Whats your "magic bullet?"

[John Kasaian]

I really enjoyed Kevin Bourque's "right on" article on the Large Format Home Page about being a recovering magic bullet chaser. It kind of got me thinking ---is there really even a "magic bullet" ---a piece of gear that enables us to produce a "keeper" photo that would differ from what we'd expect if we had to go without the "bullet," and if so, what is it?

Maybe its not the obvious---for example I have favorite lenses but none are "magic"(I can take a lousy picture with any of them!) I have an excellent light meter too, but while it is easy to use and more sensitive than a teenager with the wrong sneakers, it isn't magic either, If I left it at home by mistake I could still get by and the results wouldn't suffer as long as I can 'sunny 16' it(this I know from experience!). Even my fancy italian loupe which I enjoy using a great deal, dosen't really do much more than the plastic $9.00 Agfa loupe that I used for the half dozen years prior.

I think what has helped me most, at least in consistency, is a rotary processor for souping film(even if it is a Unicolor, the poor man's Jobo.) Another "magic bullet" in my bandoleer would have to be a small shop vac dedicated to cleaning film holders---dust problems are zero zip since I started using a vacuum. I realize these things aren't as exciting (or expensive)as a new 'puter designed Schneikkor XL with giga coating and made with glass that has it's own little box on the periodic table, but I find that they make a real difference for me.

I'm curious, what is your "magic bullet?"

[Øyvind Dahle]

My magic bullet is a 6x9cm 120-film folding camera where I have removed bellows, shutter and lens and added a meter of black tape and a pinhole, the angle of view is similar to a 11mm on a 135-camera, and every now and then it gives me remarkable good pictures: http://www.oslokameraklubb.no/nyhet30_bilde.html

Øyvind

[Dan Fromm]

My magic bullet doesn't involve equipment at all, it has to do with procedure.

My pictures improve markedly whenever I can manage to slow down, consider the possibilities, and do everything very carefully. Haste, failure to follow my checklist, and lack of thoughtfulness are my worst enemies.

Cheers,

Dan

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

My magic bullet is a decent lens, flat film, and a space of darkness between them.

[mark blackman]

John, I'm curious why a vacumn cleaner designed for use in a retail outlet cleans film holders better than other cleaners?

[Jamie Zietak]

Mark:

A shopvac is a brand name for wet/dry vacuum cleaner, much like Kleenex and facial tissue...

http://www.shopvac.com/

[Bruce Watson]

Hard work and persistence.

One of my best photographs is the result of being on site and set up at 6:30am four days running. I had a 10 minute window when the light was right and the shadows lined up. Every day but the last one I left thinking I could have done something just a little better. The print on the wall comes from the last negative of course.

I could have done it with a large variety of equipment, lots of different films/developers. But I couldn't have done it without being willing to show up and do the work.

[Gem Singer]

Hi John,

My "magic bullet" is Ilford HP-5+film, developed in Ilfotec DD-X developer, using slow, deliberate, dip-and-dunk agitation.

[Tim Curry]

Howdy John,

My "Magic Bullet" is a Stouffer step wedge and barely enough common sense to learn how to use it for film testing. Remember, my personal density index (P.D.I.) is quite high.

Saved my backside with Azo and allowed me to come up with numbers for Efke 25 from N- to N+ with grade 2. Give that one a try without a densitometer some time. Also, allowed me to circumnavigate the B.S. on some forums with respect to Azo's tonal scale, density and contrast. You haven't lived until you've tried to make sense out of some of the myths going around with respect to Azo paper, film exposure and development.

[John D Gerndt]

My magic bullet is a densitometer. Like Tim’s step wedge, having some hard numbers against which to judge the subjective results of a “good” negative or print is turning my darkroom experience from hit and miss to studied exercise. Sometimes it is not as fun but there is far less frustration!

For the record it is a tiny Mantis densitometer that has a shutter speed tester built in. Testing my shutters explained a series of bad exposures yielding one less frustration to deal with.

Cheers,