Kitty litter boxes for 16x20 prints? Home Depot sells a large, black "tray" for mixing single bags of cement. Having multiple cats in our house, we use it for a litter box. You might just find that it fits the bill for your needs. It costs about $6.
Ciao
One of my tripods is a second-hand, fibre-glass, surveyors tripod. It is a little heavy, and completely unuseable on a hard slippery surface (floor tiles, lino, etc), but it is rock solid when used outside.
My film holders (6) are carried in a plastic lunch box bought at kmart, my tachihara and three lenses in another kmart plastic food container (tupperware look-alike), and my backpack is a AU$60 (~USD$30) job from a local discount sport store.
Sometimes it is good to live in a town with no pro camera store!
I keep my stock solutions-developers only-in brown glass gallon jugs with heavy duty black plastic caps , free, from a local pharmacy there is still one variety of Robitussen syrup that comes in them. Sometimes I come across old film holders that are missing locks--- those little squared off pieces of metal that you twist to keep the darkslide in situ. For pennies you can get threaded square bent hooks the same diameter from the hardware store, cut to length(a wee bit longer on the shank end so you'll probaby need to make a new bend) and screw it in the old hole. This works on Eastman-Kodak- Graphlex, Agfa-Anso, and Lisco Regals 4-6 cents apiece! On trips, my gear rides in an Igloo cooler(no ice)It provides a good job insulating my loaded holders during the hot summers and, I hope, keeps thieves from being tempted. Cost? Lots less than the camera store! Since my photography requires a lot of car camping, I've accumulated a supply of meat boxes, free from the grocery store. These are heavy waxed cardboard boxes with tight fitting lids and heavy handles originally used for poultry and shellfish and the like. I give them a good hosing inside and out(they are waterproof)before use. All my camping gear is organized and stored in them, ready for that last minute call out. In the field they'll survive being left out in a rain or snowstorm and if need be, you can always start a campfire with one. Hit up your local Lions Club or Knights of Columbus at their next lobster or crab feed and you'll be set for years to come.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
If any of you bargain-hunters will be in Las Vegas March 21-24, the Society for Photographic Education is having its annual conference at the Tropicana. One of the talks (Friday 8:45 AM) is entitled, "How to Get the 'Photography' Supplies You Need from The Government for Free," by Jim West.
See you there!
Bought a rolling, carry-on flight bag for $19 at the local closeout store and a military-spec foam sleeping pad from the surplus store, to use as the source of padding and homemade dividers. Works well and costs little.
I discovered that I can buy an 8" sautee pan from WalMart for $3.88 that I can fashion into a Durst Vapla lens board simply by unscrewing the handle and drilling the right size hole in the center. Fits PERFECTLY.
The alternative is to wait on Ebay for lensboards to show up or buy new ones at $$$ prices.
Kind regards! The Film changing bag that has so many times come close to being dumped doubles as the best dark cloth I've used(4 4x5). On windy days the arm are perfect for holding with my left hand at the bottom while louping with my right. Also, my clients love the look when I come up for air with the sleeves hanging from my ears.... I also discovered the bus trays from KS, Great finds there and the $ store. But always!!!!!!The glass has to be perfect......
Crescent board and black paint. There is nothing you can't make with Crescent board and black paint, up to and including working models of walking draglines and 24 x 6 pinhole cameras.
Happily using crescent board as negative holders in the enlarger for 6+ years. I did the first one as a temporary stop gap until something more appropriate could be bought, and never switched. They are also fabulous for scanning negs. Holds them up off the scanner glass. Made a great 4X5 ground glass "viewer" from crescent board and 1 group from an Oscilloscope camera lens. And of course my personal favorite of which I intend never to be in short supply, spent wine bottles for chem storage. .75 and 1.5 liter. I re-crunch all my formulas to fit in them. hiccup!
Sorry to be so ignorant, but what is crescent board?
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