Hey

[noahnott]

LF is so much fun! I've taken 2 photos (of the same thing) so far...but I'm hooked (sort of). I like to look at the camera, mostly...looking through the viewfinder is fun. You know...all that good stuff.

So anyways, my school has two crown graphic cameras that nobody has used for 10 years. I asked my photog teacher if she had a speed graphic (jokingly) just for fun...was not expecting "yes" as an answer.

...well, she didn't say yes, more like, "well...actually...i think we might."

So I gett to use a crown graphic (donated to the school a looonnngg time ago) till the end of the year since nobody else is using it...good stuff. It's in fairly good condition, except that the shutter blades(?) are starting to bend...but I still don't see any light passing through them. Even so, there is another lens on the other camera I can always use.

So, yeah, I had a loop laying around my house, I have a spot meter, and she handed me some film expired in 1974! Good stuff.

I developed two sheets so far...good as new (as far as I can see). I accidentally overexposed two stops since I thought it was t-max 100, not tri-x (400). The photos turned out fine! I must of metered wrong or something (yes, I loaded so the emulsion side is facing out). I used 6 sec exposure instead of 4 thinking 2 seconds would be a good estimate for the recip-whatever failure. I don't know - I'm so used to using a histogram.

Also, the film expired in 1974...pain in the rear to load. It's not a sheet and then a piece of paper, another sheet, paper, and so on. It was in this plastic casing with paper tabs...not expecting that. So I just pulled on the tabs in the darkroom and just fiddled around with it..scratched some of the negatives...more good stuff. I still have no idea what the plastic thing is, but I got another 2 sheets loaded onto the little loader things (i think you people call them boards?).

So far my success rate is like 50%...the other 50% accounts for film I messed up with, or accidentally not closing the shutter before taking the actual photo.

Anyways, just saying this whole LF is fun stuff - much more fun than digital because now I have to actually 'think' about the photo before taking it.

Oh, http://noahnott.blogspot.com is my website. I'm a fan of high saturation color images.

I have do have a question: if I use cheap filters, and stack them (low end hoya's, tiffen's, etc), will it hurt the image quality so bad that I could probably get a better image quality from my digital camera?

Thanks for reading/skimming,
Noah.

[Gordon Moat]

I think Hoya filters are actually quite nice, as long as they are somewhat clean. When you stack, you might get some weird false colour effect . . . unless you are shooting B/W films. Anyway, welcome here . . . stick around a while . . . and enjoy the journey.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

[noahnott]

Hey, thanks. I will be shooting B&W. I was looking at the prices of Provia 4x5 and...

...no, not my thing. Besides, I'd have to send it off to get developed/printed, that's like half the fun.

[Ralph Barker]

Welcome to the LF Forum, Noah.

Pssst. 8x10 is even more fun! ;)

[SamReeves]

Welcome aboard. A nice selection of images on your blog BTW. :)

[John Kasaian]

Welcome! I learned to fly tail-draggers in Yakima, WA. You're fortunate to have a photo dept with such nifty toys & a Teacher that'll let you play with 'em!!

[noahnott]

Thanks for the welcomes!

I'll confirm what you said: It IS nice to have a photography department that is (sort of) hooked up with a nice teacher. But then my dad said his high school's photography class used speed graphics instead of 35mm. (maybe my dad was bologna sandwiching me?)

I do feel kind of guilty using up all of that developer to just develop 1 sheet...last time I was going to pour it in a cup so I could use it again later - but I forgot and poured it down the drain. Who knows, I might buy some of my own developer b/c my dad wants to start using his camera again.

Oh, and, about them tail-draggers ... i've always wondered how you see the runway when taking off in them. :)

There's a glider club in wenatchee that my dad and I belong to...that's how i get most of my aerials.

See you later,
Noah.

[Ernest Purdum]

About tail-draggers, you don't see the runway in front of you until you lift the tail. You have to keep lined up by using peripheral vision

Taxiing can be worse. S-turns constantly.

[noahnott]

Eeek...

...sounds safe. :rolleyes:

[Capocheny]

So far my success rate is like 50%...the other 50% accounts for film I messed up with, or accidentally not closing the shutter before taking the actual photo.

Noah.


Greetings Noah,

Nothing that hasn't happened to most of us at one time or another. It gets easier as time goes on. :)

Cheers

[noahnott]

My dad tells me things get harder as time goes on. :D

(sorry, just had to say it).

I'll try to post my photo(s) when I go shooting next time (with film)...i'll also try to post my first photo. Hopefully I wont mess up as many times as the first.

[noahnott]

LF is still fun...now i've take three whole different photos! here's one:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2323/1895425525_4f1294f1d3.jpg



f/32, 1/2 sec, delta 100, i focused on *the* rock (probably a mistake), underexposed by a stop, used a lengthened development, and made a quick contact print. This photo is fairly close to what the contact print looks like (maybe a smidge darker), and minus the yellow tint b/c I only used the fix for 10-20 seconds since i was in a hurry.

[Wayne Lambert]

Also, the film expired in 1974...pain in the rear to load. It's not a sheet and then a piece of paper, another sheet, paper, and so on. It was in this plastic casing with paper tabs...not expecting that. So I just pulled on the tabs in the darkroom and just fiddled around with it..scratched some of the negatives...more good stuff. I still have no idea what the plastic thing is, but I got another 2 sheets loaded onto the little loader things (i think you people call them boards?).
Noah.

Noah,
I'm thinking you were working with what used to be called a film pack---12(?) preloaded sheets of 4x5 film in a case that you placed in a "film-pack adapter" that looked sort of like a big film holder. This went into the film holder slot in your camera. They were very convenient; after you made an exposure you pulled on a numbered paper tab and the exposed sheet went to the back of the case and a new sheet of film was pulled into position to be exposed. You could write descriptive data on the numbered paper sheet and put the sheet in your pocket. When you were ready to develop you opened up the case and took the sheets out. Brave souls would open the case (in the dark, of course) and just take out a few exposed sheets and then put the case back together with the remaining unexposed sheets still inside. The only problems were the film was a little more expensive then regular sheets and the sheets were more flimsy and a little harder to develop in a tray or put in hangers. In fact, they tended to come out of the film hangers during development---a terrifying event. Your film is lost somewhere in the developing tank---in total darkness! I'm not sure when they stopped making them; probably sometime in the 1970' or 1980's. Someone around here probably knows. Today where you find a lot of used large-format equipment you can generally find film pack adapters, but I suppose they are useless today. I think film packs also came in smaller sizes, like 2 1/4 x 3 1/4-inch. Kodak film packs were very popular. A board is the wood or metal piece that your lens is mounted on. Film holders are what you put your film in, one sheet on each side.
Wayne

[noahnott]

Thanks for the info - i have yet to rip open the bag and actually see the 16 sheet preloaded film pack thing outside of a darkroom. (I broke the plastic). It's wrapped up in a black bag right now. I should probably shoot it off.

-Noah