PDA

View Full Version : Camera stuff--who did it come from?



John Kasaian
13-Oct-2008, 07:21
Many of us appear to be "gear-heads" while some of us are minimalists when it comes to our approach to large format gear. What we have in common is that this gear has to have come from somewhere. Some build their own while others buy (and the fortunate few given) what they need either new or used.

It is the used cameras and lenses and accoutrements I'm interested in here.

How many of us have historically significant stuff in our kits and darkrooms? Cameras or lenses that have belonged to notable if not famous photographers? Equipment that once (that we know of) was used in some endeavor of commerce or exploration?

Do you have gear that has a story connected to it? And how does it effect you? I mean if you owned a lens once used by Ansel Adams or Edward Weston, do you put it on a shelf as a relic or does the very fact that it is what it is inspire you to be...I don't know...some how try to be more "worthy" in your photographic efforts? Or is it simply another lens no different from any other?
I don't mean to limit the discussion to just lenses---I'm just offering that as an example---any photo gear is welcome--cameras, enlargers, film holders etc....anything having to do with photography and photographers.

wfwhitaker
13-Oct-2008, 07:32
I have a 7x11 film holder that purportedly belonged to Zane Grey. Now there's a non-sequitur for you. Of course, I have no documentation, so it's anybody's guess. But I'll have to bring it if I ever move back out west.

PaulRicciardi
13-Oct-2008, 07:57
While not LF, my Leica once belonged to a Miami Herald photographer. That's nothing too special but photos from the Leica ended up in the portfolio which got me my job at a newspaper. I imagine some of the photojournalistic mojo must have carried over.

Michael Graves
13-Oct-2008, 08:24
My 8x10 Toyo and 300mm Fujinon came from Arizona Highways photographer Trevor Stanley. He wasn't hugely famous, but he had a lot of covers for AH and several other magazines during the late 70's and into the 80's. He did large format color landscapes.

Nathan Potter
13-Oct-2008, 08:35
None of my equipment has been affiliated with anyone or anything of note - like some say, of my photography.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

Pete Watkins
13-Oct-2008, 08:56
My 8x10 / 11x14 once belonged to the British photographer Terence Donovan. I have enough documentation to proove this is true including the auction house catalogue when all his gear was sold off after his sad death. Looking at all the cameras he owned I won't claim that he ever used it, he just owned it. I bought it to use it, 11x14's don't turn up very often over here.
Pete.

BrianShaw
13-Oct-2008, 13:26
My godfather gave me an old camera of his and even though he is nobody of photographic importance I more often than not leave it on the shelf. I'm sentimental, I guess.

matthew050204
13-Oct-2008, 14:26
My camera was given to me by my aunt who had a real passion for photography and could create incredible things with a camera. I love it to bits and it’s the only one I ever use. I think it’s kind of more sentimental when you get the used camera from someone you actually know as opposed to a famous photographer, because it makes you feel close to the person who gave it to you. Obviously you can admire famous photographers, but I don’t think it’s the same kind of reverential feeling.

Merg Ross
13-Oct-2008, 17:11
An item that I use with my 8x10 is a Baco clamshell head. Brett Weston used it with his Ries and gave it to me many years ago. It is by far my ugliest piece of equipment.

After photographing from his truck roof platform in Mexico during the 1950's, Brett drove away, neglecting to stow the tripod. The Ries survived the crash fine, however the Baco was in three pieces. Brett found a skilled welder in the wilds of Mexico who put it back into one piece, ground it flat, and Brett was on his way again. After returning to the States he purchased a new Baco head and gave me the old one. It has been my companion for over fifty years.

claudiocambon
13-Oct-2008, 17:21
An item that I use with my 8x10 is a Baco clamshell head. Brett Weston used it with his Ries and gave it to me many years ago. It is by far my ugliest piece of equipment.

After photographing from his truck roof platform in Mexico during the 1950's, Brett drove away, neglecting to stow the tripod. The Ries survived the crash fine, however the Baco was in three pieces. Brett found a skilled welder in the wilds of Mexico who put it back into one piece, ground it flat, and Brett was on his way again. After returning to the States he purchased a new Baco head and gave me the old one. It has been my companion for over fifty years.

You win, Merg!

Allen in Montreal
13-Oct-2008, 20:02
You win, Merg!

Agreed!

I have my dad's old Sped Graphic and his old Nikkormat FTN.
But I regret selling his old Rollie to fund a Nikon. :mad:

I have a picture of him shooting the 1959 Stanley Cup with a Nikon SP, not sure what ever happened to that camera.

Vaughn
13-Oct-2008, 20:57
My father gave me his old Rolleiflex and that started me on my way...he is not famous...he just had used it with the 35mm adapter to make the family slides. He "upgraded" to an easier-to-use Instamatic 804 (top of the line).

My Zone VI 8x10 was bought used from Midwest Photo...used but pristine. It was obviously owned by a photographer who knew not what he/she was doing. The fensel lens was placed on the lens side of the GG and there was also a piece of mylar with curved lines drawn on it stuck between Frensel and the GG. Perhaps bought for some strange project and he/she never could figure out why the images on the film were never quite sharp. So thank you unknown photographer, your loss was my gain!

Vaughn

Allen in Montreal
13-Oct-2008, 21:04
...... The fensel lens was placed on the lens side of the GG..... and he/she never could figure out why the images on the film were never quite sharp......

Vaughn

Wasn't there a fad years back with IR film and people were shimming their GG by reversing the frensel or some such thing? I never jumped on those band wagons (nor did I for cross processing) but I seem to recall talk around the lab, of guys who were doing that for about two years back in the early 90s or so.

Vaughn
13-Oct-2008, 21:35
Wasn't there a fad years back with IR film and people were shimming their GG by reversing the frensel or some such thing? I never jumped on those band wagons (nor did I for cross processing) but I seem to recall talk around the lab, of guys who were doing that for about two years back in the early 90s or so.

Was there 8x10 IR film? That would have been cool. I bought the camera in 1995 or thereabouts.

Vaughn

David A. Goldfarb
13-Oct-2008, 21:49
Well, now I have 31 8x10" Mido filmholders formerly owned by Michael Fatali. I don't want to think about the karma that may come with them.

I had an FD 300/4.0L that I bought from New York Newsday after they went digital, and I'm sure it took many published news photographs.

I lent my good friend Stephen Longmire my 4x5" Gowland while his two Deardorff Specials were chez Hough, and he made a good number of the photographs in his new book about Sag Harbor with it.

And now I've got Ted Harris's Acratech Leveling Head, and he was a pretty level guy, so I'm sure it will do its level best.

Kirk Fry
13-Oct-2008, 22:29
I have a 14 in Commercial Ektar that came on an old plywood lens board that was 9 inches square with an old packard in back of it. There are not a lot of cameras with 9 inch lens boards. It looked like it was well used and probably made someone a living for a long time. Carol Miller at Flutot's put the NO. 5 Ilex back into service and it makes great pictures. These are great old lenses that should be used, they supported a whole generation of commercial photographers. K

Miguel Coquis
14-Oct-2008, 01:56
My Weston Ranger IX is still giving good light value readings. It was a great trade a made with Minor White in 1973. He took my "poncho" and I got his "light meter".
I think he was very happy, it was very cold up in the Cordillera Blanca.
I remember very well when he says: "keep seeing in zones, even when you are having coffee ... !"
This exercise have become for me like a visual meditation.

Ash
14-Oct-2008, 02:31
Zeiss Nettar 515
This camera belonged to my grandfather's brother. His brother gave it to him and it traveled around Europe. Eventually it was put into a draw and forgotten about, until a year or so ago when it was given to me.

Goerz Dagor 180/6,8
My grandfather was given this lens by his wife's boss, I believe either upon leaving her job or shortly before. It was the only piece of his darkroom equipment that he didn't give away. Story goes that it was an expensive lens but the boss didn't have a need for it, and due to the jammed focus helical (it's from a strut camera, but he didn't know this) was used as an enlarger lens. I bought a Polaroid Press shutter, and mounted the cells in this so it could be used as a proper taking lens.

Dogmar 150/4,5
Randy sent me this lens shortly before his blindness (from a tumor behind the eyes I think) took hold badly. I've still got it in-barrel as the rear element is jammed and I can't remove it without damage. I'm waiting to cut it out once I have a new shutter for it :)

Korona 5x4
This was a gift from Simon Benton, and I had to assemble the camera upon arrival. That was pretty fun. I do love the camera, it sees not as much use now though as the Razzle is my go-to for fast portraits.

Summicron 50/2 coll.
One of my leica lenses, an old collapsible Summicron was given to me by a member of another forum who lives in Australia. Funnily enough at the time I'd been given a Jupiter-12 in perfect condition, and I wasn't using it, so I sent it to the member in return for the very scratched 'cron. He was happy so was I! :)

Kodak Ground Camera
The Half-Plate camera (now swapped and gone) was bought from a guy who saw my ad on evilbay, he said he'd bought it from a camera fair in the hopes of sorting it out for use, but it ended up sitting in a box for years, until he passed it on for me in exchange for money ;)

Vivitar 285 flash
I was given this by a member of another forum who was moving from UK to NZ, it was a surprise and I hadn't expected it, but it's been my main flash up until buying a metz 45CL1 for slightly more power.

All the rest of my pre-owned stuff has a forgotten history, as the dealers don't usually ask where the camera came from!

reellis67
14-Oct-2008, 05:58
I have a Korona 8x10 that was purchased by the TVA (part of the New Deal) and which was used for many years to photograph around their project areas. It was sold to one of the people who used it and I picked it up after that man's death. It came with the original government receipt and is complete with the original lens and shutter shown on the receipt. While not a famous photographer, I think it qualifies as something of photographic historical interest and it is certainly of greater value to me for that reason.

I've been planning to take it back to Tennessee to photograph some of the same places the TVA photographed (those that are not underwater that is), just for my own edification, but I'm kinda eccentric like that anyway...

- Randy

reellis67
14-Oct-2008, 06:05
Zeiss Nettar 515
Korona 5x4
This was a gift from Simon Benton, and I had to assemble the camera upon arrival. That was pretty fun. I do love the camera, it sees not as much use now though as the Razzle is my go-to for fast portraits.

I think that these all come in that condition - mine certainly did. Once I rebuilt it it became my #1 camera, and remains so today;) . The only thing that it has historically going for it is that one of my favorite Ansel Adams photographs was made using the same model, although I somehow doubt that this one belonged to Adams...

- Randy

Diane Maher
14-Oct-2008, 06:08
My favorite story regarding camera stuff is in regards to my 6.5" x 8.5" Crown Anastigmat. A couple of years ago, I came into possession of a large amount of gear from a studio photographer's son. His father had done photography probably from the 30's to the 80's (I really don't know the exact dates).

Anyway, after several hours of me looking through his late father's gear, he wanted to show me some stuff in the basement. So we went down there and in the dark corner of the basement is this really large thing (I later found out that it was a carbon arc lamp projector) with a lens on a board sitting on top. I picked up the lens board and it was absolutely filthy with soot/dust/who knows what else, the front filter ring was dented, and there was a scratch on the front element. The outside of the shutter was filthy, it is a Compound shutter, which takes an air bulb release.

I decided to give this lens a home, along with quite a few other items, which I will not list here (as I did shortly after I acquired this stuff). After acquiring a piston from SK Grimes, a local repairman was able to fix the shutter on this lens, he cleaned it up as best he could and lo and behold, I had a functioning lens. :D

It is my favorite lens for my Japanese whole plate camera and I call it, "the dirtiest lens I ever loved".

Brian Ellis
14-Oct-2008, 09:36
I've seen John Sexton's cameras. Does that count?

I seem to recall reading that Don Imus paid a huge sum at auction to buy the Hasselblad that Ansel Adams used.

My mother used the same camera - a folding Ansco - to make all the family photos she made during my childhood. I've always regretted not keeping that camera after she died.

Alan Curtis
14-Oct-2008, 12:34
I held two of the cameras that went into space and then to the moon. My father worked for several aerospace agencies in the 50's-70's and one of his jobs was to select camera's that the astronauts would use. One was a 35mm Nikon with Zeiss lenses and the other was a Hasselblad. I think the Hasselblad is still on the moon attached to a tripod.

domenico Foschi
14-Oct-2008, 12:38
I think the Hasselblad is still on the moon attached to a tripod.

Oh no! Don't tell that story to Jim Galli!

Alan Curtis
14-Oct-2008, 16:52
Donenico
Do you think he would try to get a space craft to go get it?
My father said that the camera had removable film backs and Neil Armstrong forgot the camera. Very expensive over $100,000 in the late 60's.

domenico Foschi
14-Oct-2008, 17:19
Will you stop it, already?! :)

Harold_4074
15-Oct-2008, 12:04
Another not-LF: a Nikon S1 (not the later, more modern SP...) that came from a Post Exchange in Japan in 1951; it was used by my father to copy documents in his work in Army Counterintelligence. At the time, the objective was to keep the Communists from taking over Japanese labor unions, and since Dad had taught himself Japanese, he could visit folks without an interpreter. Xerox machines were well into the future; every American seemed to have a camera on his shoulder, so the Nikon attracted no attention at all. But Dad's briefcase contained a home-made collapsible copying frame with built-in lights. In a place and time when the standard Army camera was a Speed Graphic, no one suspected that an ordinary Army officer could copy documents with only what he had in his hand.

The copy frame is long since gone, but I still have the camera, the original sales slip, and the closeup attachment with the optics for correcting the rangefinder. A family heirloom and true relic of the early days of the cold war.....also, the camera that I learned photography on.

Rick Moore
15-Oct-2008, 13:31
Donenico
Do you think he would try to get a space craft to go get it?
My father said that the camera had removable film backs and Neil Armstrong forgot the camera. Very expensive over $100,000 in the late 60's.

The camera and tripod were left on the moon deliberately and the same thing happened on each successful lunar mission. The camera body and tripod weighed several pounds and by leaving all non-essential items on the lunar surface, the LEM ascent stage, which had a very limited rocket engine, could bring back more lunar rocks.

I'm not sure the offer is still in effect, but for years, Hasselblad offered a reward for anyone who retrieved one of the camera bodies from the lunar surface.

domenico Foschi
15-Oct-2008, 13:56
Has anybody noticed that Jim Galli hasn't intervened in this forum for a while now?
I wonder where he is.....

Tony Lakin
15-Oct-2008, 14:17
My Cooke series XV was given to me from a box of gear that was acquired by a local photographic dealer on the Isle Of Man, I doubt it was owned by AA I couldn't be that lucky:)
Anyone know the serial number of his?

Allen in Montreal
15-Oct-2008, 14:56
Has anybody noticed that Jim Galli hasn't intervened in this forum for a while now?
I wonder where he is.....

Lets hope he is either taking some great pix or in the darkroom printing them and will soon share them with us! :)

EuGene Smith
18-Oct-2008, 20:09
I think Galli is the guy that has been skulking around Cape Canaveral lately . . . maybe to stow away on the next moon shot? :D

Jim Galli
21-Oct-2008, 18:41
Zeiss Nettar 515
This camera belonged to my grandfather's brother. His brother gave it to him and it traveled around Europe. Eventually it was put into a draw and forgotten about, until a year or so ago when it was given to me.

Goerz Dagor 180/6,8
My grandfather was given this lens by his wife's boss, I believe either upon leaving her job or shortly before. It was the only piece of his darkroom equipment that he didn't give away. Story goes that it was an expensive lens but the boss didn't have a need for it, and due to the jammed focus helical (it's from a strut camera, but he didn't know this) was used as an enlarger lens. I bought a Polaroid Press shutter, and mounted the cells in this so it could be used as a proper taking lens.

Dogmar 150/4,5
Randy sent me this lens shortly before his blindness (from a tumor behind the eyes I think) took hold badly. I've still got it in-barrel as the rear element is jammed and I can't remove it without damage. I'm waiting to cut it out once I have a new shutter for it :)

Korona 5x4
This was a gift from Simon Benton, and I had to assemble the camera upon arrival. That was pretty fun. I do love the camera, it sees not as much use now though as the Razzle is my go-to for fast portraits.

Summicron 50/2 coll.
One of my leica lenses, an old collapsible Summicron was given to me by a member of another forum who lives in Australia. Funnily enough at the time I'd been given a Jupiter-12 in perfect condition, and I wasn't using it, so I sent it to the member in return for the very scratched 'cron. He was happy so was I! :)

Kodak Ground Camera
The Half-Plate camera (now swapped and gone) was bought from a guy who saw my ad on evilbay, he said he'd bought it from a camera fair in the hopes of sorting it out for use, but it ended up sitting in a box for years, until he passed it on for me in exchange for money ;)

Vivitar 285 flash
I was given this by a member of another forum who was moving from UK to NZ, it was a surprise and I hadn't expected it, but it's been my main flash up until buying a metz 45CL1 for slightly more power.

All the rest of my pre-owned stuff has a forgotten history, as the dealers don't usually ask where the camera came from!


Hey Ash, you're the guy I'm looking for. I have half a 150 dogmar languishing in a box in the garage. Yours for postage if you please. Then you can say you got a lens from the infamous J Galli.

Jim Galli
21-Oct-2008, 18:47
Has anybody noticed that Jim Galli hasn't intervened in this forum for a while now?
I wonder where he is.....

I was up in Oregon for a week with the natty 5X12 :cool: No you haven't rid yourselves of me. I've got 11 little petzvals that the LGM's brought me that I need to get cleaned up and posted before the economy collapses entirely and I'm stuck with them.

Tintype Bob
22-Oct-2008, 06:51
I got my enlarger and much of my darkroom stuff from a photographer from NY N. Jay Jaffee - it was left to me when he passed away. we worked together on his last show.

dsphotog
22-Oct-2008, 09:19
I have some circa 1906 negatives from a San Francisco pro photographer, yes, photos showing quake damage in the city.
What else?
A rototrim I bought from my pal Roman, & some prints that he gave me.

I remember as a kid traveling with my parents, once we pulled off the road to picnic at a scenic vista. There was a man who my mom said "he looks like he's living in his car, I'm giving him a sandwich."
Years later I saw a picture of the man & his car....Yup, it was Ansel!
David Silva
Modesto, Ca

BradS
22-Oct-2008, 11:10
Years ago, my aunt gave me a Mamiya Standard 23 Press camera that was used by her...first(?) husband during the Vietnam war. She was kinda sketchy about the details but, it was very apparent the camera had seen field duty. It was beat to hell but, still made nice photos. The Crown Graphic that I have been carrying around for the past couple of year, I bought from the son of a retired (and lately deceased) newspaperman. Sometimes I daydream about all of the places it might have been...all of the stories it might have shown...the deadlines met but on whole, I try not to think about it too much. I also have a camera and lens that previously belonged to Ted Harris.