Howdy from West Virginia

[illumin8em]

Howdy folks,
I am Justin, from WV. I am the only person I know interested in medium or large format photography, so I am happy to have found where you all have been hiding. I have been taking pictures since high school, and now 10 years later I have decided to enter the world of large format. A few years ago a veteran of WWII who was placed in Normandy the day after to document the destruction, and long retired surgery room photographer, struck up conversation with me at my then place of employment and ever since I have wanted to acquire a Crown Graflex, his Navy issued camera, and give it a go.

I am currently sitting on a neglected Hasselblad 500CM and Nikon D200, as well as 20-30 old yard sale find camera needing work.

Happy to be here to learn and maybe even contribute

[Contest_Guru]

Hello Justin welcome to Large Format Photography forum, I am looking forward to see your works :)

[Scott Davis]

Welcome to the Large Format Asylum, as it's often referred to by us inmates. Don't neglect your Hassy, they love getting used (seriously- Hasselblads die of neglect long before they die of overuse). Given your passion for a Crown/Speed Graphic, you're in luck as they're very easy to find, and usually quite affordably.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Welcome, Justin!

[Alan Gales]

Welcome to the club, Justin!

There are Crowns and Speeds selling on Ebay all the time. Pair it with an old Tiltall tripod for a great, inexpensive combination.

[gleaf]

Welcome from the next state west.
Crown Graphic 4 x 5, Rolleiflex T 6 x 6

[Ron Stowell]

Welcome Justin,
I have traveled in WV several times and you sir, are lucky to live in a state with so many beautiful landscape opportunities.
You find that for the most part we are a very friendly group here. Every once in awhile someone will step on somebodies tail.

[Louis Pacilla]

Welcome Justin!

What part of WV are you from? I ask because I live in Western Pa and I'm a 30 min drive from either Morgantown WV (South) or Wheeling WV (West).

I go out shooting and every once in a while I'm joined by My pal Vince who is a talented photographer who is also an active member here. Your always welcome to head out & shot either w/ me or the two of us. I have plenty of extra equipment so if you would like to give it a go with out any financial output. Come on up and we'll set you up with a some loaner gear and head out.

Anyhow if you would like to head out and it's with in sensible driving distance because it's a bit of a haul from Charleston WV to my drive way. Like 4+ hr. But your still invited of course.

BTW -Seneca Rocks, Spruce Knob and Dolly Sods WV are a few of my favorite places to make images. At least that are within a 3-5 hour driving distance.

[Winger]

Welcome Justin!

What part of WV are you from? I ask because I live in Western Pa and I'm a 30 min drive from either Morgantown WV (South) or Wheeling WV (West).

I go out shooting and every once in a while I'm joined by My pal Vince who is a talented photographer who is also an active member here. Your always welcome to head out & shot either w/ me or the two of us. I have plenty of extra equipment so if you would like to give it a go with out any financial output. Come on up and we'll set you up with a some loaner gear and head out.

Anyhow if you would like to head out and it's with in sensible driving distance because it's a bit of a haul from Charleston WV to my drive way. Like 4+ hr. But your still invited of course.

BTW -Seneca Rocks, Spruce Knob and Dolly Sods WV are a few of my favorite places to make images. At least that are within a 3-5 hour driving distance.

Hi! I'm about to move from western PA to Iowa, but I never knew you were near here. By your distances from Morgantown and Wheeling, I'm about 45 north / northeast of you.
Welcome, Justin! There's plenty of advice and activity here to help out a newbie.

[illumin8em]

Welcome Justin!

What part of WV are you from? I ask because I live in Western Pa and I'm a 30 min drive from either Morgantown WV (South) or Wheeling WV (West).

I go out shooting and every once in a while I'm joined by My pal Vince who is a talented photographer who is also an active member here. Your always welcome to head out & shot either w/ me or the two of us. I have plenty of extra equipment so if you would like to give it a go with out any financial output. Come on up and we'll set you up with a some loaner gear and head out.

Anyhow if you would like to head out and it's with in sensible driving distance because it's a bit of a haul from Charleston WV to my drive way. Like 4+ hr. But your still invited of course.

BTW -Seneca Rocks, Spruce Knob and Dolly Sods WV are a few of my favorite places to make images. At least that are within a 3-5 hour driving distance.

Hello

I am about 30 min south of Morgantown. That is a very kind gesture to a stranger, I would definitely be interested in tagging along to observe, I have much to learn. I don't know about using someone else gears though, I be a nervous wreck. Has a date been planned for the next outing?

[dperez]

Justin,

Welcome to the Asylum. There are a lot of useful resources here and people that are very knowledgeable who regularly contribute and make this forum what it is. I hope you enjoy your LF adventure.

By the way, you really should take advantage of the opportunity offered by Louis Pacilla to try out gear before you jump in. A lot of LF cameras have limited or excess features. Depending on what you plan to photograph, the old press cameras may or may not be a good fit, (although they are cheap, and you can generally get what you paid for them if you had to sell one). In any case, it's an opportunity that I think you should take advantage of. I'm not trying to steer you away from a press camera, I'm just suggesting that after meeting with others and learning first hand about out different LF systems, you might gain an insight into the limitations of particular camera designs as it relates to your intended use.

Best of luck to you.

-DP