One reason for the 4x5 back is that it is a good way to extend the reach of your lenses. If you have a framing that requires a very long lens, longer than anything your camera can accommodate, a...
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One reason for the 4x5 back is that it is a good way to extend the reach of your lenses. If you have a framing that requires a very long lens, longer than anything your camera can accommodate, a...
Yes, the rate of fixer exhaustion is directly proportional to the amount of fixing done (i.e., the amount of high values in the print). I advocate using something like Hypo Check to check the state...
Just to clarify about the extended life in a 2 bath system. The initial results of fixing are early byproducts that are highly adsorbed into the fibers of the paper and as a result they do not wash...
It is a myth that 8x10 suffers from problematic DOF. Yes, the DOF is smaller because of the longer equivalent focal lengths for the format. This means you stop down more for the same DOF. People...
I also wanted to add (as pointed out by Steve and Doremus) that any curve shape due to agitation requires careful massaging - it will only work if you restrain highlights while allowing shadows to...
I like my negative to be developed as close to a straight line as I can. It is rare for me to deal with photographs where the highlights are small and fall out of the scale of the paper. Usually, if...
The purpose of agitation is to replace exhausted developer and bring fresh developer to the developing silver halide particles. Since developer exhaustion is a function of the amount of development...
In smaller formats, the tripod is arguably the main source of weight. In LF, the weight of camera, lenses, holder is already pretty large and the tripod is just one more heavy thing to carry. LF also...
Some additional things to keep an eye on.
1) A pinhole at the lensboard can act - well, like a pinhole. Short exposures can sometimes result in what looks like movement or a double image - long...
As a general rule, all colors bleach in the sunlight. Lightfast colors tend to take longer to do so. Lightfast colors tend to be in the domain of artists pigments - I do not know how photopigments...
Allow me to add my congratulations on a job well done. Project management is a difficult game - there may have been a couple of delays but the clear and honest communications were reassuring. A case...
I use the Silvestri loupe - it works as advertised. Another reason I find it useful is that I often have things in the edges and corner that are visually important but require DOF to keep in focus...
I have used IR goggles but went back to developing by inspection with a dark green safelight. Given DBI with visible light 'works', IR is probably even safer if you do not mind looking like the bad...
As already explained, underexpose a bit and overdevelop a lot - basically, if the contrast is as low as you say, you would like to develop to maximum gamma i.e., greatest contrast without fogging the...
Another reason for liking the Thomas is the fact that it is less tiring on the eyes. Dim safelights mean that your pupils are constantly adjusting to deal with the extremes of a dim safelight...
Really does depend on your vision and choice of subject. I am assuming you are not talking about extreme wide angles and extremely long lenses which are sort of special cases dictated often by other...
What kind of person are you? Do you enjoy testing things or do you enjoy taking photographs and making prints? I do not mean to pejoratively imply that a desire to test things is lesser than, or...
You may find the following procedure useful. I think most exposure/development failures happen because of 'mindlessness'. We reflexively think a 'subject' has a 'correct' exposure and development. It...
Plenty of food for thought here. Let me add a couple of additional things that may be relevant.
Contact printing restricts your choice of final size. That may sound like a downside to our 'choice...
I would suggest you wait before jumping into 8x20 verticals. Not because it can't be done but because it means doubling everything in your darkroom - you will need to store twice the number of window...
Nicely said, Doremus. If you set out to be original, the originality is a reaction to what came before, in which case it is not really original, is it? And more to the point, you do not learn...
In motivational research, there is a technique called laddering which involves asking "Why is that important?" to any attribute (e.g., "making original art") that is stated to be important in a...
Do not think of it as light growing 'tired' because it has to travel a longer distance. Think of it as that a bunch of light rays from an object falling all over the surface of the lens. They get...
The nodal point of the converted lens lies well out in front of the actual element, so you will require a good deal more than the 620 mm to achieve infinity focus, more for focusing closer.
Re...
Here. I do check in every now and then but have been participating less due to not having much to add and other recent demands on my time (some of which, happily, is photographing and printing)......
I have the Steve Hopf borosilicate glass - he does very good work and was very good to deal with. The borosilicate has a slightly warm cast to it - sort of pale straw yellow tone unlike normal glass...
A rotary cutter works best in my experience - the Rotatrim Mastercut is particularly good - you can slice away thin (less than a mm) pieces of the paper and you can get things very square with the...
An experienced business person would find projects with better return on investment very easily... No, s/he would not become a pro landscape photographer, not to satisfy his/her business self...
I've been tray developing 8x10 for many years now. It works for my work flow. Here are the mechanics in case you find it helpful. I shuffle 8 pieces of film. I use an oversize tray (11x14 for the...
Had a fabulous time. In these doom and gloom times amid forecasts of 'the end is nigh' for photography, it was fantastic to see some great work. And you got to hang out with people who are deeply...
I tried with one of those etching kits and could not get an even result. I think the original way was to expose the glass sheet to hydrofluoric acid fumes, which is one of those 'do not try at home'...
The Pentax loupe is large - too large for GG use, in my opinion. It is a superb loupe though. And it would let you see a much larger amount of the GG if you are the type who gets into things in...
Depends upon a couple of things. 1) How good is the paper that the tissue is made from? If it has anything that will produce acid (e.g., made from wood pulp), they will buffer it to neutralize any...
I'm sorry to disagree but you are not having your cake and eating it too. You are still robbing Peter to pay Paul - Peter just doesn't realize it, for one reason or another....
I did not mean to...
1) Put it on a really big camera, focus and measure the circle on the ground glass.
2) Set up a matt board on a stand just inside the door of your darkroom. Keep the darkroom dark and switch on all...
It's a property of the system, including lighting. It can be measured - Richard Henry's "Controls in B&W photography" shows some data from microdensitometer readings. But given most of us do not have...
Terminology is often used loosely. Contrast is often used to indicate overall luminance range - the ' 7 zone spread', 'high contrast range' etc language. It is also used to indicate the quality of...
Telephoto designs should actually help with wind because you would be using less bellows compared to a regular design. However, in general, the longer the lens (and tele designs tend to be used for...
I think 13" x 15" is what Michael Smith and Pauala Chamlee use - if you visit their website, I believe you will find links to order boxes in that dimension to store matted prints. If you're looking...
Detents are a mixed blessing. Any kind of detent mechanism will let youzero easily but small adjustments will be problematic because the standard will have a tendency to drop back into the detent...