New old guy

[Koenbro]

Hello, I am a newly registered member here, although I hsd been a member before but my account lapsed (or I lost the password). I started LF in Dec 2003 once I bought a new Tachihara 4x5 from badger, with a Rodenstock Apo Sironar-S 135/5.6. I expanded my kit to include a total of five lenses (75, 90, 135, 240, and 300). Then got into digital after 2010, and am only now interested in getting back into LF.
Just wanted to say Hi, again!

[rfesk]

And welcome back!

[linhofbiker]

Welcome. Do you plan to do both LF and digital (like me)?

[Louis Pacilla]

Welcome Koenbro! Glad to have you back & looking forward to your contributions to the group.

[Vaughn]

Howdy!

[Scott Davis]

Welcome back to the asylum

[Ulophot]

Welcome back. I am curious to know what led you to return to LF. More than a few have made similar decisions, whether keeping a hand in digital, deciding to return exclusively to LF and/or other film formats, coming back to LF but scanning their film rather than using the darkroom, etc. How do you plans line up?

[Koenbro]

Wow, thank you all for the warm welcome!

I will continue to use digital for the majority of my shots. Am very much a Fuji X guy, having started with an X100 (1st gen) back whenever it came out (2011-12?) then an XT-1 and then to my current setup, an X-Pro 2 and XT-2. I use both of these on family vacations etc. True to the LF ethos, I stick to primes, which in the Fuji ecosystem, are sublime; 28mm pancake for street, 14/2.8 and 35/1.4 are the backbones of my system. But I what I like best about the system, is the color grading using film simulations: Classic Chrome mainly and shooting raw to get access to other film simulations.

Back in the film (LF) era, I used Fuji for color, and Kodak TMX-100 and TXP-320 for BW, but remember how much I loved Polaroid 55 P/N. I used to develop in D76 mainly then moved to Xtol. I still have boxes of these film (had refrigerated them for well over a decade) so am keen to try them. Have kept my Combiplan tanks (have three of them) and have ordered new chemistry from B&H.

I also wrote an Android app to help avoid errors in the field: one inputs light meter EV's in 1/3 stop, and there are drop downs with previously entered data about lenses, films, filter (and filter factors for each film) and reciprocity correction (for each film). Then one chooses aperture and enters bellows draw, and the program outputs shutter speed factoring in bellows extension light fall-off, filter factor, finally reciprocity correction. One can add GPS coordinates to each shot. Will revive an older Android to use it.

Like in the past will scan the negatives and process in Photoshop.

As to the why: firstly, my wife commissioned a photo of a jumping cholla on our property specifically in LF, and second, I want to do a bit of more deliberate photo-creation.

Am also curious to see the state of LF Photography in 2023. I feel like some time traveler who got frozen in 2011-ish and is thawed up now.

Some of my old photos are here and hope to add to the stack.

[Tin Can]

Weicome

I quit scanning

Just bought more fresh 16x20 paper for enlarging

I also like 8x10 contacts

[Andrew O'Neill]

Welcome back! I have to admit, I don't spend as much time here as I used to but I do still check in once and a while...