Three Halloween shots with a 1926 Zeiss Maximar

[golden]

Great shots Cliff!!

[doug grosjean]

Extremely coincidental that I'd use the bow-arrow as an example, with a guy that's actually made one! All I've ever done with that is buy a book and flint blanks when my young son and I visited Flint Ridge OH on the motorcycle a couple years ago. But chipping away at the flints to shape them, it becomes apparent that to do it well isn't as easy as it sounds. Primitive cavemen, my butt...! I've also browsed books on making a bow, and am fascinated by the idea, but have done nothing on it. And I'd like to build a Kentucky long rifle someday, but same deal - haven't gotten around to it. Working, fatherhood, motorcycling, living, photography, and writing take up enough of my time that not much is left to pursue other branches thtat look interesting.

 

I'm a young guy (46 in about a week), so I'm learning this old stuff after starting out on modern film cameras in the 1980s.

 

Big thing to me on the really old cameras is how slow the work methods are compared to today (there's so many simple steps!), and how the complete lack of mechanical interlocks or electronic controls allows you to screw up in so many ways, at every single one of those 'simple' steps.

 

So when I see good photos taken with really old gear, I appreciate how much skill (and sometimes just a small dash of luck added in) and knowledge those results required.

 

If there were a local-to-me elder who was fooling with making his own emulsions on glass plates, I'd love to learn that skill. I can easily see cobbling / buying something like a 5x7 and doing portraits of people close to me on glass plates, for their archival properties.

 

The bad news is you've got health problems. But the good news to me is that in spite of that, you're out there doing these things, successfully. That is so cool.

[golden]

concerning the ratings cliff, i know what you mean, i have done some s hots with my LF camera and posted them, got a few 3's. Im thinking, "what in the heck, what do you mean a 3" lol. alot goes into shooting the old style than what folks realize, I really appreciate the work you do though, those arent just photographs to me, they are also the heart of the photographer because of what you have to do to prepare. 7 of 7

[cliffmanley]

Thanks again Doug and John. That's why I hang out here on this forum, it's the only place where people understand the photography we grew up with. We need to keep it alive and try to find some interested kids to teach, if there are any...these cameras don't include phones with cute ringtones.

[doug grosjean]

Cliff, I can also sympathize with the crowd asking questions about the old camera.

 

The second group shot I did with my Cirkut was about 1000 people at a motorcycle rally this past summer, a photo of the rally attendees.

 

While I was directing things in front of me, telling the audience / subjects what would happen, how we'd get the shot, there were at least a half-dozen cameras behind, journalists and videographers, taking pics of me taking the group pic. So looking ahead at the mass of people was intimidating, but looking backwards at a bunch of cameras aimed at me, and rolling, was just as intimidating.

 

I controlled questions by starting (loudly) with "People, we have only X minutes. I'll be glad to talk all night about the camera - *after* we get the shot..! Here's what we're going to do to get the shot, and here's what the camera will do. We have *one* piece of film...."

 

Something similar would work for your adults. But you'd still be on your own with the children, I'm afraid.

[cliffmanley]

Well Doug, my croud was not all that big, just the other kids parents at the birthday party. I was tring to be nice to them, hoping they would pay me to take portraits of their kids while I had everything set up. All I really got was a "That's really neet". And you know the parents of two year olds are all pretty young themselves. I only had one ask how much it would cost for an 8x10 silver gelatin portrait of herself and her sisters. When I told her, she just said "OH", but I left some cards anyway.

[doug grosjean]

Often I'll also show people the image on the groundglass ahead of time. Among the photos taken of me and my 3 assistants on the big group shot, are pics of each of the assistants (photographers themselves) checking out the Cirkut groundglass image for themselves, prior to the 4 of us setting up the shot.

 

I have the notion that BIG negs from antique cameras are salable in modern times, for their clarity and timelessness. I'm almost 100% certain that I'm right on that.

 

But.... people have become spoiled. They expect free images, and value "free" over "detailed, sharp, clear, archival." Cellphone images are OK, to most, as long as they're free.

 

I think free digital images, ie snapshots, at least those that are printed and not lost forever due to hard drive crashes or forgotten due to mediocrity, 20 years from now folks will look at those pics in family albums and wonder why the oldest photos are the sharpest / best, and cellphone snaps will have the same kind of stigma attached that we have for photos shot on 110-size film (pocket cameras) or worse yet, the 1980s Kodak disc cameras....

 

Hi-res digital with good gear is excellent. But free cellphone snaps are just... worth what folks paid for them.

 

Just curious, but what would you charge for those pics? How big is the neg? Can you make money if people buy them?

 

I suspect older people value sharp clear detailed photos more than the young, because the mature groups have seen changes in their lives, while the young figure they'll always look exactly as they look today.

[michael_cienfuegos]

Those were great shots. I have been looking at a 9x12 Maximar and also at a 9x12 Recomar. It all depends on how much money I am willing to spend, and I may have to wait a while.

 

Doug, are you going to post your Cirkut photo of the motorcycle group? I would be interested in seeing it.

 

There was a 5" Cirkut sold on ebay this past week for over $3k. It was way too expensive for my blood. I'm still looking for a N.1 or No3 Panoram.

[doug grosjean]

Michael,

 

It's agreed between the rally organizers and myself that they (organizers) will be the first to publish it / sell copies of it, so I cannot post it for now; sorry.

 

It is a neat shot, but you'll just have to take my word for it, for a while yet.

 

Doug

[cliffmanley]

Michael, There's not a lot of difference between the Maximar and Recomar, or any of the other great German plate cameras of the day. Just make sure you get one that uses a standardized slide on holder. Prices should be about the same.

[richard_beisigl]

Cliff,

Your pictures are timeless. We have two grandaughters, and when the oldest girl was at the two or three year old age, she could not sit still for a minute to have her picture taken/ She is now ten and still jcan not sit for a picture. Her 6 year old sister is just the oppiosite of her older sister, she enjoys having her picture taken.

I always enjoy your work and Gene M's, as well as many other talented photographers who are on this forum.

[cliffmanley]

Thank you Richard for taking the time to write your nice comment. I try to post some things that are not typically

seen anymore, rather than a bunch of 35mm photos. I think it adds to the forum a bit of variety, by mixing the

antiques from the past with the present high tech manual cameras we see so much of. With Gene M's great

found photos from the past and all of the other great color rangefinder and medium format folder photos, Minh's

great pans and Doug's great Cirkut photos, etc. makes this the best photography forum on the web.