Old lenses have turned me into an equipment geek... [Archive]

Mark Sawyer

16-Aug-2008, 12:30

You might have noticed I haven't posted many (any?) images for the past three or four months. I put it aside for a while as a friend and I built an addition onto my house over the summer, a studio and place to keep my photo-crap. I miss the image making, but have really enjoyed the construction process, which is largely wrapping up.

I'm back to 50-60 hour weeks teaching high school now, but in any spare time, I'm building furniture for the new room. The very first project: a new lens cabinet! It started out as a big pink-and-green dresser bought from Goodwill for $99. From the flower stickers and Hello Kitty decals that were all over it, I'd guess it's last service was in a little girl's bedroom, but with a deep red cherry finish and a new hutch on top, it'll keep the lenses happy. I still need to add glass doors to the front and crown-work on top, but it's getting there...

I put the lenses in it a couple of nights ago, then sat back with a nice beer and admired my mess. And I realized these old lenses (and okay, a few newer ones) have turned me into an equipment geek. Still, you have to love them...

Hoping to have the studio actually up and running in a couple more months. And thanks for indulging my self-involved post!

Glenn Thoreson

16-Aug-2008, 12:53

That is WAY cool! I bet my old lens accumulation would enjoy something like that. Nice work! :D

Bruce Watson

16-Aug-2008, 12:58

That looks like about 100 lenses! Yes, I'd say you qualify as an equipment geek. It makes me shudder to look at it -- because I carry all my lenses on my back when I head up the mountain. All five. Hmmm... maybe I've got equipment deficit disorder...

Ron Marshall

16-Aug-2008, 13:01

Beautiful job refinishing that dresser!

IanG

16-Aug-2008, 13:15

Mark, a van from Istanbul is on it's way, I'm very worried your not storing those lenses properly, so we'll store them for you, what address should they come to :D

You can visit every year or two for a day or so . . . .

Nice collection but where's the Hypergon !!!

Ian

Mark Sawyer

16-Aug-2008, 14:11

Thanks, guys! Yes, Bruce, I think you have a mild case of EDD, but I've seen worse. Actually, for the first five or six years I had my 8x10, I had only one lens, a 9 1/2" Velostigmat with the variable diffusion in a Studio shutter. It never held me back, and I still have it and use it.

Ian ~ Since the Hypergon has it's own dedicated camera, it lives on it in it's own case in the closet. Poor, lonely little lens...

And I'll take your storage offer under advisement... :)

Nathan Potter

16-Aug-2008, 17:12

Mark, this looks like a good start to an "Old West Museum". Very nice.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

Morten

16-Aug-2008, 17:35

A role model, if I ever did see one!!! :-)

snuck

16-Aug-2008, 18:09

This is fantastic! Great woodworking skills too!..
Cheers

Turner Reich

16-Aug-2008, 18:15

Absolutely, positively, fantastic. I love wood working and am in the process of coming up with a cabinet too. I am going to add some glass doors on mine to keep the dust out. I have to get the collection out so I can see them too. Maybe that way I'll start to reduce my spending on old lenses and shutters. I was worried about security when I am away, maybe some removable sections to fit in a gun safe or just insurance? They are irreplaceable so insurance just does not cover the historical value.

Great job indeed.

Capocheny

16-Aug-2008, 18:39

Hi Mark,

Nicely done... so, who gets the job of dusting all those treasures? :)

Cheers

wfwhitaker

16-Aug-2008, 20:12

Mark,

I'm in awe. (Or is it envy?) I should have become a teacher; I had no idea it was so lucrative! I'd love to see a list of what's on your shelves.

http://wfwhitaker.com/images/GlassMenagerie.jpg
The Glass Menagerie

Mark Sawyer

16-Aug-2008, 20:13

It's fun joining two different creative endeavors, in this case photography and woodworking. In large format especially, I think that happens quite a bit for many of us. I started the glass-front doors this afternoon. :)

For security, I'm reying on bars over the windows. They aren't on the new room yet, but will be soon. I hate living in a world where such things are necessary, but reality is what reality is... :(

Thanks again, everybody! When I have it all done, I'll post a couple more images...

Mark Sawyer

16-Aug-2008, 20:22

I think your collection rivals mine, Will! (Are those Veritos in the back row?) I have some clunkers and junkers in my cabinet, but some really nice ones too. The surprising thing is, some of the nearly worthless lenses produce images as beautiful as some of the "stars".

BTW, I don't think teaching would fit too many people's idea of "lucrative". I'm in my 11th year, and haven't broken the $40k/year ceiling yet...

Jim Galli

16-Aug-2008, 21:05

WOW! A man after me own heart. My woodworking skills are hampered somewhat by my favorite woodworking tool. My chainsaw. Alas most of my best lenses aren't out to be eye candy. They live in a Fire King safe most of the time. Drawer 3 is the "Cooke" drawer. I need to do a family portrait sometime. Nice work Mark. That IS impressive.

wfwhitaker

16-Aug-2008, 21:09

I think your collection rivals mine, Will! ...

Not even! But I think Galli holds the trump card. ;)

Ole Tjugen

16-Aug-2008, 21:49

I've got to show this thread to my wife... :D :p

eddie

16-Aug-2008, 21:52

holy cow batman! with you guys around my wife will never give me a hard time again!

eddie

Jan Pedersen

16-Aug-2008, 21:54

Mark and Will, impressive collections. I would be scared to leave the house with all these trophies left behind.

Shen45

16-Aug-2008, 23:00

Not even! But I think Galli holds the trump card. ;)

In 2006 Kevin Saitta and I visited the Nevada lens mine and I admit to awe when I realised I was standing "in" the collection and not actually "looking" at it. I can't say for certain but there did seem to be a greenish glow from a crack in the floor so another delivery was probably due. When I returned to Australia I had a Verito and a Velostigmat. They have bred over time but thankfully I think I have found a cure -- use them and keep them separated. Mark your cabinet is beautiful but "they are too close" if you know what I mean !!

Pete Roody

17-Aug-2008, 08:46

holy cow batman! with you guys around my wife will never give me a hard time again!

eddie

she will if you buy those 5 8x10 enlargers you were looking at. stick with lenses. they are easier to hide.

Mark Sawyer

17-Aug-2008, 09:07

holy cow batman! with you guys around my wife will never give me a hard time again!

I've got to show this thread to my wife... :D :p

Hmmm... I wonder if this explains why I never got married....

Mike Castles

17-Aug-2008, 09:27

Well, at least I know WHY I can never find one of those old lens or win one on that site...between Jim, Mark and Will (and I think Ole might have a lens or 2 sitting around as well - seem to recall a photo of his lens collection looking something like Mark's) ;)

Oh, well it left me with enought $ to have a Ritter Camera made (not a bad deal after all)

Brian Ellis

17-Aug-2008, 10:03

You're obviously not married (or if you are you won't be for long). : - )

Ole Tjugen

17-Aug-2008, 11:09

... (and I think Ole might have a lens or 2 sitting around as well - seem to recall a photo of his lens collection looking something like Mark's) ...

More like Will's, but less well organised:
http://foto.no/cgi-bin/bildegalleri/vis_bilde.cgi?id=278602

That picture is a little out of date, but there will be a new one coming as soon as I've got www.casket-set.com online. That will hopefully be in a few weeks, but in the meanwhile I'm concentrating on that when I'm not working.

My "accumulation" is more of the "yes, I've got one of those" variety: There seems to be one of every major type, one of every focal length, one of every age, and one of a surprising number of very obscure lenses. That's why if someone has a question about something really obscure (and German), it's quite possible that "yes, I've got one of those". :)

In the meanwhile here are some convertible Symmars - the 150mm was hiding from this picture, I found it later inside the Gandolfi Variant!

Steve Sherman

17-Aug-2008, 17:17

Hmmm... I wonder if this explains why I never got married....

Told my wife I thought she needed a new dinning room hutch. She asked if had a another style in mind. I showed her this picture and said "Just like this one"

Somehow she didn't find the humor I was hoping for

Congrats on both of your passions!

goamules

17-Aug-2008, 17:29

snuck

17-Aug-2008, 18:15

Being a teacher is hardly lucractive, at least when you're starting out....

I'm looking at my empty bank account right now.

Michael Graves

17-Aug-2008, 18:20

I showed this to my wife so she'd quit bitching and moaning about how much gear I buy.

All I succeeded in was getting a stern warning to to get THAT carried away. We gotta get together some day, Mark. I'll bring a couple of the textbooks I wrote and you can tell me you don't want to use them, and then I can write the expenses off on my taxes.

Diane Maher

17-Aug-2008, 18:21

My husband doesn't want another camera to show up in the house. But I only want one more! I suspect if I try that one, I'll have to sell some stuff. It might actually be worth it though.

Mark Sawyer

17-Aug-2008, 19:38

Mark,
there seems to be something in the desert air that fosters (infects?) lens owners. There are at least a couple others in Tucson with more lenses than we can use in a month...or so. My brass ones:

Yup, there are a couple of collections owned by Western Photographic Historical Society members that make mine seem piddling. But they mostly use theirs as dust collectors... Hey, we'll have to get together sometime, Garrett. The studio and new darkroom should be finished in a few months, and I was thinking of hosting a local lf gathering. There are a few of us in Tucson...

And Michael, yes, definitely let me know if you want to come down this way. The Center for Creative Photography alone is worth the trip!

goamules

20-Aug-2008, 17:44

Sure Mark, I'd love to. I need to learn from someone! I've been doing wetplate, but have never developed any film other than 35mm! I keep wanting to learn the "easier" and "newer" process! PM me and we'll plan it.

G

Jim Graves

21-Aug-2008, 17:34

O.K. ... I showed my wife this thread ... her response after reading about the gun safe and window bars: "Oh, I don't think they have to worry about anyone wanting to steal that stuff!!!!"

Seems to be a real lack of appreciation for fine glass and brass.

Actually, she's very supportive of all my photography acquisitions ... but then she has 3 quarter horses in training ... and, if you think lenses are expensive! So it makes a nice cover for my hobby for which I am most appreciative.

Very nice Mark ... I'll have to make it down to photography heaven there for a visit.

Jim in Sacramento

Natasa Stojsic

22-Aug-2008, 11:32

WOW Mark!!! & WOW Will!!!

I'll marry you both:p heheehehe!!!

alec4444

22-Aug-2008, 19:35

I showed this to my wife so she'd quit bitching and moaning about how much gear I buy.

All I succeeded in was getting a stern warning to to get THAT carried away.

How is that possible? Photography seems to be a family business up there!!!

I'm lucky in that my wife sees all lenses as identical-looking "hockey pucks". As long as I don't pull out more than two at a time, they all look the same to her. Hence, while absolutely stunning, I can never put a case together like the stunning one Mark showed us. More like Galli with a safe.... :D

So Mark, have you made at least one printable photo from each of those lenses?

Cheers!
--A

shadow images

22-Aug-2008, 22:17

Yup, there are a couple of collections owned by Western Photographic Historical Society members that make mine seem piddling. But they mostly use theirs as dust collectors... Hey, we'll have to get together sometime, Garrett. The studio and new darkroom should be finished in a few months, and I was thinking of hosting a local lf gathering. There are a few of us in Tucson...

And Michael, yes, definitely let me know if you want to come down this way. The Center for Creative Photography alone is worth the trip!

Would love to meet a few other LF photogs, let me know if you decide to do a gathering. Would love to come down that way. Lyle (glendale,az)

Mark Sawyer

23-Aug-2008, 09:53

So Mark, have you made at least one printable photo from each of those lenses?

Cheers!
--A

Most I've used at least once, but there are a few favorites I tend to return to again and again. A couple I'm saving for something special. And a few (like the Hypergon), I want to devote a stretch of time to. But when I retire (4 years, 254 days), I want to go through all of them, a lens a day. It gives me something to look forward to!

Funny thing is, on one level, the lenses are important, the renditions they give, their histories, their individual capabilities... But then, there's the work itself.

wfwhitaker

23-Aug-2008, 09:59

...But when I retire (4 years, 254 days), I want to go through all of them, a lens a day...

Life's amazing coincidences... That's when I retire, almost to the day! (Natasa take note. ;))

Mark, we'll have to have a party. BYOL.

~Will

W K Longcor

23-Aug-2008, 10:08

[QUOTE=Mark Sawyer;382041] I want to go through all of them, a lens a day. QUOTE]

What a great idea! And, a wonderful way to get to know the lens -- devote a full day to photographing with one lens and explore all its possibilities.:cool:

Ole Tjugen

23-Aug-2008, 13:36

So Mark, have you made at least one printable photo from each of those lenses?

While I'm not Mark, I'll answer anyway:

No.

I have something like 20 printworthy photos, and a lot more printable ones. But my printworthy photos are lagging my lens accumulation by quite a bit. However I have used several old brass thingies with good success, including a Meyer Aristoplanat, a Zeiss Doppel-Amatar, a 1930's Schneider Angulon 210mm, and a nameless British 3 1/4" wide angle Rectilinear. each of these lenses gave me printworthy pictures that would have been impossible with modern lenses.