4x5 in Bali

[Ben Syverson]

I recently went on my honeymoon to Bali... I decided I only wanted to take fun point and shoot cameras, so instead of 8x10, I brought the 4x5. Haha

It really was a lot of fun using the Super Graphic as a snapshot camera. I used the rangefinder and didn't sweat anything too much. Looking at the film, I didn't always nail the focus, and my exposures weren't always perfect, but I had a good time and got a few keepers.

I took 170 sheets or so, and shot 77. I found out that if you remove the envelopes, you can fit 40 sheets in one Kodak 10 sheet box. I brought seven holders, so I tried to expose 14 sheets per day. I changed film in my backpack at night, which seemed to work fine. X-ray was a non-issue, even though I met some very scary 20+ year-old machines.

The camera was such a good conversation starter that it was like walking a puppy. Every Balinese I met used the same word for the camera: classic. I would often hear "woah, classic camera!" It's a much different attitude than in the US, where the most common question is an incredulous "how OLD is that?" or "can you still get film for that?" Anyway, I digress...

I thought I would mind the weight, but it was easy to carry all day. Along the way, I met a guy who was carrying a Pentax 67 with grip, and we compared them. The Pentax was marginally more compact but weighed more than the Super Graphic.

I'm posting a few rough (ROUGH) scans. Over the next week or two I'll post the real scans. As you can see, I couldn't resist grabbing a couple portraits!

[Ben Syverson]

[Ed Kelsey]

Self portrait on the last one?

[Ben Syverson]

Self portrait on the last one?

Ha! No, that's a coffeeshop owner from Russia, in Seminyak. I did get one self-portrait with my wife Susan on the trip:

[CantikFotos]

Looks like you were in Ubud. I lived right outside there in Penestanan for several years then moved down to Legian. God I miss it. Did you visit Rio Helmi's gallery?

[Ben Syverson]

Looks like you were in Ubud. I lived right outside there in Penestanan for several years then moved down to Legian. God I miss it. Did you visit Rio Helmi's gallery?

Yeah! We stayed in Penestanan for five days, then five days in Tegalalang, then two days in Seminyak. It was mind-blowing. We want to go back for a longer stay!

We actually liked Sanur much more than Seminyak. There was something relaxing about chilling with retirees instead of club-goers.

[mdm]

Congratulations. Love the terraces and portraits. I am reminded of a Lee Friedlander photo from Indonesia somewhere with trees sticking up out of the paddys.

[sanchi heuser]

Ben,

very nice thread. Thanks a lot.

[F-Liner]

Thanks for sharing with us, Ben! And congrats on the marriage!!

[Michael Wynd]

Well done Ben and congratulations.
I took my 4x5 Nagaoka to Bali in 1992 along with boxes of Fuji Velvia and 2 boxes of Polaroid 545 B&W instant film. I had lots of children watching me wherever I set up so I'd shoot a polaroid as a test and when I had the exposure sight , I give the polaroid to one of the kids. You could see their face light up, and I never had any problems with anyone trying to pinch stuff from my bag when I was under the cloth.
Mike