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Thread: education for building a ULF wet plate camera

  1. #21

    Join Date
    Jul 2016
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    4,566

    Re: education for building a ULF wet plate camera

    Quote Originally Posted by Sm:)er View Post
    Hi,
    I am wanting to build an ULF camera for wet plate and have no experience with both. I like a challenge but I also want good correct info to go off.
    Can anyone recommend good books or online tutorials to cover -
    1. Choosing a lens even lenses that are used for a different purpose like a projector lens to save on cost. Also covering the type of use the lens would be best used for.
    2. Collodion and alternative developing.
    3. Building an ULF camera.
    4. Covering portraits using an ULF camera.

    Any other info I may need will be great.

    Thanks in advance.
    Making a basic ULf camera can be quite straight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW4dhOJVfzk . Also you can use a pinhole for the lens.

    So in a weekend you can be in touch with ULF...

    but...

    A serious ULF device is a challenging project. You don't say what's your present level, this is an important information to advice the way to go to it.

    While you can go directy to Collodion ULF and alternative (like pioneers) it would be better to follow a learning path.

    First you may master small and medium format film photography, then I'd acquire the cheapest 4x5" gear you could find to get used to camera movements and custom development for each sheet, while learning sensitometry. Darkroom Cookbook and Beyond the Zone Systems books are good starting points,

    You have to realize what you can do with a lens that has a large image circle, learning what aesthetic resources used classic masters, and then developing your own style, of course you later can brake all rules...

    What I say is that you can go directly to ULF in the straightest way, but at the same time I would recommend you learn from smaller formats.

    Here you have a list of lenses: https://www.angusparkerphoto.com/blo...ndations-14x17.

    A lens I'd recommend (in a budged) is a Symmar 360mm f/5.6 convertible to 610mm f/12 (by unscreewing the front cell). You would have two focals, and you would have a shutter...
    Last edited by Pere Casals; 1-Oct-2018 at 11:22.

  2. #22

    Join Date
    May 2016
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    744

    Re: education for building a ULF wet plate camera

    Quote Originally Posted by Pere Casals View Post

    A serious ULF device is a challenging project. You don't say what's your present level, this is an important information to advice the way to go to it.
    I'm on the same wavelength with Pere, in this.
    From your posts history it is clear that you're on the very beginning of photography knowledge. Nothing bad with that except that it is not sufficient in order to be able to understand camera building and construction yet.
    Generally speaking - in order to build LF cameras you have to have sufficient education in these fields: optics, mathematics, geometry, mechanics, technology, woodworking also if your camera is to be built of wood. Without this kind of knowledge you will be condemned to copy someone's else models, without understanding what and why you do this or that.
    Surprisingly many people want to build cameras just looking at certain models and thinking - I can copy it. You can do that but without the necessary education you will be all the time asking to be spoon fed by those with the knowledge. Not too encouraging, I know.
    The best preparation is serious interest in all things photographic and previous engineering education of at least some level. Take for ex. just bellows making - some people even asked how can they make tapered bellows... as if geometry could be easily explained, when its knowledge is missing. Surely you can explain it - but such kind of spoon feeding will be exhausting in a short time for both sides.
    So my advice is - if you want to be serious about camera building, start with serious studies first. Or you will be grounded with the proverbial box with a lens and film on each end. Not a serious description of a LF camera, not.

  3. #23
    William Whitaker's Avatar
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    May 2002
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    NE Tennessee
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    1,423

    Re: education for building a ULF wet plate camera

    Start small. Take a good collodion workshop. http://collodion.org is a place to start. Many talented folk here as well who may also teach.

    Same goes for the camera. Start small. Work your way up.

    Mistakes (and you will make them) are far cheaper in the small size.) That goes for both camera building AND collodion.

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