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View Full Version : Greetings from Twin Cities, Minnesota.



LindaRose
2-Oct-2006, 17:41
I see there are other Minnesotans here. I was pleasantly surprised by that. Could you ask for nicer weather for this colorful time of year?

I'm a Photography student, starting last January and one of my classes this semester is View Camera. Most of my friends in class don't think there going to like the view camera but I think I will like it once I know what I'm doing. It does seem a little intimidating especially since I can be a bit more forgetful as I age. I'm unsure what my area of focus will be but for Photo I, I enjoyed taking architectual photos. My instructor said the view camera works great for that.

Right now we aren't having regular class because he is evaluating us individually in one hour time slots. We need to set the tripod and camera up, explain all the parts, zero everything, compose and focus on the subject (an Illford box) and take a polaroid shot. He said he would help us with the film. My classmates and I have been practicing setting everything up. This site has helped me understand things better but so far we are having trouble getting the subject to line up right. I'm glad I'm one of the last to be evaluated so I can practise some more first. Wish me luck.

Linda

Oren Grad
2-Oct-2006, 18:00
Good luck!

Not to worry, it gets to be a lot more fun once you're allowed to take pictures of things other than Ilford boxes.... ;)

Ralph Barker
2-Oct-2006, 18:45
Welcome to the LF Forum, Linda.

Good luck with your class. And, don't worry, all of the basic mechanics quickly become second nature.

John Kasaian
2-Oct-2006, 20:18
Don't fret Linda, its a piece o' cake! Just wait 'til you get cut loose with that puppy---FUN!

Capocheny
2-Oct-2006, 21:01
Hi Linda,

Welcome to the club!

Stick around on this forum and you'll learn volumes from the likes of Oren, Ralph, and John! They're the gurus!

And, if you're shooting 4x5 now... John'll have you into 8x10 soon enough. :)

It's all fun stuff!

Cheers

Andrew O'Neill
2-Oct-2006, 22:57
Hi Linda,

Welcome aboard. Once you've gotten into LF, you'll never turn back.

Tom Westbrook
3-Oct-2006, 04:46
Welcome! Good to see anohter Minnesotan here. Have fun with the class. You'll find a wealth of information and plenty of experience here to help with questions.

LindaRose
3-Oct-2006, 13:03
Thanks for the warm welcome! I am anxious to cut loose. Once I get through the evaluation I can start working on our assignments that will be a lot more fun than the Ilford box. Our assignments will be 3 product shoots- Polaroid film only, B & W including enlargement, and color transparency. Also 2 Portraits- B & W including enlargement and color transparency. I'm already trying to think of something interesting to do for the products. When I get closer to graduation I will be doing an independent study of my choosing. The instructor said we can take the view camera out for this. If I like working with it like I think I will, I will probably do that.

So far I hear the students are all getting high grades on the evaluation. The instructor said the ones that got B's were marked down because They didn't set the tripod up in the right position and one person forgot to put the cloth over the camera to prevent light leaks. i would have thought it was positioning and focusing since that seems like the hardest part to get right. For Studio Photography's eval I had to go third because he went straight down the roster. I knew I needed time to practise with the view camera so I asked him to start at the bottom of the roster this time.

Looks like you all will be open to any newbie questions I may have along the way. I appreciate that and think you seem to be a great group.

Linda

Lazybones
3-Oct-2006, 13:25
Hi there. What school are you attending?

MIke Sherck
3-Oct-2006, 13:29
I'm curious (bad habit, I'm sure that someday it'll be my undoing,) but how many students are in your class and how many view cameras do they have for student use?

mjs

Rick Haug
3-Oct-2006, 14:37
Greetings, Linda, from another of the Twin Cities crowd.

Michael Daily
3-Oct-2006, 18:09
Are you at the Art Institute? I was there for a conference a long time ago and was impressed with the whole place and the beauty of it. Any one of the often mentioned view camera books will be of great help. If you can swing it, getting a camera of your own to play with is invaluable. Most rough and ready (almost junkers) can be made serviceable cheaply or even for free. Check around and contact other LF people in the area. Someone may have one with your name on it. Enjoy-the possibilities are endless if your imagination is.
Michael

LindaRose
3-Oct-2006, 20:56
Tom, Rick and Lazybones (hmm sounds like the name of a band) nice to meet some fellow Minnesotans. Michael, don't I wish I was attending the Art Institute. Too expensive for me to attend but agree it's impressive. I plan to check around for deals. One of the students recently bought a bunch of second hand equipment including a LF camera for next to nothing, so I know there are deals out there if your willing to take the time to find them. Lazybones, I go to Century College. They have a decent Visual Communications Program for a Community College. Best part is that it's affordable and only 5 minutes from home. I'm getting an AAS degree. Mike, it's good to be curious, you can learn a lot that way. There are 12 students in class which is the max and they only have one view camera and it is a 4 X 5. There is plenty of open lab time, so I don't see it as a problem to get my hands on it when I want.

Lazybones
4-Oct-2006, 02:10
You can also rent stuff from West Photo, if need be.

LindaRose
4-Oct-2006, 19:04
West Photo was mentioned last semester as a reasonable priced place to buy supplies but I didn't know you could rent stuff. It's in Minneapolis right? Thanks for the tip!

Linda