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gone fishing

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  1. 1960's - 1970's... I ran the Fulda Border Resident Office and had responsibility for debriefing refugees from Kassel to Fulda. Worked with the BundesGrenzSchutz and MAD. We shut the offices down in 1979 (as well as I can recall). Put a lot of miles on a Hassy 500CM "lurking" on the border as well as a lot of Nikon equipment with some really long FL lenses. I retired in '84 after spending my last three years teaching German at Monterey. Good years - for the most part! Joel
  2. The high cost of repairs/cla finally put me out of the 'Blad business. In my experience they don't respond well to infrequent use and, despite being a great camera I couldn't justify keeping mine "up and running." The 500CM that I used while assigned to the 165th Military Intelligence Battalion in Fulda, Germany took more abuse and neglect than any other camera in our photo-arsenal... and always performed well. Go figure! On the one hand, it is logical that an oft-used mechanical camera will be more likely to function properly than a "closet-queen" but the allure of a pristine 500 series is hard to deny. Joel
  3. FWIW... at 76 I keep my darkroom up and going (4x5 and 6x6). I made the plunge into digital about 10 years ago and didn't care for it at all. It just wasn't as much fun and I don't care for color at all so I was glad that I hadn't gotten rid of all the darkroom equipment! I did get rid of the 8x10 enlarger after selling the last of my 8x10 cameras (do miss it - the 8x10 was my favorite format).
  4. Generally, increasing developing time will increase contrast with (again a generalization) 15-20% increase in time yielding about one grade. Agitation also increases contrast but, if you are following recommendations for agitation intervals I would try a 20% increase in developing time and compare the results. This isn't the same as "push-processing" which is exposing at a higher speed and processing longer (underexposing and over-developing) and the resultant loss of shadow detail. Joel
  5. One of the best is Dave Odess but you will pay a premium price and he may not have what you are looking for - but if he does and you are willing to pay the price, you won't need to worry about a CLA. Joel
  6. Well stated Ben - and not at all surprising given the focus of the site.
  7. Good for you Dennis... I believe the "nail-in-the-coffin" for LF is still a long way off simply because there is so much stuff to cannibalize and, film and papers are still being produced. I still do all of my darkroom work ( I would continue even if there were commercial labs accessible to me) and the joy of the process is undiminished.
  8. Sandy... Sad but true. Added to everything else the demise of large-format shutters and the withdrawal of most of the lens manufacturers (the very few remaining are astronomical in price). While one can still find good used equipment, the technicians who are really competent are getting "long in the tooth" and parts have to be cannibalized. I will continue with 4x5 as long as I am able after having divested myself of 8x10 at 72. Do I miss the 8x10 ground-glass - you bet, but with film cost, equipment weight (and bulk) and diminishing physical capacity it was time!
  9. AJG pretty well nailed it... add to that the fact that many folks today have never actually seen or had the ability to touch a large-format camera. It is a discipline which is not easily acquired and can be daunting for the beginner but for some of us I believe it is as much a love of the process as it is the product. I will readily admit that my foray into digital was sheer folly, not as the result of the equipment, but the process. Could I have slowed down and approached it in the same fashion that I use with LF... yes but it didn't work out that way and I found that the lack of camera controls - tilts, swings, shifts, rise and fall - just didn't accommodate my "vision" (pompous term not really intended). Film (sheet) is admittedly expensive and chemicals more difficult to acquire but I haven't processed more than one sheet of film at-a-time for over 45 years and I rarely make more than 3-4 exposures on any outing, preferring to go back to the same location over and over under different seasonal/lighting conditions - sometimes not making any exposure at all. It isn't an approach that is suited to everyone and if you have never experienced it there is little reason to start down that path. Joel
  10. I am not sure that it is as much a waning of interest as it is the venue... and I don't mean that as a derogatory comment! If you visit the Large Format Forum website, while there is certainly less activity than there once was, it is still pretty active. I sometimes go for weeks without logging in here simply because there is apparently such a low participation rate for LF - on the other hand I can't recall when I last missed a day on LFF. I hesitate to say this because I may be completely wrong, but I think it may be a case of trying to "be all things to all people." I will also concede that, by not posting here in the LF forum, that makes me part of the problem (if indeed it is a problem). I only came back here at all because I recently started shooting medium-format again (finally left 8x10 because I just got too old to pack it on the trails). Photo Net simply isn't known as a hotbed of LF activity and (I think) the majority of us on LFF are "old geezers" who have been there for years. Bottom line - maybe a start a thread on "your favorite LF Field Camera and why" ... see if there are enough folks around who are willing to converse. (By the way rodeo_joe, your posts are indeed some of the ones I always look for because I find them well thought-out and expressed.) I tried digital with a full-frame DSLR, large-format printer, etc - just didn't like it... my darkroom is too comfortable and too much fun/challenge, I still can pack my 4x5 and do MF as the "walk-around-town" stuff. Joel
  11. What John said... adding lube is not a choice unless a thorough cleaning is performed first!
  12. Without more info I can't suggest much... is the dark-slide inserted completely? Been a while since I have worked with a "bad. Joel
  13. <p>KEH in Atlanta has a pretty good reputation and are "local" enough. <br> Joel</p>
  14. <p>KEH in Atlanta has a pretty good reputation and are "local" enough. <br> Joel</p>
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