Christopher Burkett Interview on PBS

[Chuck Pere]

Nice interview on PBS Newshour:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/landscape-photographer-races-to-finish-decades-of-work

He's one of my favorite landscape photographers.

[malexand]

Thanks for posting, Chuck - love seeing a master at work!

[diversey]

Enjoyed watching the interview! Thanks for posting!

[Tin Can]

Notice his heavy aluminum Calumet C1 that everybody denigrates. A very good camera!

What was that lens?

[Pere Casals]

What was that lens?

It looks APO Tele Xenar 800mm f/12. Ebay lists one now for some $15,000, a nice adding to the C1 :)

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?15330-Schneider-APO-Tele-Xenar-600-800mm-Convertible

...

Nice stack of ciba boxes...

Thanks for posting, Chuck

[Tin Can]

He used a lot of bellows and rise!


It looks APO Tele Xenar 800mm f/12. Ebay lists one now for some $15,000, a nice adding to the C1 :)

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?15330-Schneider-APO-Tele-Xenar-600-800mm-Convertible

...

Nice stack of ciba boxes...

Thanks for posting, Chuck

[neil poulsen]

Notice his heavy aluminum Calumet C1 that everybody denigrates. A very good camera!

What was that lens?

Chris Burkett invests whatever is needed to obtain the highest quality standard, whether it be in research, time, or equipment. He's a true perfectionist.

[tgtaylor]

Actually I think that he is using the wrong camera. If you look carefully you will notice a slight up and down camera movement when the camera is nudged. I get the same thing on the Toyo MII when using heavy lens with long extension. I suspect that is due to the holding screw not having enough bite and plan on trying different screws until I find one that has maximum depth for the camera. I exchanged the hex screw that came with the arca QR plate for one that has just one turn more bite and it seems to have been an improvement but I again noticed aa pronounced up and down motion with the 760mm lens and when I dismounted the camera was able to re-tighten the screw slightly. The real solution, as I see it, is to use a monorail like the Toyo G with 2 rail clamps. That completely eliminates any up and down or side-ways motion and leaves just vibrations which quickly settle down.

Thomas

[EdSawyer]

There's also a shot of his darkroom and enviable Apo El Nikkor (300 or 480 - I think he has both) mounted on the horizontal enlarger. Some nice looking prints indeed! Almost a bargain given the effort and materials involved.

[Drew Wiley]

Nice interview. But sorry to see him hanging up his hat when his supply of Ciba runs out. I don't know if I'll ever thaw my own last box of it, cause I discovered very similar prints can be made on Fuji Supergloss with a much easier masking protocol than Ciba. And for someone who put a 10K lens on a 90K
enlarger, I was surprised by how wobbly and funky his 8x10 rig looked. The only time I was in town and had a potential opportunity to meet him there was a family emergency, so it fell through. It would have been interesting because his masking protocol was so different from mine. I never dodged and burned Cibas at all - that was all pre-built-in onto the masks themselves. Wonderful to see him still at it, but changes in materials are inevitable in this game.

[Pere Casals]

Actually I think that he is using the wrong camera. If you look carefully you will notice a slight up and down camera movement when the camera is nudged.

Thomas, I don't think... The C1 is perfectly steady. Yousuf Karsh used one for 3 decades.

That movement you say comes from tripod head, I guess, because front and rear moves like pivoting.

I feel the C1 is legendary gear, and a sign of distinction. For 45/57 I like more the Norma, but for 810 IMHO the C1 is not a bad idea at all.

A long carreer photographer sporting an APO Tele-Xenar 800/12 and a ton of cibachrome boxes is suposed to have a refined criterion for selecting gear :)

Anyway IMHO the camera is the irrelevant factor for the quality of his extraordinary work, again in this case the man is what counts.

Making contrast masks while burning/dodging amazing ciba monster prints from 810 Velvia/Provia is not that common today...

[Pere Casals]

Actually I think that he is using the wrong camera. If you look carefully you will notice a slight up and down camera movement when the camera is nudged.

Thomas, the C1 is said to be perfectly steady. Yousuf Karsh used one for 3 decades (usually with shorter focals, 14", but giving bellows draw for near subject).

That movement you say comes from tripod head, I guess, because front and rear move like pivotating.

I feel the C1 is legendary gear, and a sign of distinction. For 45/57 I like more the Norma, but for 810 IMHO the C1 is not a bad idea at all, I use an SC 810, not very refined but very sturdy, this is instead a dutch product, but similar minding.

A long carreer photographer sporting an APO Tele-Xenar 800/12 and a ton of cibachrome boxes is suposed to have a refined criterion for selecting gear :)

Anyway IMHO the camera is the irrelevant factor for the quality of his extraordinary work, again in this case the man is what counts.

Making contrast masks while burning/dodging amazing ciba monster prints from 810 Velvia/Provia is not that common today...

The C1 looks well reinforced, perhaps a bit heavy for the field... but the geared front rise should be convenient with a heavy lens...

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[chris_4622]

Thanks for posting this Chuck.

[johnmsanderson]

Long time fan of Burkett. Going to see his show in NYC at Ingbar Gallery soon -- I wouldn't miss it. His Cibas are jaw dropping! So refreshing after seeing all (well, 95%) of the soulless stuff at AiPad.

[brouwerkent]

Hey folks

I seriously have to wonder about value of the work of Burkett. His photographs strike me as well done picture postcards of minimal value artistically. To my knowledge, museums have no interest in his work..but commercial galleries offer his work...presumably since they sell. There is no accounting for taste. I was recently in Carmel California for a few lovely days at the beach and some very overpriced meals...and I was amazed at the amount of glitzy overpriced artwork of little intellectual value..apparently these picture postcards (whether they be photographs or paintings) appeal to the masses. Like I say...no accounting for taste. And of course I understand the masses disagree with me. I want to be challenged intellectually...I see little compelling intellectually in Mr. Burkett's work.

Thomas Kincaid is a painter of similar glitzy formula....he marketed his paintings to a mass audience as a gift from God. Kincaid actually sells his paintings with Biblical Scriptures assigned to each. Kincaid was publically traded on the stock market for a bit. Kincaid IMHO will have no staying power or historical value. Do any of you remember Keane...the painter of children with the big forlorn eyes??? They were hugely popular in the 60s...major commercial success at the time..but clearly they had no staying power. I believe the work of Kincaid and Burkett are both destined for the same shallow grave.

While I suspect Burkett is a lovely individual...I enjoyed his history and the video...I do not find his work memorable or thought provoking....just pretty.

As a contrast, I for one find Walker Evans and his progeny of immense intellectual depth and long lasting merit. Walker Evans and many who followed his lead will always have a place in museums because of their social and historical value. I think Nancy Newhall said something along these lines...ie...why do male photographers feel compelled to photograph trees??? I truly have to question the merit of any artwork that is largely commercial in intent...other than that...it's commercial value at the time. This criticism of pretty pictures could also easily be applied to a majority of Ansel Adams work... No doubt Adams made a few really remarkable photographs...and I have no doubt that Burkett has made a few really remarkable photographs. But when viewed in mass...I personally find both Burkett and Adams quite boring.

I do not see a lot of work currently that I find intellectually compelling. I would challenge my fellow photographers to address social, environmental and economic issues with their art. From my perspective, a successful photograph should have layers of meanings...no only technically well done...but well seen and conceived...with layers of meaning that challenge the viewer to revisit over and over again...like a great novel or a great piece of music. Great work should challenge the viewer. Given the times, I happen to think pretty postcards do not have much merit in a world that is so challenged. I am deeply concerned about our planet and while I appreciate beautiful renditions of trees and water...they lack any lasting impact in my opinion.

Sorry for my rant...but I had to get this off my chest.

Cheers

Phil

[Peter De Smidt]

How about the value in showing us something that should be cherished? Affirming the positive is just as valuable as pointing out flaws.

[Pere Casals]

I seriously have to wonder about value of the work of Burkett. His photographs strike me as well done picture postcards of minimal value artistically. To my knowledge, museums have no interest in his work..

Fitrst is that art is subjective, second is that museums never had a good criterion to purchase art until it becomes very expensive, see Vincent Willem van Gogh.

From technical perspective Burkett's production IMHO has two trends:

> Technical excellence, coming from a Velvia/Provia 8x10 source these are shots containing some 600Mpix equivalent, today we can obtain that by stitching in Ps, but this is not the same. And then add Cibachrome on it...

> Not industrial reprography, each print is unique, the hand of the artist can be seen in each print.

So we are speaking about the most refinated imaging process we can think today combined with handcrafting and fanatic perfectionism, this is a value for galeries...


From the art perspective Burkett's production IMHO has also two trends I'd mention:

> This is fineart photography, not street or abstract, it's fienart, here the message "can be" in the depiction of details and the vision that we overlook in our daily routine. All of we often see peppers in the kitchen and we handle that, but Weston's peppers were showing beautilful textures and volumes we had in our hands but we were not aware at all.

> Authenticity. No Ps, no silicon, no pixel. Just the photons than came from subject left a footprint in the emulsion. And a second photon that passed the slide arrived to the ciba medium.


So IMHO it's about telling to the viewer that world has a beauty we overlook, that beauty can be ephimeral like a flower or had been there for centuries. We can say this is a way to discover self awareness, perhaps looking at the world from a "noetics" way. Of course you can read the message or not, and like it that or not.


What I say is that galleries often see value before museums do.

[Tin Can]

I agree Pere.

Good points.

[Pere Casals]

Thanks Randy, anyway prasing Burkett's work it's not challenging...

[Tin Can]

As a full-time photo hobbyist, I take umbrage at your comment.

[Pere Casals]

+

Perhaps it is his base-tec that is the source of veneration.
I was once told that Ciba had been invented to satisfy the eye that had grown tired of linoleum and craved formica.

Those of us for whom imaging isn't a hobby- meaning the thing we do when we have nothing else to do - have to find wonders for our generation.

best from a digital nomad


IMHO it's irrelevant if Burkett uses ciba or carbon like in the XIX.

Of course a jet print cannot be compared in quality terms to a ciba, but I'd say (not knowing him, by far) that his perfectionism in the image rendering is not about sporting base-tec, I'd say it is a vehicle of expression.

In the same way a great image can be in the light, just gathering that light and treating it with respect can deliver the most rewarding results. That kind of purity is also a vehicle of expression.

[Tin Can]

then, with apology, ....

Accepted :)

[Chuck Pere]

To me Burkett's photographs are more about a visceral than intellectual experience. Especially when seen as a large print as opposed to a computer screen. They act as a nice counterpoint to photographs like this year's Pulitzer prize winner. Both kinds have a place.

[SUNdog]

CHRISTOPHER BURKETT:
“What we usually do is we go to a place that looks like it has photographic potential. And then we stay there until we don’t see any pictures. And that might be half an hour or that might be a week.”

I find this statement somewhat worrying. It’s as if he’s a resource extractor. Mine an area for its pictures then move on. No mention of ‘love of place’ or the ‘spirit of a place’. No connection except to an abstraction, light. A light more real than real, like an auto tuned human voice contoured for presentation and spectacle.

Does not the above statement mark a bright line between the modern and the postmodern or as many now call it, the neoliberal age?

[Bob Salomon]

CHRISTOPHER BURKETT:
“What we usually do is we go to a place that looks like it has photographic potential. And then we stay there until we don’t see any pictures. And that might be half an hour or that might be a week.”

I find this statement somewhat worrying. It’s as if he’s a resource extractor. Mine an area for its pictures then move on. No mention of ‘love of place’ or the ‘spirit of a place’. No connection except to an abstraction, light. A light more real than real, like an auto tuned human voice contoured for presentation and spectacle.

Does not the above statement mark a bright line between the modern and the postmodern or as many now call it, the neoliberal age?
What is the “neoliberal age”?

[tgtaylor]

Take a break from talk radio, fake news, horrific headlines, demonstrations, counter demonstrations, signs, signs....everywhere signs. Let your mind roll on. If you want to, you can get all that from this:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/885/26477111977_5824ca5834.jpg

Thomas

[QT Luong]

Hey folks

I seriously have to wonder about value of the work of Burkett. His photographs strike me as well done picture postcards of minimal value artistically. To my knowledge, museums have no interest in his work.
...I do not find his work memorable or thought provoking....just pretty.


Museums have no interest in Burkett's work (and in other color nature landscape photography) not because it is lacking "intellectual depth" but because at this point in history it is not considered a novel contribution to art. Museums had interest in Eliot Porter's work in his time. Art has many functions, only one of them being to "provoke thought".

[johnmsanderson]

Take a break from talk radio, fake news, horrific headlines, demonstrations, counter demonstrations, signs, signs....everywhere signs. Let your mind roll on. If you want to, you can get all that from this:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/885/26477111977_5824ca5834.jpg

Thomas

Indeed

[Tin Can]

I don't see the Ostrich!

[tgtaylor]

Actually I think that he is using the wrong camera. If you look carefully you will notice a slight up and down camera movement when the camera is nudged. I get the same thing on the Toyo MII when using heavy lens with long extension. I suspect that is due to the holding screw not having enough bite and plan on trying different screws until I find one that has maximum depth for the camera. I exchanged the hex screw that came with the arca QR plate for one that has just one turn more bite and it seems to have been an improvement but I again noticed aa pronounced up and down motion with the 760mm lens and when I dismounted the camera was able to re-tighten the screw slightly. The real solution, as I see it, is to use a monorail like the Toyo G with 2 rail clamps. That completely eliminates any up and down or side-ways motion and leaves just vibrations which quickly settle down.

Thomas

As a follow-up to the above post, I have found that the permanent solution to the up-n-down motion is to check that the QR plate is firmly tightened each time the camera is to be mounted on the tripod. Apparently removing and reinstalling the camera on the tripod has the tendency to work the mounting screw loose in the up-n-down direction even though the Toyo QR plate prevents even the slightest lateral movement. This means that the tendency of the screw is to thread upwards without twisting or apparently stripping. I put this into practice on my lasting outing with the camera and 760 experienced zero camera movement on the tripod other that the initial vibrations which die down quickly.

Additionally, with the MII there is a tendency for the back swing locks to come loose from handling the camera while placing into and removing from the pack. However this is readily seen once the camera is installed on the tripod without opening the clam: If the back is in its détente setting, it will be perfectly flush with the rest of the camera and this is the perfect time to check that it is without unlocking and checking the détente the manual way.

Simply installing a camera on its support is an art that is best learned from practical experience.

Thomas

[Drew Wiley]

I suspect that if you saw Burkett's prints in person you'd understand the role of detail that just doesn't come across in a tiny website image. The pseudo-photographer who comes across like Kincaid, and has adopted both his shady business model and little old lady imagery is Peter Lik. Burkett is a serious practitioner of darkroom craft and not just a chimpanzee turned loose with a Photoshop program and some LSD tablets in his hands. One is striving to present his actual visual experience, the other is trying to market highly altered sugary stereotypes. Genre is your call. My own Ciba work was more metaphysical, and some people didn't like that, and would have preferred something more postcardy. Whatever.

[Thad Gerheim]

"It seems so utterly naive that landscape-not that of the pictorial school-is not considered of 'social significance' when it has far more important bearing on the human race of any given locale than excrescences called cities. By landscape, I mean every physical aspect of a region-weather, soil, wildflowers, mountain peaks-and its effect on the psyche and physical appearance of the people." (Edward Weston-1938)

[Pere Casals]

the permanent solution to the up-n-down motion is to check that the QR plate is firmly tightened each time the camera is to be mounted on the tripod.


Hello Thomas,

Let me point a way to measure well the steadiness of our setup.

.. just placing a toy laser pointer in the front standard and aiming some 20m far (or 100m...). This is useful to know how much time takes the vibration to stop after inserting the holder, and the effect of wind.


I'd say it is not necessary using that tools often, but IMHO it's really useful to understand how our setup behaves when we have wind.

I've been playing with that and I found interesting information, this is something I'd recomment to anybody who is worried by steadiness.

If we see the laser spot oscilating we know the detail that will be blurred. Even we can calculate what amount of blur is genearted on film, for example a test I made (a windy day) was showing a some 2mm oscillation at 20m, with the magnification calculated for a 210mm lens this resulted in 0.021mm on film, this 1/50mm, so 50 lines/mm, so limiting the shot to some 25 Lp/mm (lines vs line pairs).

Of course ultimate resolving power can be absolutely irrelevant in an LF shot, but if we want extreme image quality we need to know where minimal blur comes from, we have other factors like film/GG matching, lens sweet point, diffraction... so removing the steadiness factor (with a toy! laser pointer) simplifies the diagnostic a lot. This is the view I have as a learner, other very experiented photographers (like you) may know about the steadiness of their setup from practical results, anyway when one wants to go lightweight for sure that this toy is what says if a vibration is there.

Also an smartphone can be placed on the camera and can be used to measure vibrations, but the laser shows explicitly the movement on the subject.

I used the smartphone to measure the Hz of the vibration, to know if a full oscillation cycle fits in the exposure time, and to know if a shorter exposure can freeze the shot to some extend, when the exposure goes bellow 1/2 of the vibraton cycle time we are start lowering blur, at 1/4 we may have 1/2 of the blur.

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[Drew Wiley]

Sometimes I've almost gotten seasick watching photographers fiddling with big flatbed cameras wobbling atop toyish flimsy tripod assemblies. It's as if they're bobble-headed watching the stock market continuously go up and down, waiting for a predictable moment.

[Pere Casals]

Drew, what I found is that a camera vibration that downgrades a LF shot is not seen or perceived, we have to guess it.

With the laser pointer in the front standard we have to see a vibration of the spot at 20m that's under 1mm, this is with a 210, to not limit the shot under 50 Lp/mm. Then there is a proportionality... if the focal is the half, say 105mm, then you can allow a vibration of the spot that's 2mm at 20m far, or 1mm again at 10m.

Of course a vibration that provocates 2mm vibration of the spot at 20m it cannot be perceived by looking the camera. Because that the laser toy is really useful.

Single problem, if shooting a 8x10 is not drawing attention enough... just place some laser pointers on it, and it will look an starship :)

Another thing I found, tripod steadiness is a bit secondary, if no wind a light tripod works perfect, if there is some wind (specially in 8x10) no heavy tripod will make an steady shot, so the wind speed range in what a heavy tripod makes a difference it's narrow.

I think it would be interesting measuring and comparing the vibration that different tripods allow with different wind speeds...

[Tin Can]

Ok Pere.

I’ll try the laser bit. I have a laser inside a Focus-Spot RF on a Speed.

I documented it here in DIY years ago.

Have you any documentation?

[Pere Casals]

Ok Pere.

I’ll try the laser bit. I have a laser inside a Focus-Spot RF on a Speed.

I documented it here in DIY years ago.

Have you any documentation?

Randy, I do that with a $3 laser pointer, I attach it in a cold shoe I've in the front standard

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For my tests (as a learning exercise) I used the tripod head to aim to a suitable surface some 20m far, better in the shadow, then I placed a ruler on the spot and used the focusing magnifier (inverted) to see well the movement of the spot on the ruler.

This would be the way to take accurate measures to make calculations... in practice, and in case of doubt, IMHO its enough to place the pointer in the front standard, aiming at 20m and viewing the vibration of the spot...

That's my rule of thumb:, for a 210mm lens, from a 1mm spot vibration at 20m it starts limiting IQ under 50 lp/mm. At 40m far you can allow 2mm, this is proportional. With the focal it's inverse proportional, if twice the focal you can allow half of the vibration...

There are a lot of opinions and urban legends about tripods... a $3 toys says the truth. I'm very happy about what I learned with that, becasue now I've no doubt about the effect of wind and time to wait after inserting a holder, my Bilora tripod with the Norma 45 vibrates less than 3 seconds.

[Tin Can]

I can’t see 1 mm movement at 20 m with a reversed loupe.

Just wait until I get my cateracts and lens implants. Soon!

I have 90 days to get that done. Hopeful.

Using a FocuSpot laser makes focus at night possible for me. Aligning 2 dots into one.



You could have shot video for documentation. Just a suggestion.

[Pere Casals]

I can’t see 1 mm movement at 20 m with a reversed loupe.

Just wait until I get my cateracts and lens implants. Soon!

I have 90 days to get that done. Hopeful.

Using a FocuSpot laser makes focus at night possible for me. Aligning 2 dots into one.

You could have shot video for documentation. Just a suggestion.

Randy in that case one has to go 20mm far by foot to see the spot with the loupe :) I use it reversed to not cast a shadow in the laser beam...

As I use a Nikon D3200 as spot meter, with the 55-300 I can see well if the spot moves... any mini telescope could also be used if not wanting to travel until the spot.

You are right, I should make a doc collecting all that information in a practical way, IMHO it's someting that could be useful, with that rule of thumb that I pointed IMHO it's enough in practice, but a PDF showing sample image crops and even more or less blurred 1951 targets vs spot vibration it would be good source of information.

[Pere Casals]

I can’t see 1 mm movement at 20 m with a reversed loupe.

Using a FocuSpot laser makes focus at night possible for me. Aligning 2 dots into one.

You could have shot video for documentation. Just a suggestion.

Randy in that case one has to go 20m far by foot to see the spot with the loupe, I use it reversed to not cast a shadow in the laser beam...

As I use a Nikon D3200 as spot meter, with the 55-300 I can see well if the spot moves... any mini telescope could also be used if not wanting to walk to the spot.


You are right, I should make a doc collecting all that information in a practical way, IMHO it's someting that could be useful, with that rule of thumb that I pointed IMHO it's enough in practice, but a PDF showing sample image crops and even more or less blurred 1951 targets vs spot vibration it would be a useful source of information.



Just wait until I get my cateracts and lens implants. Soon!
I have 90 days to get that done. Hopeful.


Randy, you will be refurbished to "like new" condition with that CLA. :)

This will have a cost, now you will want expensive glass for the 1010 enlarger !

[Tin Can]

A 2 minute video is painless use subtitle text.

No music.

Perhaps a title. “Laser proves tripod shake matters”

[Pere Casals]

A 2 minute video is painless use subtitle text.

No music.

Perhaps a title. “Laser proves tripod shake matters”

OK, Randy, I'll do it like that, it will be my first uploaded tube !

[Tin Can]

Hmm

That was kinda short for an analysis.

I try to use the tripod i can't carry.

Linhof biggest. I have one in wood, it's the heaviest of 3 and seems stable...

I knock on the camera and watch em all wiggle.

[Drew Wiley]

Laser pointers sold to the public are helpful in night photography esp if aimed at something capable of a maximum specular reflection. But all lasers legally sold to the public are deliberately a bit fuzzy to minimize eye risk. I had access to far more serious ones which I borrowed for calibrating my biggest custom enlarger planes. Overkill, but that's how I like to do things. One day the mfg rep was showing me the same model used for aligning new locks of the Panama canal. These could be used in serial fashion to correct for the curvature of the earth, and are 2mm correct over 30 miles! My office occupied a large second story loft supported by steel beams, so had a tiny bit of bounce to it. Everytime he set up the laser across the room, I'd gently tap the floor with my shoe and the laser would automatically shut off, which it was programmed to do if level was affected whatsoever. The poor guy went nuts trying to figure out what was wrong with his $35,000 machine.

[Drew Wiley]

I'm glad to see what a tune-up to eyesight is capable of doing these days, Randy, and certainly hope it improves not only your enjoyment of photography but
of life in general going forward.

[Tin Can]

Thank you.

I just heard from a second happy customer using the same Doc.

I find the trick for me is calm down a day ahead.

I am an excitable boy!






I'm glad to see what a tune-up to eyesight is capable of doing these days, Randy, and certainly hope it improves not only your enjoyment of photography but
of life in general going forward.

[Serge S]

Sometimes I've almost gotten seasick watching photographers fiddling with big flatbed cameras wobbling atop toyish flimsy tripod assemblies. It's as if they're bobble-headed watching the stock market continuously go up and down, waiting for a predictable moment.

This is funny:)
I like your writing style!

[faberryman]

for those who prefer sharpening pencils to making drawings...
Brilliant!

[Drew Wiley]

Ridiculous, really. Sometimes very sharp pencils etc are needed. Jackson Pollock did fine simply pouring paint from a can, but the realization of Dali's genius required a set of meticulously pointed #0, 00, and 000 squirrel-hair brushes. One has a right to choose one's own tool set.

[Pere Casals]

What would be brilliant is making a sharp drawing with a fat brush :)

[Tin Can]

What would be brilliant is making a sharp drawing with a fat brush :)

I think some Japanese and others do just that!

[Drew Wiley]

They also have contests using traditional wooden planes to see who can shave off the thinnest slice, which requires a modern micrometer to measure. So maybe we should have contests using wooden yardsticks to measure who has the smallest pixels.

[Randy]

Simply installing a camera on its support is an art that is best learned from practical experience.A few years ago someone on the forum mentioned "going headless" in a discussion about camera stability. I had no idea what he was talking about so I inquired. He explained simply not using a tripod head. I removed the large, heavy head from my Zone VI and built a plywood plate that exactly fits my 8X10. Very sturdy and I have never felt the need to go back.

[Pere Casals]

"going headless" in a discussion about camera stability.

There is a very smart way, this is using a head without roll, just with yaw and tilt, and then also using a camera that has a roll in the design like Sinars (Norma...). This provides a really stable setup that normally is as good as a headless tripod, while still convenient.

I tried headless and I found that a it is a nightmare, specially with a 810. Also while regulating the legs of the tripod with a 810 on it the camera can kill the photographer, if it falls on him... :)

[Drew Wiley]

Pere - I've been doing "headless" 8x10 all along. It's intuitive and quick once you're used to it. That's how surveyors did it for many decades before modern
gear, and it often had to done atop remote mountain crags. The rail clamp system on a Sinar is very nice too, but the Sinar round rail is easy to balance
in the clamp. Big flatbeds benefit from a relatively large solid platform under them. My dad learned surveying the old way, and I've used my 8x10 in many
precarious places, both rock and ice.

[Randy]

I made the mistake when I made my "headless plate" for my 8X10, mounting it to the tripod with two legs at rear and one out front. I didn't realize that I made it backwards - should have been the single leg to the rear. One day I'll fix that.

[Pere Casals]

Randy, of course steadiness it's a major concern for outdoor LF, but what I found is that the critical issue is being aware of the real vibration we have, it's frustrating "measuring vibration" in the developed negative, and learning from that.

IMHO, let me insist, it's about meauring vibration, we need two tools:

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45 has little problem, I found that for 810 we have to be way more careful with wind...

its a matter to place the laser in the front standard and measure to vibration at 20m, 1mm at 20m it's OK for 210mm focal, more than this is to limit utimate IQ. Quite straight.

Then we may want the $10 anemometer, to learn at what wind speed we have the problems. After some experiementing with the anemometer and the laser we know if we need to make an effort in the setup steadiness and for what wind conditions.

Yes, it's always painful adding a gram of gear to the LF backpack, but IMHO the laser and the tinny anemometer makes a great contribution to the IQ consistence, I don't say at all that it should be carried always, just saying that it's interesting to use that until we learn how our setup behaves in reality, and from positive information.

[Randy]

Pere - another - perhaps much less expensive option for observing vibration - tape a straight length of safety wire to anywhere on the camera standards or base, and once it stops wiggling from wind, removal of dark-slide, etc, trip the shutter.

[Tin Can]

I wonder if anybody else has a small engine wire tachometer? Like this one. I used it in the 70’s.



https://youtu.be/Yr86vDXWu0c



Pere - another - perhaps much less expensive option for observing vibration - tape a straight length of safety wire to anywhere on the camera standards or base, and once it stops wiggling from wind, removal of dark-slide, etc, trip the shutter.

[Willie]

Watching the camera move and doing the glass of water on top to check vibrations I got into the habit of leaning the camera bag against one of the tripod legs. Doing so made for fewer vibrations showing in the water surface. So, I use that method with the camera as well as the dark cloth over it, tucked in so it won't flap and try to be careful after removing the dark slide so I have slack in the cable release before tripping the shutter.

Figure if the negative is still unsharp for motion of some kind it just isn't meant to be for me that time.

[Pere Casals]

Interesting device... anyway this is to measure frequency, not elongation.

There are also mobile apps to measure vibration by reading internal accelemeters, I use this one https://web.archive.org/web/20180430113635/https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nowinstruments.vibsensor&hl=en_US

Search "vibration meters"...

... but IMHO the laser it's essential to acknowledge the real impact of the vibration on film, because we can simply ponderate vibration we see in the spot according to the magnification, this pretty intuitive, and we also can make straight calcualtions to have a quantitative value.

The vibration frequency is useful to know at what shutter speed we may start freezing the vibration, ...if we expose only during 1/10 of the typical vibration cycle then we may have 1/5 of the blur radius than with a long exposure.

[Jim Becia]

Sorry to see this thread turn into a critique of his camera technique as opposed to his thought process, his style, his philosophy, etc. As someone who uses 8x10 color slide film, I enjoy Burkett’s images for his keen eye, use of color, and of course, his masterful use of Ilfochrome. Having viewed 40 to 50 of his photos in person at Andrew Smith Gallery in Santa Fe years ago, he is certainly a master of Ilfochrome. The photos have a vibrancy I can only wish for in my work.

[Tin Can]

We are so envious of Mr. Burkett's work that we obfuscate.

I know I am guilty!

It is extraordinary work, beyond my skillless dabbling.

Mea culpa

[Pere Casals]

Sorry to see this thread turn into a critique of his camera technique as opposed to his thought process, his style, his philosophy, etc.

No critique to Burkett's technique, but the counter: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?145549-Christopher-Burkett-Interview-on-PBS&p=1440987&viewfull=1#post1440987

Now just dicussing (sorry for the off) how to take good shots in his perfectionist way, while still realizing that the technical perfection is tinny share of a good work.

[Michael Kadillak]

Sorry to see this thread turn into a critique of his camera technique as opposed to his thought process, his style, his philosophy, etc. As someone who uses 8x10 color slide film, I enjoy Burkett’s images for his keen eye, use of color, and of course, his masterful use of Ilfochrome. Having viewed 40 to 50 of his photos in person at Andrew Smith Gallery in Santa Fe years ago, he is certainly a master of Ilfochrome. The photos have a vibrancy I can only wish for in my work.

That is why they sell Jim. Like you I could give a crap as to his technique because obviously he knows how to get it done.

Like it or not this video is a masterful lead in to a national audience and will absolutely knock it out of the park for Chris. Humble craftsman toiling for decades in a process that he choses to use irrespective of trends to the contrary. Sealing the deal is his emotion on the last time he will walk out of his darkroom and hangs it up when all of his material is used up. Good God the marketing genius is absolutely stellar. He will be transformed from being a current millionaire to a multi millionaire and I could not be happier for him. He earned it with his hard work and his passion for the art and craft. Long live capitalism !

[Willie]

That is why they sell Jim. Like you I could give a crap as to his technique because obviously he knows how to get it done.

Like it or not this video is a masterful lead in to a national audience and will absolutely knock it out of the park for Chris. Humble craftsman toiling for decades in a process that he choses to use irrespective of trends to the contrary. Sealing the deal is his emotion on the last time he will walk out of his darkroom and hangs it up when all of his material is used up. Good God the marketing genius is absolutely stellar. He will be transformed from being a current millionaire to a multi millionaire and I could not be happier for him. He earned it with his hard work and his passion for the art and craft. Long live capitalism !

For contrast you have Michael A. Smith and Paula Chamlee who, when their chosen printing paper Kodak AZO was taken from the market spent their own money to develop a new paper to replace it. Just as Burkett they work with one method and material to produce images they like. Craft and art together without all the uncertainty of constantly changing materials. All the creativity can go into the images rather than being sidetracked by having to learn new gear and methods over and over.

[Pere Casals]

Like it or not this video is a masterful lead in to a national audience and will absolutely knock it out of the park for Chris.

Michael, that video is impressive...

[Drew Wiley]

Pere - wind gusts are easy enough to detect by movements of a darkcloth, lens shade, adjacent foliage etc. One can even feel the wind. But anything resembling wobble in a tripod or head that needs to settle down is simply unacceptable. It means your setup is inadequate. I never have this kind of problem. It's all simply about torque vectors. With a monorail like a Sinar the stress or leverage is mainly linear along the rail axis. With flatbed cameras, the stress goes several directions, and the worst thing one can do is concentrate all that leverage on a small point like a quick-release plate or ball head neck. Yes, you can choose those things for strength or mass, but this just adds more weight trying to put a bandaid on a fundamental logistical error. Some 4x5 field cameras with modest bellows extension might not be too bad, but long extensions with heavy lenses or roll film backs, or bigger cameras like 8x10 are just asking for a problem.