Large Format Landscapes

[Corran]

I really like the foreground on that one.

I'm going to post this on this thread as well (posted in the Paths thread first). I was messing around with some gear today and needed some outdoor time.

Chamonix 45n1, Schneider 38mm XL, 6x12 back w/ 35mm insert thingies, Plus-X, Microdol-X:



So I crammed the bellows on the Chamonix pretty much as short as they would go and could just get this lens to focus @ about 6ft. I rigged up a little handle from a flash bracket and attached both a 12mm viewfinder from the 12mm Voigtlander M-mount lens I have and a bubble level right next to it. I can approximate what the image will look like this way without removing the rollfilm holder and composing on the GG. Works fairly well except the Chamonix focus knob wants to drift forward so a couple of the shots on the roll are way off the mark focus-wise. I'll need to be more diligent on checking that before taking the shot (I have a marking that shows where the proper focus is attained). With the handle I can shoot handheld with this rig but here I was still on a tripod due to a 4-second exposure.

[jcoldslabs]

I like that, Bryan. The sprocket holes work so much better in B&W without all the distracting lines and codes that you get at the frame edges with Kodak color films.

Jonathan

[StoneNYC]

I really like the foreground on that one.

I'm going to post this on this thread as well (posted in the Paths thread first). I was messing around with some gear today and needed some outdoor time.

Chamonix 45n1, Schneider 38mm XL, 6x12 back w/ 35mm insert thingies, Plus-X, Microdol-X:



So I crammed the bellows on the Chamonix pretty much as short as they would go and could just get this lens to focus @ about 6ft. I rigged up a little handle from a flash bracket and attached both a 12mm viewfinder from the 12mm Voigtlander M-mount lens I have and a bubble level right next to it. I can approximate what the image will look like this way without removing the rollfilm holder and composing on the GG. Works fairly well except the Chamonix focus knob wants to drift forward so a couple of the shots on the roll are way off the mark focus-wise. I'll need to be more diligent on checking that before taking the shot (I have a marking that shows where the proper focus is attained). With the handle I can shoot handheld with this rig but here I was still on a tripod due to a 4-second exposure.

I like it but the left side seems a little stretched, more than the right, but I like the curve in the background. Tones are great!

PS where does one get a 35mm insert thingie for their 6x12 back? Thanks!

PPS how DID you get rid of the kodak frame edge markings? Did plus-x just not have any? Thanks twice!

[AlexGard]

I like the third one especially, Mark! It almost has a Mayan vibe to it. How well do these hold up on enlargements?

Here's another one from my end I shot this week.

Symmar-S 210/5.6, Fomapan 100, Rodinal 1:100, Epson 4990 scan.

hey man great to see you here!
Look forward to seeing more of your stuff !

[Corran]

I like that, Bryan. The sprocket holes work so much better in B&W without all the distracting lines and codes that you get at the frame edges with Kodak color films.

Jonathan

Very true! I have a 100' roll of unperforated Portra just made for this little project...

I like it but the left side seems a little stretched, more than the right, but I like the curve in the background. Tones are great!

PS where does one get a 35mm insert thingie for their 6x12 back? Thanks!

PPS how DID you get rid of the kodak frame edge markings? Did plus-x just not have any? Thanks twice!

I think it's just the composition/arrangement of trees that cause that. If you click my blog link below check out a(n almost) full sheet of 4x5 - now that's "stretching!"

You can get 35mm adapter thingies on eBay for like $30 from China. All they are, are little studs with cutouts to fit into the 35mm canister. They are cheap and not as nice as, say, the dedicated 35mm adapter for the Mamiya 7, but it works. I use these in a Horseman 6x12 adapter. I use two reloadable cartridges for this - one empty on the take-up side, and one with about 28 shots on normal 35mm to get 7 shots on 6x12. I pull the end around the back and tape it to the empty spool so it'll wind up in there. I use just a little bit of tape on the spool of the loaded cartridge, and so when I hit the end of the roll (I can feel the tension) I just keep winding harder and it rips the tape and the end of the film into the other cartridge. Then I move the now empty cartridge onto the take-up spool and load a new roll of film!

As for the frame edge - technically it's rebadged Arista 100 Premium so that's why it's not marked as much as the Kodak-branded stuff. I guess.

[koraks]

Corran, kudos on the sprocket hole exposure! The composition benefits from this unusual format.
Coincidentally, I made these 35 mm adapter thingies myself the other day from a 120 film spool; I just cut and ground one to fit a 35mm canister. However, I find that even in a 6x7 back (let alone 6x12), the film just won't stay flat enough to obtain good focus over the entire surface. Maybe this is because I use expired (and therefore old) film. Do you recognize this problem at all? If so, how did you fix it? If not, I'll have to look at how the Horseman back does its film tensioning/flattening; perhaps the Graflex I use just isn't very good in that department.


Expired Fuji Superia 200 print film in Graflex 6x7 back, Schneider Symmar-S 210/5.6, developed in Rodinal, 4990 scan. Obviously, this combination of film and developer will result in pretty horrible tonality and very coarse grain, but this was a 'shits & giggles' enterprise. The strips around the sprocket holes come out badly focused and with reflection artifacts because the film just won't stay flat in this back.

@AlexGard: thanks! And you bet I'll be here more in the future! It's much more active in the 4x5 department than our other hangout

[Corran]

Nice! I like how the trees and sprockets almost line up.

Regarding film flatness, I was worried about that but I haven't had any issues. I'm not sure if it's attributable to the film back or the film stock itself (I've used a couple different films without issue, but not any Superia).

[Jmarmck]

Nice Bryan. Looks like the Spring Creek Park at Colquitt? I have been looking for a 9x12 or wider. I'd take a back for the Zone VI. Now, I will have to look into the 135. Where can one find unbranded film?

[Ken Lee]

Massachusetts, July 2014
Tachihara Field Camera, 200mm Nikkor M
4x5 Kodak TMY, D-23

[StoneNYC]

Corran, kudos on the sprocket hole exposure! The composition benefits from this unusual format.
Coincidentally, I made these 35 mm adapter thingies myself the other day from a 120 film spool; I just cut and ground one to fit a 35mm canister. However, I find that even in a 6x7 back (let alone 6x12), the film just won't stay flat enough to obtain good focus over the entire surface. Maybe this is because I use expired (and therefore old) film. Do you recognize this problem at all? If so, how did you fix it? If not, I'll have to look at how the Horseman back does its film tensioning/flattening; perhaps the Graflex I use just isn't very good in that department.


Expired Fuji Superia 200 print film in Graflex 6x7 back, Schneider Symmar-S 210/5.6, developed in Rodinal, 4990 scan. Obviously, this combination of film and developer will result in pretty horrible tonality and very coarse grain, but this was a 'shits & giggles' enterprise. The strips around the sprocket holes come out badly focused and with reflection artifacts because the film just won't stay flat in this back.

@AlexGard: thanks! And you bet I'll be here more in the future! It's much more active in the 4x5 department than our other hangout

Are you using it in a 220 back? Remember that with normal will film there is backing paper for 120, so you have to use a 220 back which pressure plate sits closer to the film and therefore would keep it a little flatter or at least in theory that should help alleviate some of your issues.