david_gardner2

<p>Anders, try to repair it first. If that doesn't work, contact me; I have an old Calumet in pieces and I think I still have the bellow. If so, and if it's the right size, I could sell it to you pretty cheap. Shipping would probably be pretty expensive, so repair is still your best option.</p>

Thanks all for the feedback and info.

 

Alan - You're right, it's not much consolation, but if I'm going to get jacked I'd rather get jacked for $15 than $1500, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Joseph -

I concur.

 

Stephen -

Once by Paypal, twice by POstal Money Order.

 

Marc -

The earliest was in 2004, the last just finished. Dunno. Like I said, what really strikes me is how alike each of the bad photo hobby buys were; the bad photo hobby buys were all pretty different.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

First off, while you can vent about eBay here (and feel free to do so if you wish) I have a fairly specific question.

 

I just finished an eBay transaction that went pretty badly (I was the buyer). What occured to me after things were

over was that I've had the same type of behavior from two other ebay sellers who sold photo do-dads. One was

selling larger format lens lock ring spanners, one was selling 4x5 film holders pouchs, and this one was (and is)

selling protective covers for ground glass. All were if radically different locations, so I'm pretty sure it's not the same

guy with three different accounts. All three transactions went something like this:

- I win auction, send payment

- Seller claims to have never received payment

- I verify payment was received

- Seller promises next day shipment

- I wait ... and wait... and wait.

- Finally, I contact seller, who slaims that shipment must have been lost. Promises to ship again the next day.

- I wait ... and wait ... and wait.

- I contact seller and ask for proof of shipment. I never hear from seller.

- I initiate a grievance with eBay. With great bluster and fluster seller claims that I was trying to con him, but he

agrees to ship out of the goodness of his heart.

 

Now, I realize that a lot of ebay transactions go bad, and a lot probably follow just this model. Here's what confuses

me. My other hobby is restoring classic cars. I buy car stuff on ebay as well, a lot more than I buy photo stuff.

Probably 5-10 times as much car stuff. And yet, very rarely do my car transactions go bad.

 

Are there just more photo hobby scammers than car hobby scammers? Or is it just considered easier to scam for

small ticket items (like spanner wrenches) than big ticket items (like Dodge Challenger fenders)?

Thanks for all the info. The camera is kept locked up, so getting to it alone is a minor nuisance, let alone getting it the night before and charging batteries. What I may start doing, however, is keeping the batteries at my desk and charging them regularly.

Thanks for the answer, but I think your answer if about the lifetime usefullness of the batteries. What I'm really asking is, "If I charge them and put them on a shelf, how long should they hold a charge before I need to charge them again?"

My company bought a digital last year, and 8 Energizer Nickel Metal Hydride

batteries to keep it going all day. I personally charged all of them to full

about two weeks ago. Today I went to do some shots for a client and they were

all dead. I know they'll lose charge over time, but not two weeks, right? Bad

batch of batteries? Am I missing something obvious?

Re: the meters, I would assume that any old meter that you buy needs to be professionally calibrated. That said, I have a (professionally calibrated) Soligor Spot Sensor, and it's a great piece of equipment.

I agree with Karl about hand processing in trays. I've never had a problem wth scratching negatives. Other methods may be fine, but for me I already had the trays, a bathroom and a roll of duct tape, so at the time I started in 4x5 it was the easiest method and I've never tried anything else.

Maybe go to the park with the Arch, pose them against one of the lakes with the Arch framing them overhead?

If you go with a lab abroad, dr5 Chrome in Denver, Colorado, USA does excellent work. Look for them at www.dr5.com.

One interesting thing about the Beaufort area is that the land is running mostly East-West, making it pretty easy to compose landscapes with ocean, beach and sunset/sunrise.

I agree with the previous poster. The concerns you mention might be real, or they might be your fears alone, but you won't know until you verify what the gallery owner has in mind.

 

If a gallery does ask for exclusive rights, find out exactly what area they want exclusivity in, and increase your prices accordingly. I have never had to pay for or arrange any of my receptions; I've just been asked to show up looking reasonably neat and answer questions. I've never been "pushed" to produce anything, although I'll freely admit that gallery owners have given me ideas that has taken my work in new directions.

 

If you do go with the gallery, make sure to draw up a contract that spells out the gallery's commision, the time until you see your money, whether the gallery has insurance to cover your work and to what level, and the terms of any exclusivity to which you agree.

I had a 90mm Angulon with the same issues. After a little rsearch (some on this board) I figured out that the image circle of the one I had was just a little too small for 4x5 (soft corners), which made it a lot too small for using any movements at all. Changed to a Super Angulon and I've had no problems since.

<i>I kind of mean that conventional 'high art' was mainly about masculinist ownership and possession - or so I find myself reading it. You know, the imperialist representation of the world on canvas.</i><p>

 

No offense meant here, but I'd suggest moving beyond the Marxist rhetoric. It's fine to read; and it can open your mind to some ideas, but it's incredibly limiting in other ways, and it particularly wants to limit art to serve its polemic. I've seen too many creative minds uselessly constrained by becoming tied to this type of thinking.<p>

 

As many others have posted, study the total history of art, and view the Marxist theory as just one way of interpreting art, not the only way or the "best" way.

I have a 4990 and I haven't experienced anything like this. Has it always done this, or is this a new phenomenon?

I was there for a week in July last year, so some of this may not apply to you. Also, I don't have my info with me, so I might have some details a little off. <p>

 

If I recall correctly, April is rainy, usually in the ofrm of quick, heavy storms. The Badlands structure are nothing but dried mud, so when it rains it's a mess. If it's wet, stay on the boardwalk trails. I'm not sure about flowers, but if there will be any they'll be in the grassy plains.<p>

 

Since you have so much time, and since the park is so small, I'd suggest spending significant time just driving around and checking out the light and how it changes throughout the day. You can easily drive every inch of every road in the park in a day with lots of time left over. The different structures in the park look very different as they catch different angles and colors of light during the day.<p>

 

If you're into wildlife there is a road in the park that leads to the West that has a Prairie Dog town. They're not quite tame, but they are both protect and not very bright, and if you go out and sit down in the middle of the town, they'll sound alrams for about 5 minutes and then forget than you're there. There are also frequently sheep (Bighorn?) out along the road or near it. Near the middle there is usually a bison herd.<p>

 

Since you have so much time, and the park itself is small, there's some other stuff that's worth catching nearby (and when I say nearby, I mean in the sense of a state as large as SD). South of Rapid City there is Black hills National Forest and Custer State Park, both of which I'd recommend. A little more than an hour further west is Devil's Tower; I spent a day there, huffing around a backpack full of equipment in 104 degrees, and got some great stuff. For something unusual and close, the National Park Service has opened Minuteman National Historic Site. It's a Minuteman missile silo and launch control facility with guided tours. If you decide to do this one, call and make reservations in advance. <p>

 

Good luck, and enjoy.

JW Photo Labs in Raleigh, NC did ilfochrome the last time I looked at their price list. I've never used them. My take is that their prices on other services are a little high, but at least around here they have a good reputation. Whether that's from doing good work or from having little competition, I can't say.

I would guess that it would show up as an area of decreased contrast, if it does show up. Off the top of my head, maybe you could set up something with a regular pattern with reasonably high contrast, like a checkerboard, and use that to test.

I had a similar incident in the Smokies when I first got into large format. All I had at the time was a CC400 series studio camera. I had just finished some shots of a brewing storm and then carried everything (film holders, filters, spot meter and such in a backpack, camera on a tripod) back to my Jeep. I set the tripod down with the legs spread...just as a big gust of wind came up. It caught the bellows like wind catches a sail and the whole thing went over. (Among the other lessons I learned, collapse the camera when you pack up, even if it's starting to rain on you.)<p>

 

Like you, I was amazed at how well the camera actually weathered the impact. There were paint scrapes, and the rise knob was bent. I got another knob and touched up the paint scrapes with some automotive lacquer through an airbrush and it was good to go.

Dee Dee, oh Dee Dee. No sooner do I warn you about being petulant and unladylike and you're back at it again. <p>

 

By the way, the news at Bragg reports that a bunch of Airborne soldiers have been traveling to New York, where a "former Airborne" soldier who is also a "professional photographer" has been taking pics of them for a gay-themed homosexually-oriented web site. I wonder if he also told them he was a toolmaker.

I have a 4x5 original that's pretty thin. I was ready to throw it away, but I stuck it in my scanner and it actually scanned very nicely. I later sent it to West Coast Imaging, and they were able to make a beautiful print from it.

Now, Edie...no, I think Dee suits you better. Now that that's settled...Dee, that was very un-ladylike. One might almost say it was petulant.<p>

 

Before you get your panties in more of a knot, I'll send you whatever you like. A teddy? A chamisole? You name it. None of that Victoria's Secret stuff, though. I doubt you have the body for it, and you'll scare off all the men.

Kai: Thanks for the effort.

 

Ed: It's time we buried the hatchet. I'll send you something nice as a consolation prize as soon as you post your bra size.

I concur with William. First image slightly warm, second image pretty neutral, both within the bounds of what I'd accept as "grayscale." Monitor calibration a likely culprit.