mclaine

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Nothing new in mine.<div></div>

Tasmania! It's high summer in January/February. We have the world's best beaches, cleanest air, most beautiful forests, and some of the world's finest temperate wilderness walking tracks.

 

http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/home/index.cfm

I don't have a Leica yet, but I'm thinking about getting one, so I'm not sure if I'm entitled to post here according to "z", but I will anyway.

 

Point 1. It's a worthwhile picture, I appreciate the link to it, and the opportunity to discuss. I'm impressed by the intensity of the tones at each end of the spectrum, while the middle greys are well defined as well. The picture is either boring or fascinating, depending upon one's interest in desert jazz, or humanity in general. It's certainly interesting and well arranged to me.

 

Point 2. Perhaps if z resents this discussion, he could start one elsewhere.

Nice story! My tripod has saved the day too. Last summer a friend and I pitched our tent on the summit of a remote peak in the south west wilderness of Tasmania. We took a gamble on the weather staying fine, but around midnight the wind rolled in. Bucketloads of wind. The kind you have to crawl around in. Our high quality alpine tent was pitched well, but the pegs just weren't up to the task, and when they popped out, the wind blasted them off the mountain. Things were getting quite nasty when I crawled out to see what could be done. Matt held the tent up from the inside, trying to prevent the poles from snapping, while I jammed one leg of my Manfrotto about 18" into the soft alpine soil on the windward side. I crunched down on it with my boot and drove that thing in, until it wouldn't drive in any further. Now I had a bombproof anchor to hitch all the windward guys onto. The tripod kept the tent up for another couple of hours, until the guys started snapping one by one. That was time to pack up and get down from there to a valley. I managed to retrieve the tripod, all except for the rubber foot, which is still embedded 18" into that summit's soil.

The trouble with Western Australia is the distance between places. It is simply vast. Graeme Hird is the resident expert on WA, but even he lives a squillion miles from Perth. My favourite place within easy driving distance of Perth is the Margaret River wine district and the spectacular coast which fringes it. That would be a 2/3 day trip from Perth, to make it worth while. If you've only got a couple of days, Fremantle, Rottnest Island, The Swan River wine district spring to mind. And if you enjoy sport, try to catch a game of footy at Subiaco Oval, either Fremantle or West Coast, both teams perform very well at home.

Thank you all. Duane I had cleaned my 545 holder thoroughly, pulled the rollers out and tried several things to regain circularity, but they are permanently deformed.

 

I'll obtain another holder. Thanks again.

I have a Polaroid 545 holder, but the rollers are old and give uneven

development with streaky lines.

 

I have a box of Polaroid Type 55 4x5 sheets I want to use up, but I

don't want to process them in the 545 holder. Can I take them back to

my darkroom and use another normal developer? I want to stick to an

ISO of say, 25. I want medium density negs with good shadow details

and manageable highlights, for my diffusion enlarger (LPL7450 MkII).

I have in stock ID-11, Rodinal, Microphen, X-tol, Buetler 2-Bath and

Microdol-X to choose from. Can anyone share any suggestions for a

starting combo?

Would normal rapidfix/KHCA protocol suffice? Is there any trick to

pulling them apart without rupturing the developer pouch?

I assume the sheets will not fit in my Jobo 2509N reels, and I'll

have to tray process? If it's all too hard, perhaps I could just eBuy

another 545 holder.

 

I googled this database, checked poaroid.com and digitaltruth to no

avail.

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I agree that this should be a priority. I feel it is important to be able to review comments I've made on pictures and respond to any issues or questions that have been raised since my comments. It's a simple courtesy that the creator of each image deserves in my opinion. Being unable to find the pictures to review the threads for subsequent comments may lead to inadvertent insult by omission at the very least.

My friend Matt Brain regularly uses a 65mm Grandagon on a Tech IV without the special focusing device. He simply uses the back to focus, as suggested above. I don't know if this is possible with wider lenses.<div></div>

The Lee system is great, but I've found that on a couple of my short to normal lenses the Lee holders interfere with the bed, particularly with the spring grips for advancing and retracting the top plate of my Techs IV and V. The Lee WA hood will only fit horizontally.

I use a P67 for landscape pictures and am very pleased with it, particularly when teamed with the wonderful 45mm lens. I can't offer any comments on the 645 you asked about, but moved up from the 6x6 format recommended by Jay for the extra 50% of area for rectangular compositions. I miss the interchangeable backs not so much for the ability to change and keep shooting quickly, but for the convenience of having both black and white and colour backs at your fingertips. I would personally avoid using a rangefinder for landscape work because I find it essential to be able to closely study the subject through the taking lens to ensure correct DOF, polarisation or position of ND grad, and also to check for crud, raindrops etc., on the lens.

 

<p>I also have a 4x5" kit, but it's bulk and weight is far greater which is an issue on any trip longer than a day, not to mention the inconvenience of handling single sheets compared with roll film.

 

<p>Other pros and cons of my P67?

 

<p>The metered prism on my P67 is a very reliable centre weighted average. The shutter is indeed electronic, but a spare battery takes up no space in your kit. I had a problem with batteries draining quickly, which was a result of corrosion on the prism contacts after salt water splashed into the gap between the body and the prism after taking <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/1281492">Bridport Jetty</a>. This was my fault and probably wouldn't have happened if I had cleaned it more thoroughly, anyway Pentax fixed it for a very reasonable cost.

 

<p>With MLU, pictures are very sharp. I've also been very pleased with the sharpness of handheld pictures taken at relatively slow speeds without MLU on the P67, for example <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2086927">The Svenor</a>.

 

<p>The lenses have a clear legible DOF scale, and DOF preview is by a simple lever, quick and easy.

 

<p>I've never had trouble with winding on or frame spacing with mine.

 

<p>Each system is a compromise, but given that you already have 2 lenses for it, I'd say that you are definitely on the right track with a P67.

www.vanbar.com.au

 

Vanbar in Melbourne and Sydney might do it. They are a major supplier of film and lab services in Australia. Perhaps contact them by email.

 

If you are planning to come down as far as Tasmania, contact me via email and I will try to help with some travel ideas.

I don't have the patience to wait until I get back to the darkroom to process.

 

Here's what I've been doing:

 

1: Process and inspect the neg.

 

2: Slip it into a small zip-lock plastic bag with half a cup of water.

 

3: Store a buch of these in a tupperware style luch-box.

 

4: Rinse and sodium sulphite treatment back in the darkroom.

 

Works fine for day trips but I wouldn't try it for over-nighters.

 

Cheers,

Click on SEARCH.

 

Enter "Orphaned Comments"

 

Brian's relevant post from last year is currently in the thread that is the fourth result down.

 

Cheers,

Thanks for your response Brian.

A quick search of the database reveals that Brian deleted 40,000

oprphaned comments in June 2002.

 

Perhaps now might be a good time to do it again? Culling 14 months

worth of orphaned comments would surely help free up some space, and

speed up loading of Community Profiles. It would certainly save

members time spent following dead links.

 

Any support for this suggestion?

To be blunt, the article was the worst piece of rubish I have ever read on photo.net. For reasons pointed out above by Michael Kadillak and John Kasaian, it is BAD advice, it fails to address the fact that other aspects of preparation are much more important than carrying a "survival kit".

 

This was pointed out in the thread that followed the article by myself and one or two others, and while we were ignored by the author, he warmly engaged those who wished to discuss the size of their Bowie knives.

 

I'd suggest that those dabbling on the fringes of wilderness for the first time choose their advisors and research carefully. I'd feel more relaxed in the wild with Mr Kadillak or Mr Kasaian than Mr. "Rambo" Spinak.

 

John Mc. (25 years of wilderness adventuring)

Thank you all. Plenty of good info there. I'll keep an eye on it, but take no drastic action at this stage.

 

Cheers,

I'm beginning to suspect I'm not getting as much battery life as I

should from my Pentax 67. I haven't kept records, but I know I

fitted a new battery only a couple of months ago, and have taken

maybe 10 rolls on the new battery before it died. I'm still

relatively new to the P67, so I'm not sure how much life to expect,

but surely it should be more than about 10 rolls of 120? I've got a

feeling that's about how much life I got from the previous battery

too. I often don't use the metered prism, using my Pentax Digital

Spot Meter instead. I've been using Varta V28PX 4SR44 Silver 6V

batteries, the same ones that fit the spot meter, so at least one

spare suffices for both.

 

I almost always use MLU, and often take exposures of 1 to 10

seconds, so I assume that causes extra battery drain? I believe

there is a modification that can be done to reduce the battery drain

for MLU. Is it an expensive operation?

 

Should I stick to silver, or will it meter the same if I use the

same size battery in lithium?

 

Should I remove the battery between shoots to extend life?

 

Any other suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

I have a 20 year old SQ-Am and it is an excellent piece of equipment. The motor drive in mine is reliable, it has never given me a moment's trouble. Spacing on 120 film is fine, speed of operation is great for fast changing subjects. If the SQ-Am you are considering is in good condition, do not rule it out on the basis of other's opinions about noise. Of course the drive has a little noise, as do all drives, but it is not excessive. Is it heavy? A little. Have a play with it and see what you think of the weight. If you are a tripod user, then it's not an issue.

 

The S lenses are absolutely terrific. With the electronic shutters I always get acurate exposures. I am able to make superb sharp prints for the S lenses, hence never felt the need to upgrade to the newer PS lenses.

In answer to Peter's question, my experience was virtually identical to Doug's. A pleasant surprise.

Tasmania. Great opportunities for natural landscape photographers. I have some pictures of Tasmania in my folders if you'd like a sneak preview.

Although Dombrovskis is at the top of my personal list, it's not so much because of his pictures, but what he did with them. It's often suggested by historians that the publication of his "Rock Island Bend" in all the major newspapers of Australia in the week of the '83 election dragged Hawke across the line as PM, saved the wild rivers of Tasmania, changed the course of environmental politics in Australia and helped to raise the status of the conservation movement worldwide! To me that's more significant than the work of half the people listed above.

 

And there's been no mention of Frank Hurley, who out-Anseled Adams, over-Roberted Capa and was more Galen than Rowell, all before the end of WWI! He was the first truly great adventure photographer, the first truly great war photographer, and just as dedicated to image perfection as Ansel. Definitely top 4 of the greats, but being from the southern hemisphere, is perhaps too easily forgotten by those in the north.

 

BTW, I agree with those who argue that debating lists of artists is pointless and meaningless, but it's also harmless.