How I enjoy this hobby is not how You enjoy this hobby. Get over it.

Jim I think many people feel marginalized when the whole world wants fast food and it takes 1 hour to cook dinner.
I've never seen any shade sent your way about your artworks because of your political affiliation...
As far as I am concerned I think you should make a very large book with all your images in it,
and sell "copies" of it on blurb. I am sure people worldwide would purchase it, and my guess is because
it shows a slice of life that people sometimes romanticize about or they might recognize that town from
the movie they made IDK 15 years ago nearby :) AND it will help people who find these old workhorse lenses
and cameras you know so much about. You might even get to do a blitz on the TV talk circuit
( with your circuit or banquet cameras ! ) and be picked up by galleries you didn't know existed.

Lemons into lemonade or whatever they say.

Change is constant, change is a given.

Been at this LF stuff since the mid 1980's and MUCH has changed. Back then 4x5 color transparencies was the primary and common means toward color image printed media production. Black & White sheet film was the oddity back then with B&W film being much less common than color transparency film. Folks that wielded a view camera were serious about their work, they were often on the other side of the photography divide of roll film -vs- sheet film.

-Few hobbyist were sheet film image makers back then as were field camera. Majority were monorail cameras used in a studio or similar controlled setting.

Cost of camera, cost of lenses, cost of all related to wielding a view camera limited Foto hobbyist interest in sheet film 4x5 and up. There was also technical ability. Back then by the time a photographer was using a view camera as a serious image making tool, they would have likely had formal education, training, apprenticeship with smaller roll film formats long before using a view camera as a image making tool. Along that road, understanding what print image quality was much about.

-These folks had come to understand what high quality images were about.

With the coming and maturity of digital imaging (Began with Kodak's first digital camera in 1975) which is a disruptive technology, that generation of sheet film based image makers began the transition to digital imaging tools. As more time passed, they retired or got out of the image making service due to their expertise and services being of lesser value relative to a new generation entering the image making service and market demands for their offerings. Cost of images also changed as the monetary and material cost of a digital image is not the same as a film based image. As the market shifting towards digital centric images film based images had less market value in many ways.

All these changes in the world of image making flattened the market value of view cameras and all things related to view cameras. This opened up the opportunity for Hobbyist to own view camera stuff that once was beyond their monetary means. This also brought in a generation of image makers with zero experience using film and the production of film based images. Rather than suffering and enduring the long difficult journey of learning and understanding what is required to produce high quality film based images, some of these folks go to the "Web" as their source of knowledge, how to do, what to buy, how to deal with problems. All of this is OK except self proclaimed experts that can market themselves via mass appeal can grow a following based in presenting a good sell rather than promoting what this image making stuff really is.

-Many examples of this here on LFF and else where.

Point of all this verbiage is about how sheet film image making has gone from the industry standard high quality image making tool to a Foto hobbyist dominated interest. Little wrong with this, if the hobby and art world can sustain the market for sheet film related stuff as that adaptation to change is a means of survival for film based image-making. Those who resist change and lack the ability to adapt is likely on the path to extinction.

-Then we have the Foto hardware collectors that need a perceived safe place to put their $. Most of these folks are not interested in making images, they just want to own and admire.


-Last are the Foto wheeler-dealers who are more like hunters in the wild seeking prey to profit from. They hunt and troll every possible resource for Foto gear that has market value then flip it for a profit often based on what the market will pay for the given widget. Knew a foto gear dealer who paid for his medical school education back in the 80's by flipping foto gear. Not much wrong with this as their time and effort was spent hunting and trolling for this stuff then offered to those who do not have the time, interest, or resources to locate this stuff. This endeavor can have significant monetary rewards or losses directly due to what the market is interested in and will pay. Adding value is not Capitalism, it is much of what business is about with any form of _ism.

As the market for film based view camera stuff continues to shrink so will market value of this view camera stuff. This is NOT true for some pockets of the sheet film world as illustrated by the growth and market value of BIG film related items over 8x10 aka ULF.... which connects to another story and discussion.


Bernice

Yes and just now the 'news' about EVER

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/securit...l_nbn_20190509

Imaging faces is big biz and a huge privacy problem that we will not solve.

Ever watch 'Person of Interest'?

I guess I'm not too sure where the complaints are based as I spend little time in the classifieds. I appreciate the input, expertise, and images Jim shares. That being said, I, suffering from chronic lackoffundasitis and knowing little to nothing about lenses, have often contemplated stalking Jim to find his Lost Dutchmanesque lens mine where Petsvals and Dallmyers grow from rock lens boards in the wall.

One's political affiliation is much like one's sexual orientation. Totally their own business and none of mine, as long as they are happy with who they are. If makeing images, and fixing and selling lenses is what makes you happy, then do it. Ignore the jerks who tell you otherwise.

OP...whatever. No photo police to boss us around. Whatever floats your boat.

I liked your secret weapon lens...

http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/Se...e_SW_Lens.html

If they are going to trash all those negs when you kick off, send to me and I will scan and put on the Internet Archive.