rbradbury

I haven't been on that road, but if it's anything like the roads going into and out of the Maze in Canyonlands National Park, you won't be exactly blazing down the trail. The Maze roads are a slow go, with many spots where you're in single digit mph, along with the occasional stop to see whether you have clearance, to pile up rocks to fill gaps etc. But worth every white-knuckle mile.

Steve,

Did you discuss processing in individual, BTZS-type tubes? I've shied away from Pyro because it seemed to me that you would get mottled stain on the back of the neg where it contacts the tube wall. I tried a couple of things, such as a porous liner - but just got stain in the pattern of the liner.

Wichita, Kansas. Hot and dry this summer, sapping my inspiration to get out and make photos. Soon, though. I feel a three-day weekend coming on. Formerly a lifetime in the Dakotas.

Or perhaps you could find an old church-basement-type large coffee urn at a rummage sale or a restaurant supply house that sells used equipment, and use that to heat up a quantity of water. Obviously you'd want to decant from the urn into a mixing bucket, and mix in enough cold to bring the temp to just where you want it.

Another trick is, after washing, roll the film onto the reel emulsion side out, then dip in photo flo and allow to dry. This counteracts the tendency to curl toward the emulsion.

Here's what happened to me: My aunt (late 60s) asked me to shoot her wedding and I agreed. I brought my lights, which I have seldom used and with which I am strictly an amateur. I brought my roll-film back for the Toyo. I got set up for the bride and groom, and for a couple of photos with up to five people in them, the most they had told me about beforehand. I discovered at the church that I had misplaced my loupe. I set up the lights wrong, so the wall behind them was blown out in several of the shots. After I'd set up and gotten ready to take photos with a minimum of messing around, other families came in and said 'Hey, can you take a picture of us, too?' Some of the shots included up to 20 people, requiring me to completely readjust, including switching lenses. I darn near took every photo with my lens set on M instead of X. I was a hot, sweating wreck when it was over, and the photos were mediocre. Much later, in time and beer, I was able to relax, but the photos will always be sub-par. And I've actually done a couple of other weddings (results, fortunately, were considerably better or I'd have said no to this request).

Just another thought to consider: About 18 years ago, I bought a used Toyo 45A from a photographer who had put it through the mill in the desert southwest for 10 or more years before that. It was loaded with that gritty southwest "dust" and he thought it was practically useless. He sold it to me for $100. A few years later, I sent it off to Mamiya and, for $300, they put it back into nearly new condition. I've been using it since as my only LF camera and I'm pretty sure it's going to outlast me. I may have to do some future maintenance on it, but unless I drop it off a cliff face I don't think it'll ever wear out. On the other hand, it is heavy, and I've lusted a time or two for one of the super-lightweight new cameras. If it came down to it, though, and by some unlikely chance I ever had enough money for one of them, I'd probably buy a long lens instead.