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View Full Version : Hi from Merry Olde England!



barnacle
23-Apr-2011, 21:15
I'm Neil; been making photographs for pushing forty years now, almost always monochrome and more often than not in some oddball mix of old and new technologies: I have no qualms about using a computer to print an A4 negative on cell and using that to make cyanotype or gum arabic prints... Just weird, I guess.

Twenty-odd years ago I came across my MPP Press 4x5 in an antique (posh word for junk, usually) shop with four glass plate holders - I guess that's what made it antique? - and hacked up some metal frames to allow me to use film in them; only recently have I obtained some modern plastic holders. I'm not convinced that either of the holders is *quite* correctly registered though it could be that my scanner is slightly off; I don't have the proper holder for the negatives and I suspect they're too close to the glass... something else for experimentation.

The last time I used the camera was ten years ago in Brasil; the humidity and the temperature gave me a lot of grief managing the negatives so some of the images on my site show processing errors. However, I wanted some decent shots of a new granddaughter so I dragged it out again and stuck half a dozen sheets through to check everything was OK.

Brazil 1999 (http://www.nailed-barnacle.co.uk/bigimages/bigimages.html)
Hemel Hempstead 2011 (http://www.nailed-barnacle.co.uk/bigimages2/bigimages2.html)

My favourites are probably #0037, then #0011, #0015, #0023, and #0029 on the Brazil shots. WARNING - do not click on the 'thumbnails' unless your computer can cope with 11,000 x 9,500 images - 10MB download but about 400MB when unpacked for display! :eek:

I like the look of the old ortho films; as I'm in Berlin at the moment I've picked up some Adox CHS-50 to see how it looks... the stuff above is all Ilford FP4+ exposed either at 125ASA (Brazil) or at 50ASA (UK). I wish Ilford would make Pan-F in sheet film...

Aye well, apologies for the long intro...

Neil

Joanna Carter
24-Apr-2011, 01:31
Have you thought of joining us on the UKLFPG Forums (http://lf-photo.org.uk/forum)? We are a friendly bunch and have members all over the UK. We also organise twice-yearly (free!) workshops and other smaller get-togethers.

barnacle
24-Apr-2011, 02:04
Thanks for the invitation Joanna, I've just registered there with the same username.

Ah, so many fora...

Neil

Ash
24-Apr-2011, 03:00
My dad came from Hemel! His family moved nearer Chippenham when he was a teen (so that must be 40 years ago now).

Vick Vickery
25-Apr-2011, 09:51
Welcome to group therapy! :)

Pete Watkins
25-Apr-2011, 10:18
Hi Neil,
I dangled me maggot in the cut near Hemel years ago. Welcome to the forum. They're a great bunch of guys.
Pete.