The "look" one gets from a very old uncoated lens

[golden]

<p>I was out shooting with my 5x7 yesturday and came aross a very old log cabin, decided to use a lens a friend of mine gave me a couple of years ago, it is a very old wollensak convertable, uncoated of course, shutter doesnt work except on the T setting which is fine with me. anyway, i took the shot, went to the darkroom and processed the neg, it was overexposed somewhat but not too bad, i decided to make a contact print, the look of the print so fit the scene, low contrast, some lens flare, looked like an image that was taken back in the late 1800's, a look that no way one of my newer fujinon lenses could have duplicated. does anyone else like this "look", i guess it works on certain subject matter better than others. </p>

[luca_stramare2]

<p>I prefer to have choices.<br>

If by using such a lens you get a different result that more modern lenses are not able to give, well, why not?</p>

[luis_g]

<p> Ansel Adams goes into this a bit in one of his books (The Lens, probably). Basically, the flare acts like a pre-flash, falsely elevating shadow values. There's a little of this effect between single-coated and multiple-coated lenses. Remember Weston photographed the entire oeuvre he is famous for with one lens that he bought at a Mexican flea market (it used to make A.A. cringe so bad that he offered E.W. any of his own lenses, and Weston declined.<br>

Add a film without a halation layer, and one re-enters bygone times technically, and looks-wise.</p>

<p> </p>

[jim_galli4]

You might enjoy wading through <a href="http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com">my web pages</a> some time when your wife won't let you watch your favorite TV show. I've made a real expensive bad habit out of those old lenses. Some of them are downright astonishing. I've got a few hundred of them.

[jack_welsh]

<p>John, please show a photo!</p>

[jack_welsh]

<p>Jim, love your photos! photographing old buildings, etc. Has always been my favorite subjects.</p>

[luca_stramare2]

<p>Fantastic pictures, Jim!</p>

[rjjackson]

<p>jim, great images and inspiring stories to go along with your experiments. thanks for sharing.</p>

<p> </p>

[jim_galli4]

Thanks guys. :~'))

[golden]

<p>yes jim, excellent! the writings are exceptional, probably my favorite images are of the couple (the lady having shaved her head) tears came to my eyes as i read the story, those photos are awsome, </p>

[tom_overton]

<p>I've been a fan of Jim's for some time. I love the variety of focus and contrast in his images. It's partly because of him that I find myself lurking around looking for odd bits of glass. (and appropriate gear to make them sing)</p>