Back when I printed for others speed of production and efficient use of paper was the key to productivity and $. And f-stop timing was never part of it - too slow.
Because of always working in the...
Type: Posts; User: Maris Rusis; Keyword(s):
Back when I printed for others speed of production and efficient use of paper was the key to productivity and $. And f-stop timing was never part of it - too slow.
Because of always working in the...
I see black spots on the positive which means white spots on the negative.
White spots on the negative might be pinhole defects in the emulsion due to bad coating at the factory.
Dust on the...
The old Schneider Super Angulon 121mm f8 lens is often available at a low price and it does cover 8x10 with a millimetre to spare when straight on and centred.
I used it when working in a forest...
I run a negative ion generator during all my darkroom sessions and I don't have a dust problem. Maybe that's just luck or the generator actually helps.
The theory is that if everything carries the...
UV enlarger? Is this relevant? An enlarger that can do cyanotypes might be able to do POP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI1nWHuX3N0
Not all paper will work easily with a paper safe. The latest Ilford Multigrade FB Classic photographic paper in the 8x10 size has a curl so strong that it could defeat any paper safe. I have to use a...
I've backpacked my Toyo 45G but only by taking it apart:
Unclip the bellows front and back and stow them in a protective case or bag.
Unlatch the rail clamp and stow it.
Slide front and back...
I've done extended photographic tours within Australia using a Tachihara 810HD triple extension camera and it did everything asked of it. Lenses were a Fujinon-W 300mm, a Nikkor-W 210mm, and a...
This is one of the best threads on exposure compensation for close focus work but much of it can be arithmetically challenging in countries that don't have inches and vulgar fractions of inches. That...
https://live.staticflickr.com/1553/25663372585_f7a45cbb1d_c.jpg
Storm Blown Poplar, Lake Jindabyne
Gelatin-silver photograph on Ultrafine Silver Eagle VC FB photographic paper, image size 24.7cm X...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50096290122_b979ed34d3_c.jpg
Rockpool, Noosa National Park
Gelatin-silver photograph on Agfa Classic VC FB photographic paper, image size 16.3cm X 21.5cm, from a...
My standard 8x10 pack (camera, lenses, holders, tripod, water, bad weather gear, etc, ....) came to 32Kg (70 pounds) but I devised a strategy to cope with it in Australia's highest mountains near...
There are many ways. I have always painted my darkrooms white to get good safelight bounce and maximum visibility with minimal safelight power. It's just a personal preference but I've found black...
I made a pact with myself decades ago that I would print every negative, blanks and technical disasters aside, to the best of my ability on fibre base paper. So far I've kept it up. The "pact" comes...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50103131447_76b770f9c4_b.jpg
Boreen Point, Shed Door
Gelatin-silver photograph on Ultrafine Silver Eagle VC FB photographic paper, image size 24.7cm X 19.3cm, ...
I get lots of 90+ Fahrenheit days in summer so I equipped my small darkroom with a 2.5kw split system air-conditioner. The "split" involves a minor hole in the wall that is easy to make light-tight....
There is a distortion in rectilinear camera images that is not related to camera movements. It arises because the edge of a plane image is further from the exit pupil of the lens than the centre of...
It has been said, by Paul Strand I think, that a tree disturbed by a gust of wind will settle back as it was before the gust arrived. This exactly for every leaf, twig, and branch. I haven't done...
This has happened to me twice. Each time I found a tiny broken off cable release tip still in the socket. A little screw driver was used to back the piece out and all was good.
https://live.staticflickr.com/5742/21823899924_eb79da959f_z.jpg
Wet Negatives in Bathroom.
Negatives are hung from surgical haemostat forceps. These forceps never let go even if only a tiny corner...
A while back I shot six full face portraits with a Tachihara 810HD view camera and the process went smoothly because almost all the work had been done before the sitter arrived.
I used a stand-in...
I'm not sure what problem a fancy grain focussing loupe is supposed to solve. I use a "cheap" Paterson Micro Focus Finder that is adjusted to my eye and reliably supports sharp grain in my...
I reckon film pre-wash is essential where a relatively small volume of developer is used in continuous replenishment mode.
My Xtol-rep stock bottle has a volume of 2 litres and I replenish at the...
My enlarger could be at fault. It is emblazoned Simmon Bros Inc Long Island and dates from the 1950s. But it has all its bolts and screws done up tight and it's in alignment. All my neg carriers use...
I use Ilford Multigrade Filters with my Omega D2V enlarger but strictly as below the lens filters and not filters in the enlarger head. Why? Manipulating the enlarger head to insert and remove...
I've enlarged lot of 4x5 to 8x10. Even "enlarged" a 8x10 negative to 8x10 and then contact printed that same 8x10 negative by way of comparison.
All the prints look absolutely superb but there are...
AI has nothing to do with the pictures I make. They take the form of objects bearing marks as a consequence of being struck by light. The well known process used was invented in, and works perfectly...
I usually get a keeper in one or two goes but the key for me is a good test strip. When enlarging to 8x10 for example I will use test strips sized 2x10 obtained by cutting a full sheet into 4 strips....
No camera used for this prize winning photographic portrait:...
It's an old idea but worth considering. The power of the loupe should be higher than the enlargement ratio you are planning. For example a 4x enlargement asks for a 6x loupe to deliver some reserve...
Critiques can be illuminating if well ordered, well reasoned, well justified, and unfailingly polite. Polite as if the critic typed them wearing new white gloves.
Two things to avoid: A critic's...
This one is simpler than Easy Bake but may take longer:
Focus on the far,
And tilt toward the near,
Then fiddle with the camera,
Until everything is clear.
I've fallen into the following routine to avoid focus errors and light leaks when loading and unloading a view camera:
1. Make sure the transverse rib on the film holder falls into the groove in...
Fume extraction is a vexed thing so for my last and best darkroom I eliminated it entirely.
Because I do only black and white work I can use odourless developer, odourless stop bath, and odourless...
I've tried fine textured anti-glare framing glass in a 11x14 contact printing frame.
If I illuminate the contact frame with a large diffuse light source the texture of the anti-glare glass doesn't...
The Ilford Classic FB VC paper I'm using has a severe curl so I "break" the bend by pulling the paper (emulsion side up) with a reverse bend down over the edge of my enlarging bench. Done a couple of...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52574577314_7a1f0ec9a7_c.jpg
Michio Tachihara the camera maker.
A genuinely bad translation of the Japanese text:
Human beings live in both the front and...
It looks like a Wista Field 45 rather than a Tachihara 45GF.
Fotoman 810PS point and shoot?
Checking wide angle lens coverage by trying to see the back of the lens through the clipped corners of a ground glass is downright difficult. You can end up in some awkward contortions and the tiny...