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Michael Graves
16-May-2008, 13:42
I bought my Toyo 810M from Arizona Highways photographer Trevor Stanley way back in 1982. Which means I've had it for 26 years now.....

And my biggest complaint has always been it's ridiculously short bellows extension.


Why did it take me until today to figure out that part of the bed extends forward? I mean....it's only blatantly obvious. Worse yet...why am I admitting it to you folks?

MIke Sherck
16-May-2008, 13:47
Sometimes "seeing" comes when you least expect it, have even given up on it. :)

Now you have something new to try!

Mike

Jan Pedersen
16-May-2008, 13:51
why am I admitting it to you folks?

Cause you are happy that you got a new camera for free ;)

Ben Hopson
16-May-2008, 13:53
At least you did discover the front extension. Now it will be like having a new camera with longer bellows extension. Just be happy it didn't take 37 years to discover the "blatantly obvious".

Ben

Ralph Barker
16-May-2008, 14:54
" . . . why am I admitting it to you folks?"

'cause you're a good guy, and wanted to make us all feel better about our silly mistakes. :D

Darcy Cote
16-May-2008, 15:10
"And my biggest complaint has always been it's ridiculously short bellows extension.


Why did it take me until today to figure out that part of the bed extends forward? I mean....it's only blatantly obvious"

That is how I felt when I discovered Viagra......:eek:

Frank Petronio
16-May-2008, 16:35
I kept finding features on my Linhof for years, I'm not sure I discovered them all either...

uniB
16-May-2008, 17:20
yeah, but it must have been one of the best 'I didn't know that' moments ever! Some cameras have such a big learning curve...

Pete Watkins
16-May-2008, 22:49
Now you've got the bellows don't buy a 25 inch TTH lens and discover that you can't reach the lens while you're looking through the ground glass. Like I did.
Pete.

aduncanson
17-May-2008, 12:49
Well, I did discover the rear extension on my Calumet C-1 just as I first mounted a 21 inch process lens and found that I needed it.

Michael Graves
17-May-2008, 17:47
Now you've got the bellows don't buy a 25 inch TTH lens and discover that you can't reach the lens while you're looking through the ground glass. Like I did.
Pete.

Took it out today with a 19" Artar. Couldn't reach the front standard from behind the ground glass. With my long arms, that is definitely a first for me. But I FINALLY got to use my 19" Artar! I'll develop the films tomorrow and see how badly I screwed up.

Turner Reich
17-May-2008, 21:43
Good things come to those who wait.

mdd99
19-May-2008, 18:26
There is strength in weakness.

Michael Graves
19-May-2008, 18:31
I learned two things from my first outing with a 19" Artar.

Blind men can't focus.

What depth of field?

John Berry
20-May-2008, 12:58
You will become, as I have, familiar with the term, "selective focus".

Brian K
20-May-2008, 13:20
what was the question again?

Clay Turtle
21-May-2008, 19:19
I bought my Toyo 810M from Arizona Highways photographer Trevor Stanley way back in 1982. Which means I've had it for 26 years now.....

And my biggest complaint has always been it's ridiculously short bellows extension.


Why did it take me until today to figure out that part of the bed extends forward? I mean....it's only blatantly obvious. Worse yet...why am I admitting it to you folks?I got an SK 5x7 to shoot a field. I kept wondering what the little lever attached to the bed was for . . . it wasn't until I started reworking it that I realized that it allowed the adjustment of the position of the tripod mount . . . after I had taken it apart to see how it operated.

Walter Jakubowski
11-Jun-2008, 17:06
"Ever feel really STUPID???"

Yes as a matter of fact...many times but recently one that comes to mind...
I've been using a Gitzo Carbon Fiber G1228 tripod for years wondering from
time to time why the legs just didn't angle out very far, especially for such a
high end tool. Luckily I was always able to work with the limitation. Then one day last year I happened to drop the tripod while navigating down some large boulders and when I picked it up one of the legs was angled out all the way. I examined it and felt like an idiot when I discovered this cleverly designed "stop" which one pulls out enough to open up the angle of the leg. Without this serendipitous event I would likely have eventually gone to my grave not realizing this. I simply don't remember any illustrations or instructions which came with the tripod. Of course not!! Hey it's
not "rock-it" science is it?

Walter

lungovw
12-Jun-2008, 10:42
That could be the advertising creative idea for that website selling owners manuals: "Amazing new features are just wating for you in your old camera! It is all in the manual!"

Wagner Lungov

butterflydream
12-Jun-2008, 16:32
Walter, I had exactly the same experience with Gitzo 1228. I also think that I didn't read it on the manual.

I have had always an attitude "there must be something for/against this", but as getting ages, I tend to think "that's all there's to it", too early.

Kuzano
12-Jun-2008, 17:31
I still find myself draping the dark cloth over the front of the camera and wondering why when I look through the lens, I only see a fog scene.

Drew Bedo
12-Jun-2008, 18:51
While there are no genuinely stupid questions; on some days there seems to be a plethora of insatiably inquisitive IDIOTs!
Anon.

The blond said, " So what does One-Dee-Ten-Tee mean?"

Joseph O'Neil
13-Jun-2008, 05:02
A joke going around the net that IMO, fits this thread rather well.....

I was having trouble with my computer. So I called Eric, the 11 year old next door, whose bedroom looks like Mission Control and asked him to come over. Eric clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.

As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong? He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.' I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again.' Eric grinned.... 'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?'
'No,' I replied.

'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.'

So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T

I used to like Eric.

---------------------

I have a lot of photography days like that too. Such as focusing my on my ground glass, loading my film, then trying to fire the shutter and realizing I haven't closed the shutter yet..... ;)

John Bowen
13-Jun-2008, 06:47
I had a small business a while ago that needed some custom programming so that folks could enter some information in a template then transmit it to us..... I told the programmer that I wanted it "Idiot Proof"....we thought we had achieved our objective, only to discover that they keep making better Idiots!!! :-)

Walter Jakubowski
14-Jun-2008, 19:09
John,
That reminds me of a corollary to Murphy's Law that goes like this...
"You can't make anything 'fool-proof' because fools are so ingenious!"

David Finch
14-Jun-2008, 19:35
I've had a Linhof IV for longer than many (I'd say most) of you have been alive. I often use it handheld, propping up the bed with my right hand while using the grip with my left hand. Until about a year ago I tripped the shutter by pushing the cable release mounted on the grip, shaking the camera enough to keep me at 1/125. I then realized that I could take the picture by lifting my right index finger three inches and gently touching the release lever on the lens. No more camera shake -- for the first time since Johnson was president.

vann webb
14-Jun-2008, 20:58
Probably the dumbest that I've ever felt with a large format camera was one time after I'd finally gotten a decent lens, a Rodenstock 135mm. I was really excited to go out and use it for the first time, and in my haste to put the lens on the camera, I forgot to remove the rear lens cap, resulting in no image at the ground glass. I must have fumbled around for about a minute or so trying to figure out if something was "broken" before taking the whole thing off and noticing the lenscap. I felt pretty damn stupid and embarrassed about it, especially since some lady was standing nearby staring at the whole comedy of errors as it was going down. Stuff happens. It's hard to do LF on the downlow. People tend to stop and have a good long gander at what's going on.

Daniel_Buck
14-Jun-2008, 23:44
I almost removed my film holder from the back with a 1/2 cut 'panorama dark slide' in it, ALMOST! haha! Until I realized that in my other hand was the full dark slide :D

David A. Goldfarb
15-Jun-2008, 06:03
Since I've had lenses cammed for my 2x3" Technika and been walking around with it using a rollfilm back (which I do occasionally with the 4x5" Technika, but more often with 4x5" Grafmatics), I think I've changed lenses two or three times now with the darkslide out. Fortunately, I'm in the habit of advancing the film after the shot, rather than before (this doesn't seem to have any negative flatness consequences with the Linhof backs), and the Linhof backs don't leak light onto the adjacent frames in that situation, so I haven't lost any exposures, but it is annoying to remove a lens and see a square of film staring back at you.

archivue
15-Jun-2008, 08:24
after many years, i've just find out that photography have nothing to do with reality ;-)

archivue
15-Jun-2008, 08:25
actually, i've made the same error when i bought my 810M, as the seller... because of this false limitation i had a great discount ;-) !

butterflydream
17-Jun-2008, 10:28
One of my friend bought an old nickel leica elmar lens 35mm f3.5 at a steal price from a shop, who told him the lens is defective and the lens barrel can't be pulled out from collapsed position. Sorry not a LF thing, but archivue reminded me.

Hollis
18-Jun-2008, 00:40
Just today i was screwing around in the garage reassembling some old petzvals and I wanted to try a different configuration of the lens elements. So, after some math and tinkering I had my 4x5 up on the sticks and I was amazed as to how 'long' I made my tame 6.5" lens. I racked focus back and forth for awhile trying to focus and just gave up thinking that it was just too long for my bellows when I realized the lens was in my hand and I had nothing, not even a lens board on the camera.

Oh, I also found that the same camera has a bubble level. It had been covered by velcro from the previous owner and I never took it off.

I blame cheap chinese food for lunch and all the MSG (that and a low IQ).

Jeff Bannow
19-Jun-2008, 07:35
Not a LF mistake, but a dumb one all the same; a few years ago I got my first medium format camera - a Yashica TLR. For days I kept thinking, "Gee, this waist level finder is fine and dandy until I have to shoot in portrait mode ..."

Then my teacher reminded me that the film is square 6x6. Doh!

- Jeff

lenser
19-Jun-2008, 10:21
How about years ago when I showed up to shoot a basketball team and individuals for a high school about 20 miles away. Had everything I needed in lights, stools, lenses, film and no camera body! Duh!!!!!!!

jetcode
19-Jun-2008, 10:58
I bought my Toyo 810M from Arizona Highways photographer Trevor Stanley way back in 1982. Which means I've had it for 26 years now.....

And my biggest complaint has always been it's ridiculously short bellows extension.


Why did it take me until today to figure out that part of the bed extends forward? I mean....it's only blatantly obvious. Worse yet...why am I admitting it to you folks?

now that's entertaining ... and all these years you thought you purchased a wide angle 8x10 camera! ... I think it's a great story and worthy of a good laugh for all of us

jetcode
19-Jun-2008, 11:00
How about years ago when I showed up to shoot a basketball team and individuals for a high school about 20 miles away. Had everything I needed in lights, stools, lenses, film and no camera body! Duh!!!!!!!

I did the same ... trekked to Yosemite for a short trip with my new toy, the 5D, only to discover I left all my media cards at home. Thank god the Ansel Adams gallery just happen to sell cards to the digital wannabe Ansel crowd led by folks just like me!

Frank Petronio
21-Jun-2008, 23:30
I am just in New Mexico -- a few days earlier I put my fresh, unopened 4x5 film into the bag with the Harrison Tent -- and last night I tossed the Harrrison into the large checked case... super x-rayed new film. Luckily Camera and Darkroom in Santa Fe stocks it and it was easy to swing by and have lunch there to boot.

brad martin
22-Jun-2008, 00:51
Frank,

I'm sorry but I don't believe you've met the minimum qualifications for this thread.

Your in New Mexico with a 4x5 camera.

Kirk Gittings
22-Jun-2008, 09:06
Trust me, it it quite possible to do really stupid things even in New Mexico with a 4x5.

butterfly
22-Jun-2008, 14:29
Yes, felt stupid all weekend :-( Yesterday developed Tmax in Kodak fixer (the bottles are exactly the same and I did not check). Today drove miles to take a specific few photos, and had left the lupe at home. Went back home to get it, and then discovered I'd left my cable release on the ground.. luckily it was still there when I went back!
Hmmm, more than enough senior moments for one weekend!

tim o'brien
22-Jun-2008, 14:36
Trust me, it it quite possible to do really stupid things even in New Mexico with a 4x5.

Yes, but lunch in Santa Fe covers a multitude of errors. I would destroy a box of film to do that. Guadaloupe Cafe.... Hmmmm hmmm good.

tim in san jose

Kirk Gittings
22-Jun-2008, 15:03
We like a little chefy place called Agua Santa. Superb!!!!

Richard K.
22-Jun-2008, 15:23
Yesterday I "developed" two sheets of HP5+ in PMK to see which lens was sharper, a 24" RDA or the Fuji 600 CS. All the trays were set up, stop and fixer ready and the small cylinder of measured PMK solution was beside the first tray of water ready to pour in. I turned off the light and unloaded the holder and proceeded to develop, stop and fix the two sheets. I was surprised by the profound lack of information on the negs until I noticed the developer still sitting there waiting to be poured into the first tray of water....:eek: That wasn't the stupid part. This wasn't the first time I've done that..:o

E. von Hoegh
22-Jun-2008, 15:43
You guys should think of this: A truly stupid person is limited by their stupidity.

An intelligent person has much more potential!

I remember 30 - odd years ago; my Grandfather was watching me rinse paper plates prior to burning them in the woodstove at hunting camp. He looked, and said "You know, it takes brains to do something that stupid".

Kirk Gittings
22-Jun-2008, 17:43
i think it was Somerset Maughn who said "only the mediocre are always at their best".

Michael Graves
22-Jun-2008, 18:03
i think it was Somerset Maughn who said "only the mediocre are always at their best".

So what does that make those of us who always seem to be at our worst? Is that our best?

Kirk Gittings
22-Jun-2008, 18:58
ironically enough this quote often gets people to insist that they are never at there best so as not to be seen as mediocre! It makes for some funny conversations.

Stephanie Brim
22-Jun-2008, 21:14
You know, I've been developing film for almost 4 years now I think and I've never done the fixer first, developer second thing. Then again, my mixing bottle for developer (brown plastic quart bottle) is significantly different than my mixing bottle for fixer (translucent Rubbermaid bottle).

What I have done, though, are other really stupid things. Leaving the core out of my 35mm development tank. That ruined a couple rolls. I forgot to make sure the Combi-Plan had both caps on...which has ruined most of my 4x5 to date. Or "ruined", still posted it. I've shot film at the wrong ISO before and tried to save it (both successfully and unsuccessfully). I've developed a roll of Fuji 400 that I could've sworn was a roll of TMAX 100 (interestingly enough, that was a happy accident - it's kinda neat in D76, and the time for TMAX was just right). I've pulled the darkslide before I've shut the shutter. I've forgotten to stop down. I've forgotten to PULL the darkslide.

So yeah, I've had my share of feeling stupid. Sometimes it just helps to bask in it with everyone else. :D

Roger Krueger
23-Jun-2008, 01:41
I developed the wrong Grafmatic yesterday, 6 clear sheets, at least I'd been too busy to go out and shoot the other one (again).

But my best was medium format, a few years ago. I'd just gotten the 250/5 for my Mamiya Universal, and set about doing a rangefinder calibration. I got to the part where I take the lens off to adjust the little screw inside. I grasped the lens firmly, and turned the mount ring. Unfortunately, this was my first lens with a tripod mount. The heavy metal camera fell on my bare foot corner first.

I hopped, I cursed, my wife laughed mercilessly. 15 minutes later I did it again.

Michael Graves
23-Jun-2008, 05:48
YI think and I've never done the fixer first, developer second thing.

I haven't done that either. But I HAVE developed two rolls of 120 HP5 in my selenium toner, fixed it and spent two hours trying to figure out why I got no images.

E. von Hoegh
23-Jun-2008, 20:26
You know, I've been developing film for almost 4 years now I think and I've never done the fixer first, developer second thing. Then again, my mixing bottle for developer (brown plastic quart bottle) is significantly different than my mixing bottle for fixer (translucent Rubbermaid bottle).

What I have done, though, are other really stupid things. Leaving the core out of my 35mm development tank. That ruined a couple rolls. I forgot to make sure the Combi-Plan had both caps on...which has ruined most of my 4x5 to date. Or "ruined", still posted it. I've shot film at the wrong ISO before and tried to save it (both successfully and unsuccessfully). I've developed a roll of Fuji 400 that I could've sworn was a roll of TMAX 100 (interestingly enough, that was a happy accident - it's kinda neat in D76, and the time for TMAX was just right). I've pulled the darkslide before I've shut the shutter. I've forgotten to stop down. I've forgotten to PULL the darkslide.

So yeah, I've had my share of feeling stupid. Sometimes it just helps to bask in it with everyone else. :D Wait until you pull an 8x10 filmholder after exposing the film (EPP100 color transparency) but BEFORE replacing the darkslide.

As a bonus, a bystander said (as I cursed and tore out the sheet) "Why did you throw it away? It was only in the sun for a little while".

Seriously, I don't think I have ever at any other time become so angry in such a short period of time.

Mark Stahlke
23-Jun-2008, 21:54
OK, I'll come clean.

On my first go at loading 8x10 holders, I spent half an hour trying to load the first sheet. It just would not fit under the rails. Eventually, I decided to waste a sheet loading in the daylight. I closed up everything and turned on the lights and realized I just wasted half an hour trying to load a piece of cardboard. Loading actual film was smooth sailing after that.

It could have been worse. Imagine if that cardboard fit in the holder and I exposed it and then took it to a lab and asked them to process it. How embarrassing would that be?

Cheers,
Mark Stahlke

joolsb
24-Jun-2008, 00:30
While we're getting all confessional, I did manage to drop a 5x4 in a river one time when I reached for what I thought was the lever to release the lock on my ballhead. It turned out to be the quick release lever for the camera. Fortunately, the river was shallow and the camera was easily retrieved - after a lot of anguished swearing. It even had the good sense to wrap itself in the plastic darkcloth before entering the water and only needed a little drying out afterwards. I even got the shot in the end....

And the other stupid thing that I've done more often than I care to admit is to pull the darkslide out that's closest to me, rather than the one that's closest to the lens. Doh!

Diane Maher
24-Jun-2008, 05:00
Wait until you pull an 8x10 filmholder after exposing the film (EPP100 color transparency) but BEFORE replacing the darkslide.

As a bonus, a bystander said (as I cursed and tore out the sheet) "Why did you throw it away? It was only in the sun for a little while".

Seriously, I don't think I have ever at any other time become so angry in such a short period of time.

I've pulled the darkslide before closing the shutter. Why does it seem to happen with either 8x10 color or IR film? :mad: Fortunately, it hasn't happened lately. :)

Joseph O'Neil
24-Jun-2008, 05:27
You know whats *really* depressing? I can read this thread every other day, and find a new post that makes me think "yep, I've been there" or "yep, I've done that."

Instead of this thread making me feel better, now i just feel super-duper stupid.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

EuGene Smith
24-Jun-2008, 06:18
Several years ago, at one of our DC area LF club meetings, a local college photography professor was telling stories about crazy happenings similar to the topic of this thread. One of the funniest he told was about two students in his LF class who pooled their funds to buy a full box of lF film. After the film came in, the professor walked in on the students as they were counting out the sheets of film and dividing it up . . . in a fully lit up classroom! Duh!

EuGene Smith
25-Jun-2008, 06:31
Whoops! That is supposed to be LF film, not IF (intermediate frequency?) film that the students were counting out in the room with the lights on. Eu

seawolf66
25-Jun-2008, 06:51
E. von Hoegh :
I remember 30 - odd years ago; my Grandfather was watching me rinse paper plates prior to burning them in the woodstove at hunting camp. He looked, and said "You know, it takes brains to do something that stupid".

Love it ! you can bet you where not the only one in life that has done that!

Mark Sawyer
25-Jun-2008, 08:33
Not a LF mistake, but a dumb one all the same; a few years ago I got my first medium format camera - a Yashica TLR. For days I kept thinking, "Gee, this waist level finder is fine and dandy until I have to shoot in portrait mode ..."

Then my teacher reminded me that the film is square 6x6. Doh!

- Jeff

And after I'd spent soooo many hours designing a rotating back for a Hasselblad...

I was in the hospital a few years back, looking at the x-ray of my slightly broken wrist with the doctor. And the first thing that popped into my mind was "we could just fix it in photoshop..."

Kirk Gittings
25-Jun-2008, 09:22
I've done plenty of my own, but the CLASSIC................

One of my assistants, years ago about 3 in the morning on a long shoot..... with a flash cord with a house hold plug.......yes, he plugged it into the wall sending 120 volts through my Prontor shutter. I was at the time around the front of the camera adjusting the aperture, when there was this loud pop and a large puff of smoke rose slowly out of the shutter. I jokingly said "are we hot yet?"

Mark Sawyer
25-Jun-2008, 09:34
I've done plenty of my own, but the CLASSIC................

One of my assistants, years ago about 3 in the morning on a long shoot..... with a flash cord with a house hold plug.......yes, he plugged it into the wall sending 120 volts through my Prontor shutter. I was at the time around the front of the camera adjusting the aperture, when there was this loud pop and a large puff of smoke rose slowly out of the shutter. I jokingly said "are we hot yet?"

Yup, I had a student plug a Minolta IV flash meter into a wall outlet a few years ago.

One less flash meter...

When it happens to you, it's :D
When it happens to me, it's :mad:

Frank Petronio
25-Jun-2008, 10:26
just back after an eternity without my laptop/internet (actually I see I posted on the 22nd, forgot that).

While being stupid in New Mexico I also forgot to cycle my Grafmatic a couple of times... triple exposures are wild... good thing I got more film ;-)

Hollis
25-Jun-2008, 23:03
damn, Ive been doing the commercial thing for awhile now and remember actually having to use sync cords (thank god for pocket wizards). I have never once thought about what would happen if you plugged it into the wall. Funny.

E. von Hoegh
26-Jun-2008, 15:18
E. von Hoegh :
I remember 30 - odd years ago; my Grandfather was watching me rinse paper plates prior to burning them in the woodstove at hunting camp. He looked, and said "You know, it takes brains to do something that stupid".

Love it ! you can bet you where not the only one in life that has done that!

Hel Wolf. If this thread is not limited to photo related stupidity, I can type pages - it could be good therapy.:D

There was an early 60s Benz engine I restored, to original factory specs and finish. I had screwed some old dead plugs in to prevent debris getting in that way during the assembly and installation. Engine in the car, oil pump primed, carbys filled, a spritz of gas down their throats, distributor installed and timed, plug wires and loom installed. I hit the key..... nothing. Hit the key again.... nothing. I pull a wire off to check for a spark... and realise the old plugs are still in. New plugs, hit the key, and the engine immediately fires and runs.

Bill Kumpf
27-Jun-2008, 05:35
Even after reading Richard K. comments on this thread, I went one step further yesterday. Rushing to process some FP4 in PMK, I managed to add solution B to the tray. Finished the process and, sure enough, solution A is still in the graduated cylinder………..DUH.

Murray
27-Jun-2008, 07:20
I got a broken 4x5 Crown Graphic & got it running. Before I had any film I had a friend load 2 sheets for me in one filmholder. I went to try and shoot a huge building with a 135 mm lens. I backed up further and further...walked around the fence to the street, still not far enough, gave up & decided half the building was good for a test.

Pulled the darkslide, shot, pushed the dark slide back in and it made this obviously WRONG crunching noise (not my fault, I didn't load the filmholder!). I pulled the darkslide back out & then tried to get the filmholder off the camera back - a couple tries & the whole mangled sheet of film popped out into the bellows. I had to take the glass panel off to get the film out. Then I pulled the second darkslide to see if the 2nd sheet was....loaded...ok..@#^#.

I went home. Went back to rollfilm for a while.

Murray
27-Jun-2008, 07:33
TRIPLE exposing a roll of 35mm film. I think double in the first pass in an Argus C-3 that invites multiple exposure, then removed & loaded into another camera because the leader was still accessible.

I still can't imagine how it was even possible. One good image.

Photojeep
28-Jun-2008, 15:16
I have done too many stupid things to share but I will share what happened to a fellow large format photographer a few years ago.

After spending many many hours lighting a factory, which was in full production, my friend made his first exposure on polaroid. He removed his pola holder, flipped the lever to P and when he pulled his film out, his hand hit the emergency shut off switch. The emergency switch for the whole factory. Every light and machine went off. It took about 15 minutes to get all the lights back on and another 2 hours to get all of the machines back up and running.

Gustavo
28-Jun-2008, 15:31
here is duzy
I was developing some 11 X
I decide to mix another batch of PMK
but alas I grabbed a bottle of fixer instead and proceeded to mix the "DEVELOPER"
a few minutes latter I wonder what the smell was hm.......
That PMK sure smells funny ...

Photojeep
28-Jun-2008, 15:33
What the heck,
Back in school about 25 years ago, I was having problems developing some black and white film. The first roll came out rather thin and I sincd I didn't want to deal with printing thin negs I figured I would just do it again. Besides, since I was obviously developing it too long I could fix it! I re-shot my assignment, and took off about 10%, thinking that should be enough of a reduction. Well, they too came out thin. In fact, I noticed they were thinner than the first roll. Well, not to be deterred, I re-shot again and took another 20% off this time. This damned over developing was making my film too thin! I think my time was reduced to around 2 minutes by this time.

Needless to say, I was completely confused when I discovered this roll was even thinner than the first two rolls. I grabbed my last roll, still dripping photo flo, and went off to find my teacher. As I was waiting for him to get off the phone, it suddenly dawned on me what I was doing... Happily he never saw me.

aduncanson
5-Jul-2008, 11:38
I am just getting back into photography in a significant way and, although I am not generally a fastidious person, I am convinced that some measure of process control will help me make a better product. Therefore I am trying to impose some discipline on my photo techniques, and I have decided that that needs to include taking notes on the exposures I make.

I had just noticed a photo opportunity in my characteristically un-fastidious backyard. I needed a loaded film holder and so I dipped down into my darkroom and came back with two. I stepped out back and found a pleasing perspective on the cascade of redbud leaves, some in bright sun and some in shadow. I set up and focused the camera, (Busch Pressman with 203mm Ektar), waited for the light to return and made one exposure at f/22 @ 1/25 and then another with two stops more exposure just in case I had made a bad miscalculation. I carried my equipment back into the house and checked the new message on my answering machine. I got back to making my notes and realized that I was not sure whether I had exposed the sheets in my holder #3 or my holder #4. I went to see which darkslides were turned to indicate that they had been exposed and found that both darkslides on both holders had been turned. I guess that I had forgotten to put some of them in with the white side out when I loaded the holders. About then I realized that I had also forgotten to change the exposure for the second sheet, so both sheets, whichever ones they were, had received the same exposure. I am hoping that I did not somehow mix an exposed holder among my unexposed ones.

And I had just decided that this sheet film stuff is really not so difficult after all.

Clay Turtle
8-Jul-2008, 06:47
I am just getting back into photography in a significant way and, although I am not generally a fastidious person, I am convinced that some measure of process control will help me make a better product. Therefore I am trying to impose some discipline on my photo techniques, and I have decided that that needs to include taking notes on the exposures I make.

And I had just decided that this sheet film stuff is really not so difficult after all.Ya, I done that more than once, I would spend some time doing outdoor shots then when I would get back, I didn't run the film in for processing . . . time would pass & I would move things around & find "Now which of these holders did I shoot & which were not exposed? Let see was it black out unexposed & white for exposed or was it the other way around? Then there is the gee I wonder what kind of film is that holder? Got the bugs out of the system . . . little sticky tabs which I write down film type & speed then lap over the slides indicating the film holder contains unexposed film. Now, all I have to contend with is the sticky notes falling off or worst yet the glue leaving a residue! Ya, I developed a whole system of multiple checks to maintain an orderly procedure, now all I have to do is spend the time to do the procedural checks so I don't make such mistakes.
But keeping a shooting log or diary certainly is a good thing to do. keeping it up to date tends to be a problem that & of course, remembering to bring it along? Which brings up size & little things like pens or pencils to be added to to the list of paraphernalia to bring along.

snip
9-Jul-2008, 20:45
I haven't done that either. But I HAVE developed two rolls of 120 HP5 in my selenium toner, fixed it and spent two hours trying to figure out why I got no images.

That's almost like the time I stuffed 4 rolls of 120 Velvia in my Paterson tank and developed them with HC110 was amazed at the purple developer coming out, and yet managed to fix them AND hang them to dry before walking over to the post office and post off 4 rolls of HP5 to my E-06 lab who phoned me back the next day and asked if this was a joke?

I myself thought that was beyond regular stupid and have never admitted to it before.

//Jan

snip
9-Jul-2008, 20:47
What the heck,
Back in school about 25 years ago, I was having problems developing some black and white film. The first roll came out rather thin and I sincd I didn't want to deal with printing thin negs I figured I would just do it again. Besides, since I was obviously developing it too long I could fix it! I re-shot my assignment, and took off about 10%, thinking that should be enough of a reduction. Well, they too came out thin. In fact, I noticed they were thinner than the first roll. Well, not to be deterred, I re-shot again and took another 20% off this time. This damned over developing was making my film too thin! I think my time was reduced to around 2 minutes by this time.

Needless to say, I was completely confused when I discovered this roll was even thinner than the first two rolls. I grabbed my last roll, still dripping photo flo, and went off to find my teacher. As I was waiting for him to get off the phone, it suddenly dawned on me what I was doing... Happily he never saw me.


I don't mean to sound dumb, but a man that never asks will remain dumb, what WERE you doing wrong?

//Jan

raucousimages
10-Jul-2008, 10:05
I once drove several hundered miles to photograph an event with a 810M. With several people watching me set up and interested to see an 8X10 used I realised I had left the film holders in the garage when I packed the truck. At least I had a MF with me.

If you don't feel real stupid every now and again you must be just sitting safely at home doing nothing.

Kirk Gittings
10-Jul-2008, 11:34
Two more good ones:

I once drove to a commercial shoot way out on the Navajo reservation and forgot my tripod. It was a little overcast, but would probably clear as the day advanced, I told the client, I didn't like the weather, drove home and back again the next morning.

I once grabbed the wrong stack of film holders, that were blown out but not loaded instead of the loaded ones. Shot all day for a client and had nothing to show for it.

Daniel_Buck
10-Jul-2008, 12:25
Here's one that I keep doing, now that I'm starting to shooting a bit of 100 speed film along side my 320 speed film. I keep shooting my 320 speed film at 100 ISO cause I left the dial on my meter at 100.

Good part is, I always seem to catch it after the first shot, I click the shutter then start moving on to the next location thinking that the shutter speed felt a little long... then I look down at my meter and YUP it's at 100. haha! I keep doing this, but yet it never occurs to me to check the ISO on the meter while I'm actually metering, only AFTER I've taken the shot and have moved on :-( guess I just need to be more diligent with my meter.

Vlad Soare
10-Jul-2008, 13:00
I don't mean to sound dumb, but a man that never asks will remain dumb, what WERE you doing wrong?
He was underdeveloping the negatives, and instead of increasing the time he kept decreasing it, thus deepening the problem instead of solving it. ;)

Photojeep
11-Jul-2008, 21:46
I don't mean to sound dumb, but a man that never asks will remain dumb, what WERE you doing wrong?

//Jan

Instead of giving my film the proper amount of development, I was giving it less development by larger and larger degrees. The less development it received, the thinner it became. If I had only paid attention to the results of my ever-shortening development time, I would have figured it out much sooner.

rb

mealers
12-Jul-2008, 13:31
I'm very new to LF....

First time I took my Shen Hao out (last week) it took me so long to get the correct movements the sun went down.:o

raucousimages
12-Jul-2008, 18:02
Sit on the sofa. Turn on the TV. Set up the camera and just spend an hour playing with it useing the TV as a focal point. Go through all the movements until they are natural to the touch. When you go out to shoot start with focus only and maybe add front tilt at first. Add multipul movements one at a time and you won't become overwhelmed.

PS. I still miss shots on days I just don't get the movements right. It can be a frusterating learning curve but worth it.

Jean-Louis Llech
12-Jul-2008, 23:33
All photographers are always little children in front of a X'mas tree when they have a new camera or photo gear in their hands. Did you already see a child carefully reading his new toy's user manual ?
I always read carefully all manuals or instructions leaflets even before buying a camera or another piece of gear. The best way to see if it will answer to my needs. (That's also why I have a huge collection of manuals).
Then I spend several hours or days to "play" with it at home before trying it in real conditions.

And paradoxically, all mistakes begin immediately after that. That's probably one of the first laws of mankind.

Nevertheless, I am SOoooo happy to learn (wow, "learn", what a funny word here) that I am only a tiny member of an immense confraternity. Thanks so much, brothers !

A software is always installed into the computer, not in the user's brain.
Happily, computers have no sense of humour : otherwise they would spend more time laughing at us than doing the job.