.

    Cutting a hole in the darkslide would leave a very fragile darkslide.

    I have done similar things to 8x10 darkslides to get two 4x10 negs on an 8x10 sheet of film. As with the image below. Fortunately, my GG is gridded, and I just use the gridlines to compose. The modified darkslides are close enough to the film to be fairly accurate.

    PS -- I prefer to mask the negative so that I have a rebate around the image for contact printing.
    I really like the idea of just cutting off the end of the darkslide, that sounds easiest and then I could just mask the ground glass so I can compose in the square.

    My question is, will light go underneath the edge of the darkslide and expose film?

    Thank you! Great advice!

  4. #14

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    Re: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

    Blue painter's tape on the groundglass: easy on, easy off. No residue.

    Don't draw on the groundglass.

    When you get tired of the square, you can try all the other ratios - classical and otherwise

  5. #15
    Drew Bedo's Avatar
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    Re: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

    Why not use a mask made from a dark slide?
    Drew Bedo
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  6. #16

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    Re: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

    Even the darkslide is some distance from the film. For 4x5 film, your edges will not be clean nor exactly where you want them, unless you are simply contact printing (as the poster above is). Remember, the light projected from the lens to the film is basically a cone, which gets larger in diameter the farther from the lens you place the film. There will be some discrepancy when using the darkslide as a mask which will show up more as the amount of enlargement increases.

    Unless you want a rebate for contact printing (I won't even get into the aesthetics of rebate vs no rebate...), you are better off cropping at the printing stage.

    If you really need that dark edge, you'll have to find some way to mask directly on the negative (tape on the film at the loading stage etc., which I would think was an invitation for dust and crud...), or, simply cut the negative down at the printing stage, effectively cropping with your cutter. (Then you'll really have a square negative).

    For me, every subject dictates its own aspect ratio; I print square, long and thing, short and squat, whatever is required by the demands of the thing being photographed. I really never understood the need for squeezing one's vision into any particular format.

    Best,

    Doremus

  7. #17

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    Re: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

    Isn't the darkslide a lot closer than the edges of the film holder, which provides some of the borders?

  8. #18

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    Re: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Lee View Post
    Blue painter's tape on the groundglass: easy on, easy off. No residue.

    Don't draw on the groundglass.

    When you get tired of the square, you can try all the other ratios - classical and otherwise
    Ken (or anyone else with an opinion) - slightly off-topic question: why not? I've done that with soft pencil (on the ground side) and washed it off with Windex. Also grease penciled on the smooth side. Is there potential damage that I'm not aware of?

  9. #19

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    Re: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

    I've simply found it safest to leave the groundglass alone, since it's prone to scratches, dust, and being dropped by clumsy people like me.

    Painter's tape is simple, effective, harmless and readily available. There's no need to remove the groundglass for cleaning and handling. We can apply and remove painter's tape virtually ad infinitum, leaving the rest of the camera intact. Square today, Golden Section tomorrow. No fuss, no muss.

    I also find it hard to use a simple "wire frame" for composition (another reason I sold my Mamiya 7, whose rangefinder provides a frame within a window). I prefer to have the edges completely dark, but that's my limitation.

    If a grease pencil and glass-cleaner works, then that's the answer too.

  10. #20

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    Re: Square Format with a 4x5 View Camera

    sully75,

    Nope, the film in a holder is under rails on the top, and sides and a flap on the bottom, all of which contact the film, making sharp edges. The darkslide is a ways away from the film. The edges of a "darkslide mask" may be sharp enough for contact printing, but maybe not for 4-5x enlargements. It depends on individual tolerance though.

    Best,

    Doremus

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