"Old timey" 120 film recommendations

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Jay, I've been considering adding a 6x9 to the arsenal specifically for making contact prints to be mounted like some of my family photos from the late 1800s. One of my friends volunteers for a local historical community display visited by school kids and tourists. It'd be fun to use techniques that would evoke the essence of photos from that era (without going overboard into coating my own glass plates, etc. - there's a limit to how much fun I'm willing to tolerate).</p>

[jay_de_fehr]

<p>Lex,</p>

<p>I've fallen in love with contact printing the 6x9 format. I have a Graflex SLR I want to build a wet plate holder for, partly because I'm curious about WP, and partly because I can't find a roll film back for it, or even type IV sheet film holders. I saw some MF WP work at Flickr, and the idea just kind of stuck. It would be much easier to build a holder for a camera that could be taken into the DR to load/unload, instead of removing the holder separately, and an SLR could be focused quickly just before exposure, etc. I may well be going overboard. In the meantime, I'll keep looking for film holders for the Graflex, and shooting my Kodak folder. </p>

<p>It is very educational for me to look at those old photos and try to determine the factors that combine to create the overall effect. Subject matter surely played a large role, and the cultural items that date the photos (Hairstyles, dress, cars, houses, etc.), but beyond that, there is a richness to the photos that's hard to pinpoint. They're not necessarily sharper than modern photos, but there's a depth to them. I think uncoated lenses, ortho films, and contact printing on gaslight/ silver chloride papers all play major roles, but in the case of the studio portraits, the lighting was generally superb. Most contemporary, small town studio portraits look very poor indeed when compared to those old contact prints. I often buy old studio portraits from antique shops, as educational material. It's very interesting to hold these portraits in my hands, and examine the quality of the print, the paper's surface texture, and weight, and try to guess which materials and techniques were used to make the print. I try to imagine what the negative would have looked like, and how it was developed. I imagine myself as the photographer, looking at the subject, arranging the lights, timing the exposure. It's very cheap entertainment, and humbling, too. </p>

[dave_gesell]

<p>Thanks to everyone for posting examples and exposure/processing tips. I'm going to order some Acros 100 and Adox CHS 50. Last night I successfully processed my first B&W film in ages. I'm very impressed with the Konica Auto S2 that I've recently acquired. Less so with the Pentax SMC-A 28mm that I had on my MX. The film bug has officially re-bit me. Now I'm watching a Crown Graphic on the big auction site.</p>

<p>Lord help me.</p>

[wblynch]

<p>Lord Help Us All ! :)</p>