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jj golden
3-Apr-2007, 06:22
Hello all, I have to share this story that happend to me at work yesturday. I was out looking for something to shoot most of the morning, spring time is a great time to shoot here, i live in north ga, the mountains are fresh with mint green leaves, great time to try out a new filter or two, anyway im a chef, and we were having a new water heater installed at the restaurant. after getting to work i took my LF camera out of the car and went inside the back area of the restaurant, i usually keep it in a room ajacent to the kitchen (so i can keep an eye on it), i went into the room and the plumber was in there working on the water heater, he saw me carry it in. he immediatly jumped off the ladder and began examining it. "wow!" he said, "ive never seen something like that before." Is that a camera?" "Yes" I said
"Awsome" his eyes grew wider , he went to the back of it and saw the ground glass and examined closely. "I cant see anything" "well" i said "you have to do a couple of things to the lens, then you can see through it" I started to turn and go into the kitchen, (i was already kind of late)
"Hey!" do they sell these at wal-mart?" "uh.. no, i dont believe they do" I then walked out of the room. "Hey buddy! he yelled
"how many mega pixels is this thing?" I couldnt help but chuckle, i turned around with a grin and proudly said "alot":)

Janko Belaj
3-Apr-2007, 06:28
yes. alot. :D

Ralph Barker
3-Apr-2007, 06:37
At least he didn't ask if it was a Hasselblad. ;)

jj golden
3-Apr-2007, 06:47
lol

Dave Parker
3-Apr-2007, 07:09
I always get a kick out of the ones that ask me "What kind of Video Camera is that!" when I am shooting my Bronica S2A!

Walter Calahan
3-Apr-2007, 07:33
You mean its not a Hasselblad?;)

butterfly
3-Apr-2007, 07:54
He, he - great story!

I may as well add mine, happened just last weekend. In Ely Cathedral Uk. Shot a polaroid 55 test, 30 second exposure. Some guy came up to me, looked at the photo and asked 'where did all the people go?' I explained about moving things on a timed Bulb exposure etc.

Well this guy had a Nikon D2Xs top of the range round his neck and a bagful of lenses (but no tripod). He then asked me 'would I have that B setting on this camera?'..

Oh man, that really irritated me!

Most people that stop and stare are really nice and pass great comments and show much interest in this non-digital 'technology', and I love explaining what I am doing! The polaroid normally blows them away!

anyone else with stories?

Regards

Steve

Gene McCluney
3-Apr-2007, 11:05
I find it ironic that most people consider "digital" to be superior to film regardless of format, just because it is newer.

Rob_5419
3-Apr-2007, 11:39
Awwww. That's so sweet! Thanks for sharing.

Maybe you could've invited him to look through the GG viewfinder and given him a lead for an LF retailer. I'm always amazed at how many brickies used to love rummaging through my stuff in the studio when they were doing work (I don't think they were in there for burglary btw).

Chris Strobel
3-Apr-2007, 11:56
I had a couple kids down at the beach checking me out with my C-1 on the big Ries.One of em had a 5D around his neck and with a kind of a snide condescending voice said "you outta check out one of these" I reached into my Tamrac bag and pulled out MY 5D and said
"I did, ain't quite the same thing" after that I was expecting them to ask some questions or to dialog a bit, but they just walked away.First time that ever happened.People have always been pretty cool down there.

cyrus
3-Apr-2007, 12:02
I was photographing my dog in Washington Sq Park in NYC using my C330 Mamiya TLR when a guy with a really fancy rig around his neck, and several lenses in his should bag, asks "how do you manage without a lightmeter"?

Buying $5000 worth of equipment (whether digital or analog) and not knowing the Sunny-16 rule, is sorta weird.

poco
3-Apr-2007, 12:29
<Buying $5000 worth of equipment (whether digital or analog) and not knowing the Sunny-16 rule, is sorta weird.>

Unfortunately, not at all. Last summer my niece (who supposedly has a deep interest in photography) came to visit and I was amazed to find she didn't know the first thing about the relationship between shutter speed and aperture. I gave up after 15 minutes of trying to explain it when her eyes glazed over. Worrying about that kind of tedious crap is sooooooo ...yesterday.

Graham Patterson
3-Apr-2007, 12:38
Not surprising, really. There's a little mathematics and science involved. Who needs those after they leave school? 8-)

big_ben_blue
3-Apr-2007, 12:41
<Buying $5000 worth of equipment (whether digital or analog) and not knowing the Sunny-16 rule, is sorta weird.>

Unfortunately, not at all. Last summer my niece (who supposedly has a deep interest in photography) came to visit and I was amazed to find she didn't know the first thing about the relationship between shutter speed and aperture. I gave up after 15 minutes of trying to explain it when her eyes glazed over. Worrying about that kind of tedious crap is sooooooo ...yesterday.

She is right - worrying about minor technicalities like this only hinders the forming of the great creative mind:D (hey, ever been to a college photography course lately?). That's why we have P mode, Auto ISO, multi matrix metering for 10000 preset situations, Auto focus, Face recognition (on Fuji's), and soon Auto Composition. Or how about this one (no photographer required): http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/190.html .

Ash
3-Apr-2007, 12:42
Aperture and shutter speed are related?????


:D

Scott Davis
3-Apr-2007, 12:50
I had the Canham 5x7 with me in Argentina. I got the usual "are you a professional, and if so, where's your permit?" routines, but I also had a lot of very interested folks come up and want to see under the darkcloth, especially kids. All the usual questions about "can you still get film for that?", "how old is it?" etc. It did get me on Argentinian TV too - I was out photographing around San Telmo, trying to get a shot of this neat stuccoed house with colorful paint around the door and windows, when this TV crew came up and interviewed me about my visit to Argentina, about photography, and my interest in the neighborhood. I also had a 20 minute chat with one of the policemen outside Recoleta cemetery - he was quite nostalgic for the "old days" of photography, and just enjoyed looking at and through the camera. Also wandering around Recoleta cemetery, I met an older Argentine gentleman who was a retired photographer. He of course instantly knew what it was I had, and we chatted lenses and things for a few minutes - he was a Linhof guy. Then there was the mime in Colonia, Uruguay, who was tickled to death not only to pose for me, but at the fact that I didn't charge him for the privilege.

My favorite reaction to the Canham has to have been when I was up at Antietam battlefield back at the beginning of the year. A young family was there, and saw me shooting. I let the kids and the parents take a look under the darkcloth, and the kids were wowed, especially at it being upside down. The young mom's reaction though was priceless - "It's like Hi-Def TV!".

Alan Rabe
3-Apr-2007, 12:50
Ok, Here's my story.
I was in the Buckskin Gulch in the Paria Wilderness of Utah with my 4x5. I meet a dude in there with a new Nikon Auto everything. He was telling me about how he was not satisfied with what it was giving him. Well I found a spot to shoot and started to setup my camera, he set his up right next to me to take the same shot. Well I was doing my metering and then focusing and beside me I heard his camera going nuts. Nothing but whirring sounds as the lens went in and out trying to find something to focus on in a slot canyon, basically shooting down a tunnel. No wonder he didn't like it. He had no clue how it worked. I just smiled and went on my way.:D

Gordon Moat
3-Apr-2007, 13:37
When I remember, I take along a few developed 4x5 transparencies in my large format bag, and sometimes a mini light table. If a conversation indicates more than passing curiosity, I let the person I am speaking with look at one or two transparencies. My favourite question came up in one of those instances, I had a guy ask me "how did you print that?" apparantly not understanding that it was film . . . he really thought the 4x5 transparency was some sort of print (or output). More common is people surprised I can shoot colour film in such an old camera (I just got my Shen-Hao a little over a year ago).

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio (http://www.allgstudio.com)

Hiro
3-Apr-2007, 14:35
At Joshua Tree after last Christmas, I met a man quite psyched to see a field camera (Tachihara). As he moved on after some "is-that-a-camera?" exchanges, he turned around and asked, "Is that a Leica?"

I would have told him what it is, but I think I was overwhelmed by the foreseen burden of 50 more questions. I heard myself saying, "No...it's a Hasselblad."

He tentatively "hmm'ed" and walked away...Have I sinned? :p

Brian C. Miller
3-Apr-2007, 15:16
Gordon, I had the same experience showing an 8x10 negative and contact print to some people. They didn't realize that film could actually be really big like that, and thought that it was some kind of printer output.

Dave_B
3-Apr-2007, 15:35
Aperture and shutter speed are related?????:D

Only in America-you don't have to worry about it in the UK......

Denis Pleic
3-Apr-2007, 15:43
Well, perhaps a different take on the subject...

Last week our "photo club" (rather informal, that's why the parentheses are there) had an opening of film-based (analog) B&W show. The intention was to have a kind of "educational" photo exhibition, and we showed photos, but with a twist - together with the B&W traditional prints, we framed also the negatives!
Needless to say, mine were the biggest (4x5 and 5x7 - others had 120 as the biggest ones)
We also showed our darkroom, with all the trays, bottles, graduates, etc. neatly labelled... And the usual trick was to lure the visitors in, turn off the light, and turn on the red safelight, and then the enlarger.

Anyway, since I'm the only purely film-based shooter in the whole bunch (and with lots of outdated gear to boot), I thought it would also be rather educational if I was to show a part of my (working) collection.
So, in a side room I put my "Chinese Deardorff" (Seagull whole plate camera), Speed Graphic 4x5, a couple of Leicas and two of my light meters (Weston V and a Sekonic Studio DeLuxe). A couple of Rolleiflexes, too...
Strewn around as decorations were also some negatives of all sizes, some empty Fotokemika film boxes and several contact print sheets (mainly medium format).

Needless to say, I got quite popular - was filmed by two TV crews, and all the visitors had great time looking at the Seagull ground glass, under the dark cloth :)

And I got kicks out of telling them with a big smile on my face that the camera is actually defective, as they sent me buggy software, causing the image on the "LCD" to appear upside down... Most of them got the joke... ;)

It was great fun, and I actually thought of you guys, and the usual "Is that a Hasselblad?" question...

I've had lots of questions, ranging from "I've got a Practica at home - belonged to my Dad. It must also be a very good camera, right?" to "Wow, a Rolleiflex - I have one at home!". And when they asked me if the cameras still work, I said "Sure they do! You can still find film for those - see that box over there? Made by Fotokemika, right here in Croatia! And you can see a couple of photos taken with this very camera right there in the next room...." - to which the usual reaction was just the sound of jaws dropping...

Denis

Jan_6568
3-Apr-2007, 16:34
I recall shooting on the beach in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. The beach was almost empty, only few people there. I was potographing sand structures formed by tide. When I was working under the dark cloth a guy with a little compact digital camera appeared and started taking pictures of myself working :), what a curiosity!

Jan

jnantz
3-Apr-2007, 17:17
a while back i was with my speed graphic doing "street photography"
and some guy asked if i was like that guy "squeegee"
i just kind of laughed and said, "nope, jimmy olson"

:)

Shen45
3-Apr-2007, 19:56
I have been to yosemite twice in 2 years [thanks Kev :)] but on the last visit I was up at Glacier Point looking for a spot that didn't have tripod marks and was composing a nice image of a magnificent scene. I was under the dark cloth and heard...... "Man -- why would you bother!!"

As my name isn't Man I ignored the voice. Wilderness, even Yosemite can be very quiet and peaceful.

However I hadn't counted on the ability of a digiblaster to fire off a million shot in 10 seconds. Was I wrong? I had to look:)

"You should be stiching"

Gosh, has my dark cloth begun to unravel?

"This is the latest XYZ wonderblaster and I can shoot this whole valley and fix it in Photoshop."

Now I must elaborate just a bit here ---- Kevin and I had travelled to many spots in and around the Sierra's and I had flown many many hours in a big metal tube with a pilot named Bob carrying way too much LF gear so a bit of sport was in order.

Me -- "Just curious does your new wonderblaster have the additional "new" thin removeable self powered sensor?"

Him - "What do you mean"

Me -- "I've had this camera custom modified to accomodate the very lastest 2gb self powered sensor. Each one is removeable and each one is self balancing and solar powered because of the black colour."

Him -- "Wow 2gb. Are you serious?"

Me -- "Absolutely -- and with the correct cables your Wonderblaster can connect to one, it is the very latest technology. Call your local camera store, I'm sure they can give you advice on where to go. I could tell you but it is better you find out for your self"

jj golden
3-Apr-2007, 20:42
thanks for all the great stories guys:D

gaylandd
3-Apr-2007, 21:29
She is right - worrying about minor technicalities like this only hinders the forming of the great creative mind:D (hey, ever been to a college photography course lately?). That's why we have P mode, Auto ISO, multi matrix metering for 10000 preset situations, Auto focus, Face recognition (on Fuji's), and soon Auto Composition. Or how about this one (no photographer required): http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/190.html .

I don't have a story to share necessarily (my first LF camera is on the way), but when I was in college, by photography instructor shot with a 20x24 (I think) ULF camera and even had an enlarger for that size (he called it "Big Bertha"). This was before digital (1988) and he emphised the difference that could be obtained between 35mm and an LF camera. from that point on, I alway knew I would want LF.

Brian Ellis
3-Apr-2007, 22:45
I've been asked several times if my old Tachihara was a Hasselblad, apparently others have too. I was also asked if I could make color photographs with it. Nobody ever asked whether it was digital though.

But my favorite was the guy who approached my camera as it was on the tripod while I was doing something at the back. He got up to a few inches away from the camera and without saying a word, asking permission, or anything else, leaned his head forward and began staring intently into the lens. I was kind of taken aback and didn't know what to say so I said nothing. He just stood there peering into the lens for maybe a minute or so, then turned around and walked away, still without saying a word. I have no idea what was going on with him but it was a really strange encounter of the large format kind.

Marko Trebusak
3-Apr-2007, 23:10
OK, here is mine: I usually photograph in areas and in time frame when it's almost impossible to find another human insight (and I'm glad I do). But last year on our photo tour, participants would like to "take a look through my camera". They were all SLR folks, and it surprised me, when from under the dark cloth, I heard the voice saying, where is the image. Well, I later realised, that they were looking through instead on ground glass. And I saw that happen on almost every occasion when SLR photographer goes under dark cloth. But the weirdest thing happened, when I was photographing beside rather busy alpine road: a small coupe car stopped by my side, a window went down, a small P&S would come out pointed in general direction of my camera and a flash went off to illuminate a mountain range a few kilometres away. What an optimist :rolleyes: ...

Marko

Ash
4-Apr-2007, 06:35
Since I only take medium format or miniature out with me, I often got the "is that a leica?" when I had a Contax or Soviet camera. With a TLR I'm asked if I can still get film for it, and with the Leica people ask "so can it only take black and white photo's??"

Nothing new with my encounters, I'll probably have a LF story to add as soon as I've got a 4x5 restored and 'shuttered' to take out with me somewhere.

EDIT: Just remembered my own first encounter with LF;
I don't remember ever seeing my mother's 10x8 camera, but I do remember seeing the school photographer under a dark cloth. He must have been using 8x20, the images were so long. I wondered about the cameras but it all went over my head back, well maybe 8 years ago now.

In college last year, I took AS Photography (alongside AVCE Art). We were being taught about some cameras and the tutor I despised with a passion decided to talk us through larger format as well. She mentioned that she had been an assistant once, and had to load DDS's, and they cost about &#163;10 or more per shot! "You can't afford to muck it up!" really hyping the small experience she'd had, whilst showing a photo of a LF monorail on the digital projector. All the kiddo's in the class (I'd hit 18 going on 19, they were all 16) were awe-stricken. I was mildly amused. A few weeks after that I stopped attending the lessons - total waste of time. A month or so later I bought my first LF camera. :D

I'm glad my first experiences of LF weren't my last, or they'd be tainted by the memory of that tutor.

Joakim Ahnfelt
4-Apr-2007, 09:45
Once out shooting i heard a sniffing sound and found that a scottish sheep dog (border collie I think) had sneaked his head under the darkcloth with me. He stared at the gg and left. Without comment.
Funny thing is, for some reason I didn't get scared when I found his head inches from mine when I turned around under the darkcloth.

David A. Goldfarb
4-Apr-2007, 10:08
If I've got time I'll give a little LF demo after I've gotten my shot when I'm in the field with the big camera. I've also made a little album of 4x5" albumen prints to keep in my bag.

I've posted some photos of the album here--

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum46/27342-small-portfolio-moleskine-notebook-2.html

Harold_4074
4-Apr-2007, 12:52
I've told this story before, but it still tickles me, so:

I was setting up for a portrait of a young lady, and suggested that her friend take a look under the focusing cloth. A couple of seconds went by, and then she popped out with a startled look and said "But it's in color! I though that you only did black and white!"

(It also turned out that neither of these ladies, then in their early twenties, had ever seen herself in a black-and-white photograph; this was in 2001 or 2002.)

Vaughn
4-Apr-2007, 12:56
I had my Zone VI 8x10 set up along the path to Yosemite Falls -- got a nice shot up the path, trees towering on both sides and Yosemite Falls in the back. Long exposure so that some folks were blurry and ghost like with a Japanese couple fairly still as they took a photo of the Falls. It made a great carbon print. Had lots of fun listening to comments as people passed by while I hung out under the dark cloth.

A lady stopped by and I offered her the opportunity to look at the image on the GG. She was having trouble, so I made the usual suggestions of treating it like a TV screen and not putting her eye right up against the GG, etc. She never saw anything and eventually left a bit perplexed.

I looked at the GG and found that I still had it the lens at f64! So either she left thinking I am totally nuts, or that good photographers can see things others can not!

Vaughn

Sylvester Graham
4-Apr-2007, 13:48
I've been confronted 3 times, each time in some sort of natural setting, and two out of the three times people assumed I was shooting wildlife since I had such a big camera.

-Alex

raucousimages
4-Apr-2007, 13:55
A couple of years ago I was shooting the spring flowers at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City with a Toyo 810G on a low tripod when some children wanted to see what I was doing. After the first one saw the inverted image on the GG she told her sister and in a few seconds I had about 20 kids lined up to look through the camera.

David Karp
4-Apr-2007, 14:12
My kids love to look at the picture on the GG. I took my 4x5 to my older son's pre-K class. The kids just kept getting back in line to look at their friends running around in front of the camera. "Hey Matt - you are upside down!"

GPS
4-Apr-2007, 15:02
It was an autumn in the Catskill mountains, NY. I was taking a picture of a red Acer sp. with my first home made 4x5 camera. An old couple came, watching in awe as I was in the process of taking the pic. When I took away the film holder the man said to his wife - "this is really a professional camera he's got." Well, that's exactly what it isn't, I was thinking just for myself...

Veríssimo Dias
4-Apr-2007, 16:10
thanks for sharing

V

Daniel Geiger
4-Apr-2007, 18:13
I've been confronted 3 times, each time in some sort of natural setting, and two out of the three times people assumed I was shooting wildlife since I had such a big camera.

-Alex

Sounds familiar; I've been accused of monorail flying bird photography! Now there's a challenge. In Los Angeles with all the entertainment folks, I am actually surprised how many people recognize the contraption as a camera. Last weekend I was asked what that black thing is good for (pointing at bellows).

false_Aesthetic
5-Apr-2007, 04:44
Hey,

A few years ago I was shooting at night in Heidelberg, Pa (outside of pittsburgh). Some old lady called the cops because she mistook the Horseman LE and tripod for an assault rifle (no joke).

About 2 min into a 20 min shot 5 cop cars surrounded me. After being thrown against one of the cars, frisked, questioned, etc etc. the only way I could convince them that I was using a camera was to get them to point their spot lights at one of the officers and have the others look under the dark cloth. . . . They were all dumbfounded.

---

Shooting at night in semi-urban spaces always brings the police. I make it a habit of offering them a peek and to take their picture... no one has taken me up on the portrait yet.

Daniel Grenier
5-Apr-2007, 06:24
One of my experiences with a "bystander" didn't trun out so well... for my camera, that is.

So I'm set up in a small town with my 8x10 on a Zone VI tripod (the one without locking legs). I'm getting ready to shoot some buildings and this guys comes out and oohhs and aahhs... you know the routine. Anyway, I'm off a few feet from the camera chatting with him when a slight wind gently lifts up the camera/tripod using the focusing cloth as a sail and the whole thing just goes backwards and slams into the concrete sidewalk! The ground glass explodes, the wooden camera shatteres to bits, the lens pops out and rolls onto the street...one fine expensive mess. The guy never got the chance to ask how many pixels, or is it a Nikon, but I'm sure he'll remember his firsrt LF encounter for a long time.