bruce_barlow

I put holders, film, etc, in a plastic garbage bag, and put all that in the changing bag. When I work inside the changing bag, I try to make sure I'm also working inside the garbage bag, too. The plastic bag helps keep the inevitable dust off the film that otherwise seems to rain off the inner fabric of the changing bag. "Helps," but doesn't cure the dust problem completely.

A changing bag works if you use a plastic garbage bag inside it. Put your dusted holders and film inside it, and put it inside the changing bag. Do all the work inside the plastic, and dust will cease to be a problem.

 

That said, a darkroom or blacked out bathroom is vastly superior.

 

Good luck!

 

Bruce Barlow

Thanks for the kind words.

 

Too bad you missed our party. I had a great time, thanks to the Valley Photo Center and Gene Laford, and also special thanks to Ted Harris who solicited the institutional sponsors and arranged the catering, and did a great job. Good food, good music, good friends. It don't get much better.

 

Steve mumbled something about next year in Chicago...

I took an 8x10 film holder to Walmart and found an insulated picnic bag that fit it when I turned the holder sideways. It's by Arctic Zone, and you have to remove the hard plastic liner. It fits 12 8x10 holders, and I think was $11.99. I bought two, then went back with a holder and found a smaller one that fits 15 4x5 holders for $8.99.

 

Be sure to take a holder to try them on for size.

I've compared Type 52 to Type 72 (ISO 400, coaterless), and like Type 72 better. Coaterless is a gift, too.

 

I really like the extra speed of the ISO 400 films for LF.

I practiced being familiar and quick. I set up and took down my 4x5 50 times before I was so bored I couldn't stand it. Did 25 with my 8x10. Bored, but I know them well and am really efficient with them.

 

Practiced knowing my shutters by feel. When is it open? Closed? Where is f16? I do it from behind the camera with my eyes closed. I, too, keep cable releases attached, but if it falls off, I just trip the shutter. Gotta get the picture.

 

I can probably get my 4x5 Wista mounted, lensed, leveled, and focused almost as fast as a 35mm shooter can. 8x10 takes a little longer because it's a Sinar Norma monorail with all the bits to assemble.

 

Out in the field (meaning, in the car), all cameras are unfolded, lensed, and wrapped in darkcloths. ALl I need to do is mount them on tripods and go. I like to work fast with the equipment, slowly with the image.

Portraits of my son's 8th grade class for a limited-edition book of real prints. 20 copies, 18 students plus teacher, prints of portraits (4x5) and family photographs of each family (35mm). So, 2 prints per student, 20 copies of the book, 18 students plus teacher... I'll let you do the math. Insanity strikes again!

I'd vote to start with a 210. Great all-around length, wonderful for portraits. Then go wide: 120 or 90.

 

Personally, I think a 150 seems always a little too short or a little too long and only rarely just right. My two cents.

 

Good luck!

 

Bruce

I'll throw in another idea. Get a Polaroid 545 holder, Polaroid Type 72 (ISO 400, B&W), and use nothing but Polaroid for a while (like 6 months to a year). Instant feedback (and gratification or desolation). You'll learn fast, and be able to see what you're doing with focusing and movements. You'll learn precise exposure, too. I tweak Polaroid to about 1/3 stop, since it has to be right.

 

Type 72 is lovely film, and needs no coating like Type 52. My two best images are on Polaroid. They're like little jewels, and I don't regret that they're one of a kind.

 

Good luck!

You mean for bellows extension? It's easy -- no charts required.

 

Convert your lens's focal length in inches to fstops: for instance, a 210mm lens is 8", so think "f8". When focusing on something close, look at your bellows extension. Let's say, for example, 11" from the lensboard to the groundglass (I carry a small tape measure, but a guess is probably close enough). Convert that 11" measurement to "f11". The difference between f8, the focal length, and f11, the extension you need to use, is one f-stop. So, give one more stop of exposure to compensate for the longer bellows draw.

 

Similarly, 16" of extension would be "f16", warranting 2 stops more exposure. If you can get within a half stop you're fine, so there's no need to go crazy. It works with any lens where you convert the focal length to inches: a 120mm is 5 inches, a 150 6 inches, and so forth. If you want to do the math, the multiplier between full stops is the square root of 2, or about 1.4 (close enough): 8 times 1.4 is roughly 11, and so forth. Stick with fstops, it's simpler.

 

This is a simple, reliable and repeatable way to get it Close Enough For Photography.

 

Good luck!

 

Bruce

I got a bunch from Glennview.com, and I think I paid $20-25 apiece for ones rated "excellent." There was one where a dented slide caused me to buy a new replacement slide...for $25...

 

Remember how expensive they are new, so what you think they should go for just isn't necessarily what folks will part with them for.

 

Good luck! I bought a bunch used after I ran out one day, surely depriving me of the best picture I ever would have made! I think I have 24 now, which should keep me for even the longest and best of days in the field.

 

I keep them, by the way, in cooler bags from KMart. Take a holder with you to the store to ensure proper fit. $11.99 each, and two are enough for my 24 holders. Artic Zone, and the holders fit if you take out the plastic insert and put the holders in sideways. Cheap and good!

 

Bruce

It's all in preparation. I rehearse the subject and show them with a practice click of the shutter how long they have to hold still. I tell them to get ready, ask them to take a deep breath, and look at the lens. Then I do exactly as rehearsed. Children can hold still forever. Adults are used to flash and often blink. Nevertheless, my hit rate is pretty high at 1/2 sec to 3 sec. exposure times.

 

Something wonderful often happens -- whoever the person is wells up and comes out during the exposure. So the pictures are often really great, and it ain't the photographer.

 

Bruce

Make 'em hold still! I make 8x10 portraits with 1/2 second exposures and rarely miss because of subject movement. Just be clear telling subjects what to do and how long they have to hold still (most of mine are of children 13 and younger. It's the adults who blink, expecting flash).

 

My 355 lens is terrific for 8x10 portraits. Focus on their eyes, and depth of field will get you there.

 

My son took a waist-up 8x10 contact print of himself and scanned it into Photoshop. He enlarged it on the screen and called me over. "Daddy, is that you?" Reflected in his eye was the photographer, his camera, the house, etc. Amazing.

 

Portraits in large format are buckets of fun.

Artic Zone makes a small cooler bag (about 8.99 at K-Mart) that fits about a dozen 4x5 holders, and a larger size (about $11.99) that, when you remove the hard liner (makes a good wastebasket) holds about 12 8x10 holders put in sideways. They both have adjustable shoulder straps, zippers, and external pockets. I got 2 for my 8x10s, and 1 for 4x5. Since I carry the camera over my shoulder, these work great for me. Several colors, I prefer purple and red for high-visibility.

 

I think Wal-Mart has them, too. I took film holders into the store to try them on for size.

I use a Wista with a 210mm lens for portraits. Lovely combination that keeps you close enough to the subject to be intimate and establish a conncetion with the person.

 

If you really want fun, do portraits with Type 72 Polaroid -- one-of-a-kind, and lovely film. I mount them with linen tape in 8x10 window mats and do them as fundraisers for local charities. 85 in a day will get you real familiar with how to do it. And I have never had as much fun photographing!

 

Bruce

I took a trip to Maine a year or so ago with 16 8x10 holders and ran out one day! So I found 8 more used. 24 feels right. I have 30 4x5 holders, and am glad for all of them. I don't worry these days about running out, and worry is a piece of clutter in a mind already too full of clutter.

 

You can never have too many holders, and will always seem to have exactly one too few!

I just printed on the Arista.edu FB paper. Looks good. When I'm less lazy I'll test it with the test neg I used in the View Camera article and see how it fares against the other eleven papers. When I do, I'll post again here.

 

Bruce

It was worthwhile last year for me.

 

This one, I'm coming with all 400+ prints from my tests of papers and developers (article in the current View Camera issue) so you can choose your own favorites Friday at 5:30. That alone is worth the price of admission and hotel (yuk yuk).

 

Seriously, it looks like a good group of presenters this time, in a beautiful part of the world. Worth it. I'd offer to share a room but my wife tells me I'd blow you out the window with my snoring.

 

Hope to see you there!

 

Bruce Barlow

I got one, and now wouldn't live without it -- makes all the difference in the world.

 

Bruce

Go to the Schneider web site and print off the depth of field chart for a 360mm lens. You'll be a little frustrated because they don't have all the apertures, but it will be a good start and a valuable resource.

I used a Polaroid back the entire first year I used LF -- didn't make a single negative. It was a great learning tool. As for cost, I get Polaroid Type 72 20 sheet boxes from B&H for 42.95 plus shipping. Call it $2.50 per sheet, probably a little less. That compares to about $.80 for Tri-X, plus .25 in chemicals to develop it, .75 minimum in paper and chemicals to proof it, plus God knows to make a decent print. Oops! I'll always make a second neg, too, so add at least another .80. So without printing I'm at $2.50 for Polaroid vs. 2.60 for Tri-X proofed only. Yes, I'll probably use multiple Polaroids to get it right, which it has to be if there's only one. But it will take me close to a dozen sheets of paper to get it really right, and that's the expensive paper, and chemicals, etc. So, for me it's worth it if you feel yourself "just learning." It's worth it to go back now and then, too.

 

I like Type 72 a lot -- better than 52 (which requires coating, which is a drag, especially in winter). And I've compared 72 and 52 head-to-head, and like the look of 72 better. Never messed with 55, seems too much trouble, and fer sure you're going to use 2 per picture -- one print and one for the neg. I'll keep it simple, thanks, and if I get a winner, it's all that much more precious.

 

If you want to have fun and really learn to handle your equipment, use Polaroid Type 72 for portraits, and give yourself only one chance per subject. You'll get good fast, and after that, rarely miss.

 

Good luck, and have fun!

 

Bruce

Don't know the Ronar, but eyes I trust compared the G-Claron with the 300mm Symmar and liked the G-Claron better... The G-Claron is a fabulous lens for any use.

Go have fun with Betty Edwards' "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." It will teach you to shift your attention to the right, or more creative side of your brain and less to the left, more verbal side. Once there, the pictures seem to come easier as long as I keep the "I" out of the way. As soon as I think "I'm about to make a good picture" the magic is gone and it's bound to be a bad one.

 

I also think that seeing only improves with practice. Make a photograph every day, even if it's only one, even if it's "only" 35mm. Or better, get an old Polaroid Land camera and make one, and only one Polaroid image a day, but make it count (would make an interesting show after a year -- successes and failures both). Keep the creative gears lubricated and loose.

 

I agree that 10 keepers a year is a strong year, and 200-400 large format negatives is about right to get those 10. Be hard on yourself when you edit those proofs. I find I need to let proof sheets "ferment" for at least a month. Good pictures convert themselves to mediocre ones over time, and why waste precious time printing mediocrity? Use that time to make negatives 400 to 600 instead, and go for 15 keepers!

Check out Fine Art Photo Supply (fineartphotsupply.com). I haven't seen their tripods in person, but I understand they're very similar to the old Zone VI ones (they're made by the same woodshop, I know). I, too use and love the Zone VI Lightweight with 35, 4x5 and a big 8x10 Sinar Norma. It's wonderful.

It's a great all-around lens. Use away! Years ago, when Zone VI started selling them as camera lenses, Fred Picker and Richard Ritter tested the G-Claron against the much bigger and more expensive 300mm Symmar, and liked the G-Claron better. Try it, you'll like it!