Chamonix and Ebony's are gorgeous & Old Kodak 2D's are UGLY but they have their place

[esearing]

But Jim Galli, when you wanted a custom 5x14 format camera where did you go? I've hunted (and begged) for a 5x12 camera for 3 years and finally Chamonix is making one for Steve Sherman, and so I am getting one too. Not because of the name or how pretty it is, but because it fills a need for me and is within my discretionary income to own. I have had the opportunity to buy a few 8x10 and 11x14 oldies in the past but none of them "spoke" to me even if bargains. Maybe it is the working with old cameras and odd lenses that inspires you. For me its about the journey and place.

[John Layton]

I think that the synergy goes three ways...what the photographer brings to the place, what the place brings to the photographer, and how effectively the particular medium of choice (the camera in this case) can allow a meaningful congruence between the first two elements to actually happen.

True...that a camera is "just a box," and yet it is the very design and features made available by a given camera and the specific characters of lenses chosen accessories which can indeed influence the dialogue between photographer and subject, and which can and does directly affect the results...and so becomes an integral part of a photographers evolving vision. Nothing wrong with this and in fact pretty powerful stuff...but just saying!

[dodphotography]

I think that the synergy goes three ways...what the photographer brings to the place, what the place brings to the photographer, and how effectively the particular medium of choice (the camera in this case) can allow a meaningful congruence between the first two elements to actually happen.

True...that a camera is "just a box," and yet it is the very design and features made available by a given camera and the specific characters of lenses chosen accessories which can indeed influence the dialogue between photographer and subject, and which can and does directly affect the results...and so becomes an integral part of a photographers evolving vision. Nothing wrong with this and in fact pretty powerful stuff...but just saying!

The best work made using our medium, given its ability to render shape and light, makes the camera melt into the background.

Look at the Lf work of Robert Adams, Nixon, Shore, Meyerowitz, Sternfeld, etc and I can’t imagine anyone ever saying “geez, I’m sure glad they had ample swing on that camera”.

Vs the thousands of still life pictures no one cares about that used studio monorail with every possible movement applied. I think that’s where the analytical side of this medium, specifically large format, loses steam when people care more about the density of the negative and developer used than they do content.


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[John Layton]

Yes, exactly...it is when a camera becomes completely functional and intuitive in concert with how I am responding/projecting/receiving to and from a given subject, that the camera ceases to exist in three dimensions and becomes a "window" allowing for a sense of symmetry and congruence between myself and what I am photographing.

Not overly analytical at all...but simply being "in the zone." Make sense?

[dodphotography]

Yes, exactly...it is when a camera becomes completely functional and intuitive in concert with how I am responding/projecting/receiving to and from a given subject, that the camera ceases to exist in three dimensions and becomes a "window" allowing for a sense of symmetry and congruence between myself and what I am photographing.

Not overly analytical at all...but simply being "in the zone." Make sense?

Completely... It’s a difficult and tight line to walk


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[Chauncey Walden]

My first "8x10" was a 7x11 2D. I added a vertical stop at the far end for 8x10 holders and trimmed 1/4 inch off the long sides of the wooden holders to fit the cameras groove width. Worked great with a triple convertible B&L "Protar". Then came a real 8x10 Korona which became surplus when a Century Universal came along. It even made the trip to Tonopah once;-) In retrospect I wish I had kept the 2D around as I think 7x11 would be a very nice format.

[Vaughn]

But Jim Galli, when you wanted a custom 5x14 format camera where did you go?

I got one! Took the below image last April in Zion, and I have some exposed film waiting to be developed from the redwoods and Yosemite. I cheated, though -- using a 11x14 Chamonix and a modified darkslide to get two 5.5x14s on a sheet of 11x14.

Well, the modified darkslide is custom....

[John Layton]

Vaughn I've been thinking about modifying an 11x14 dark slide for just this purpose...and I have a couple of questions: One, do you have any problems with "bleed over" of light from the image adjacent to the film area not being exposed (especially in flare-prone setups)...and have you needed to narrow the useable image area because of this? And two...can I assume that you are using at or close to maximum front rise for the bottom image, and maximum fall for the top image (and possible additional rear fall and rise) to compensate for "off axis" issues? And if so...how is this working out for you? Thanks!

[Drew Wiley]

Dod - yeah, look at the work of some of those same guys enlarged over 2X and that "good 'nuf fer them" mantra starts falling apart pretty fast. Ever try laying a hardwood floor starting with warped or bent or twisted pieces?

[dodphotography]

Dod - yeah, look at the work of those same guys enlarged over 2X and that "good 'nuf fer them" mantra starts falling apart pretty fast.

And yet what will the canon of photography remember and study?


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