Lightweight Tripod for Sinar Norma Inspired by Julius Shulman

[Daniel Unkefer]

Lightweight Solid Norma Tripod Julius Shulman 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

I am a huge fan of Julius Shulman and the volume of work he produced in the Los Angeles area and elsewhere during the 30s to the 80s. Among his many published books is "Photographing Architecture and Interiors", which I intensely studied 30 years ago. One snippet of information regarding equipment, Shulman used primarily the Sinar Norma 4x5 and 8x10. What I always thought was super cool was his tripod for all this work, it was the classic original Leitz Tiltall which was very sturdy and solid, he used a modified version for 8x10 and 4x5 Norma shooting. The original mounting plate was removed, and replaced with a solid 1/2" thick metal block which is super sturdy and solid. I used the pictures in his book to guide me. Notice how it just fits the Norma Tripod Clamp, the original rectangular plate was too small for Norma.

I just bought a machinists Band Saw from Lil Machine Shops, so bought a block of aluminum and cut it down with the new saw. Then drilled out mounting holes and countersunk them with drill press. Stainless steel bolts hold it all together super tightly, it's not coming apart.

Using this tripod with the 4x5 Norma in WA configuration is a joy and I could carry this around all day if I had to. Eventually I will try this with the 8x10 Norma and I have no doubt it will do the job. It worked for Shulman.

I have an old friend , whose Dad who knew Shulman and lived in the area at the time. He was also a photographer and Man he reveled when I told of my longtime interest in Shulman and his work. What a small world.

BTW the Norma, the tripod and the lens are all brand new to me. The lens is an original 90mm F5.6 chrome barrel Sinar Norma Super Angulon, with direct acting iris "mickey mouse" for behind the camera aperture control. The lens came from Germany and looks brand new. Super Nice and much brighter than my F8 90mm Super Angulons to look through. This vintage would be towards the end of Norma production. Much fun ahead.

This is -exactly- the same matched setup that Shulman shows in the above book.