Help In Starting LF. Clueless. :(

[Rain Dance]

I saw this also in the Bostick and Sullivan Site:

http://www.bostick-sullivan.com/cart...cat=323&page=1

Then I noticed the weight is 20lbs(!). I think the most weight is 10lbs for me.

[MIke Sherck]

The wet plate process is called that because you have to coat the glass or metal photographic plate, take the picture, and develop it before the coating dries; within a span of only a few minutes (very few, if you're in an arid environment.) This means that in essence you have to take the darkroom into the field with you. In the old days they used covered wagons; now they convert the back of their car or truck into at least a rudimentary darkroom so that they can use the process in the field. Go to YouTube and search for "wet plate photography"; there are quite a few videos showing the process.

There isn't any other way of reproducing closely the surfer portraits you referred to. The way the coating spreads across the plate when you coat it just before exposure; the creamy tones and defects in coating, the odd spectral response to different colors of light, make a wet plate photograph distinctive. On the other hand, as I'm sure you've noticed by now, photography is a journey, not a destination. Start by making portraits with a hand-held large format camera such as one of those previously mentioned and using ordinary film. See what you get and experiment, such as trying orthochromatic film, which is closer to older films from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Learn more. If wet-plate continues to call, you'll know more and be better prepared to answer once you have some experience with large format.

Good luck and keep us informed on how it goes!

Mike

[Brian C. Miller]

I saw this also in the Bostick and Sullivan Site:

http://www.bostick-sullivan.com/cart...cat=323&page=1

Then I noticed the weight is 20lbs(!). I think the most weight is 10lbs for me.

That's the shipping weight, which includes tin plates and chemicals. The actual camera is much lighter.

[jnantz]

brian's right
it is not only the camera but it seems to be
the 4x5 wet plate kit ( trays too )
http://www.bostick-sullivan.com/cart/cart.php

[Rain Dance]

I see, thanks for the clarification. But from what Mike Sherck said, wet plate is too much for me right now. I think I better start with the 4x5 speed/crown graphic. Do those kits come with everything I need, or do I still need to buy stuff like lenses, shutters etc.? (Excluding sheet film and chemicals)

[Ole Tjugen]

Note that the surf photos are all wet-plate photographs, using a photographic process which was becoming obsolete about the time of the American Civil War. ...

They look far more like dry plate to me. Sloppily processed dry-plate, perhaps with a monobath process in an uncontrolled environment.

Those aren't coating streaks, they are processing streaks. )

[richardhkirkando]

Those kits are complete, though I'd skip the Century Graphic because you'll be limited to roll film backs. (edit: you will also need film holders, a changing bag, and probably a dark cloth)

Lenses are mounted to a board, which is in turn mounted to the camera. Lens boards are generally designed for a specific camera type, and will have a hole drilled for a specific shutter size. The Symmar you linked has a Copal 1 shutter (which is ~42mm), so you will also want to purchase a Graphic-style lens board with a 42mm hole drilled. One thing to keep in mind with press cameras is that a lot of modern lenses are bigger and you may not be able to fold the camera up while it is mounted. You can still use them, but it makes the kit less portable.

Adorama has a few Graflex kits in stock too, though their condition ratings are not nearly as accurate as KEH's IMO. Also keep an eye on the for sale forum here, lots of good deals and honest sellers.

[Rain Dance]

So I cannot use 4x5 sheet film with century graphic? I see there is a B/S section, I just saw it Now. I will read first about those lens boards, as it is getting complicared. LF seems to be too technical so I thought I will start wit complete kits that are being sold.

[richardhkirkando]

Yep, the century is 2x3. Indeed, getting the right parts can be complicated, so starting with a complete kit is definitely a good idea.

[ic-racer]

Vintage Surfing Pictures????

Well if you consider 2007 to be vintage, then OK.

"Over the last year, I have been working exclusively in the 8x10 format, shooting one of a kind tintypes. My camera is a Deardorff, with a back that is adapted to take wet plates. For this project [Montauck's Ditch Plains] I used period brass lenses, as well as a modern lens with a shutter." --- Joni Sternbach 2007