amul

I absolutely don't mind you printing out my post as a form of guidelines for the mothers. In fact, I think it's a brilliant idea. A kind of Voice of Authority thing, "ma'am, I'm just following the advice of those who've done this before."

 

Of course, these women will have no idea that I've only been a photographer for three months at this point *grin*. The experience I'm speaking from comes from my years managing non-profit fundraisers for my religious organization.

I've managed to pick up a couple of cheap clamp lights, two 1000 watt

tungsten bulbs and a 500 watt (also tungsten). I'm shooting nude or

erotic. I've also got some shells for them, metal "shades" (what are

they actually called?) in sort of Y and U shapes, and some white

bedsheets.

 

I've been told that this is the bare minimum I need to do "studio"

work. A 1000w pointed at the subject, another pointed at the sheet to

provide diffuse light, and the 500w aimed at the back to add a kind of

halo effect, keeping the subject seperated from the background.

 

I also picked up a book on studio lighting from Half-priced Books, but

it's really dense and concerned with expensive equipment. What I'd

like is more inexpensive lighting tricks, and DIY lighting tools.

Advice on how to learn what all this does.

 

The photos I have in my presentation ("Two Thousand Words") are all

from my last attempt to use these. I think I may have used white foam

core and an assistant to angle the light instead of the sheet.

 

Please give me a starting point to learn more.

Since everyone else has answered pretty quickly about technique and equipment, I'll limit myself to your concerns about film, and then ramble about those things I can never stop myself from rambling about.

 

The online photo equipment dealers associated with Photo.net (B&H, adorama, etc) are generally quite on-the-ball when it comes to shipping times. I spent the fall taking a class on Saturday and planning my darkroom. Every week after class I'd learn something new that I'd want to add to my darkroom, spend the night studying up on it, and then I'd make a purchase from one of the three Sunday afternoon. Without fail, it always arrived on Wednesday in expected condition.

 

Plus, the purchase price for film at these places can be a steal compared to Walmart. Especially if you're going to use high-speed film. Also note that now that you're filling everybody's need to take pictures of their own kids, you're going to need to a lot more film than you were before.

 

 

The other thing I'd suggest, is to figure out your organizational needs BEFORE you start handing out the contact sheets for people to look through. You're going to want to limit the number of people clamoring for the contact sheet to approximately 5 at a time, which means either controlling access or making multiple contact sheets. Because, trust me on this, having a dozen mothers trying to see the contact sheets is going to turn nasty in a number of different ways, all of which lead to major Excedrin Headaches for you. I'd suggest getting the rolls first developed onto CD, and then printing out multiple contact sheets.

 

Figure out some sort of order form. This means you'll need to come up with a labelling system for your negatives that's easier to use than the auto-generated numerical used for the CD.

 

In short, PLAN THIS OUT AHEAD OF TIME. And when you're ready, tell them the before the show that you're going to shoot, well before, so the word will get out and no one will complain that they didn't hear about it.

 

And DON'T forget to charge for your time. I'm sure you want to be nice, and give it to them at cost, but if you do that you'll start to feel used and overworked. After the first shoot, they'll stop thanking you and start expecting it of you. Earn your rewards how you can. If you feel bad about the charge for your time, lessen that guilt by putting all that money towards better equipment, so you can have better pictures of their loved ones.

*grin* Don't forget to avoid people whose middle name needs quotation marks around it.

I know that it is common to put UV or Sky Haze filters on lenses, as

much to protect the outer most element as to filter light. I have a

55mm macro lens that I'd like to similiarly protect. Any suggestions

for a filter?

I absolutely want to join in the heartfelt thanks to all you guys working behind the scenes. The work you do here has turned me from a newbie to an advanced amateur in four months. I look forward to spending years here!

 

Have an awesome new year!

Since you scan your negatives through photoshop, could you post an image of the damage you're talking about?

You may as well try pushing it to see what you get. Look for the manufacturers datasheet on push processing the film. It'll let you push three steps, which is the 100 ASA as if 800 ASA. If you've got 400 then you can push it to be 3200, in which case you'll have enough detail to call it a print. I know Ilford's datasheet shows you the actual curve, so you could even try to determine what a 5-stop push would be like.

 

Either way, the point is right now it's just sitting in your camera feeling like a mistake. You may as well push-process it and see what comes out. Getting any kind of detail on these frames will be a trimuph you can be proud of.

The MX is actually in perfect working order. It's my Girl that wants to buy me a new camera. I inherited all of this equipment from a relative-in-law that was a photographer from 1890-1985, so I've got all kinds of crazy equipment. At least half my lenses are screw-mounts that require a k-mount adapter.

 

I don't like the *ist. It's too small and too light. Who was the genius that came up with the idea of a camera that needs an accessory just so normal-sized hands can hold it comfortably? The User Interface is extremely poor, IMHO. Even the Zx-5n has a few too many Do-It-For-Me functions. I want a camera that's designed for the serious amateur, but I don't want her shelling out the money a professional grade camera would require.

 

And frankly, I like the look and feel of the two-knob cameras body. I have enough gizmos with LCD panels on them. I got into photography in part to get away from screens.

So after hunting around for a solid month, I narrowed my choices down

to a the ZX-5n and the Zx-L. But I've just been told by someone that

the ZX-L will not accept manual lenses, that I won't be able to take

pictures even in a forced-manual mode with my manual lenses.

 

Is this true?

 

Someone here on photo.net mentioned in that there's something called

the MZ-3 out there which is comparable to the ZX-5n. I've never heard

of this camera, but I know that Pentax labels them differently in

different parts of the world. What would that camera be called in the

US?

 

*sigh* Maybe I'll just stick with the MX and get a decent spot meter.

Doug,

 

Certainly, I agree that, particularly with the options I have, my setup is just fine. But my SO wants to spoil me, so I'm trying to figure out what's the niftiest gift that won't overwhelm me.

 

I just got the H2 back from the lube job, actually. And sadly there is some kind of mechanical failure with the shutters, and I need to stop using her or risk killing her. I've been using an ancient Match and Needle meter, but it maxes out at 1600 ASA, and I'm just discovering night photography.

 

I've been using my screw mount adapter this entire time, so I'm a little confused when you tell me there's some kind of automatic mode on the MX. I'll have to check the manual again.

 

Basically, I'm looking for a light meter (my research since the last post suggests I should buy another Match & Needle), Aperture/Shutter Priority, Auto-Bracketing, and Auto Film Advance. And full manual options, of course.

 

Douglas -- The 62mm is a "true macro zoom" lens. It has a focal range of ....wait, that's my bad. It's a 55mm lens with a 62mm filter ring. Anyway, that's why I wonder the difference between 50mm and 50mm macro.

 

-amul

I have a negatives hurricane blower, use Printfile negative sheets and a binder box to store them in. I'm still having dust issues. I realize that they are, to a certain extent, unavoidable, but there must be something I can do better or beyond what I've currently got. Any low-price solutions?

It's an amusing irony in classic cameras (and most collector items) that the better the quality of an item, the less it's value on the collectors market. Since lens are hard to destroy short of gross negligence, their value to collectors is minimal.

 

Now, if you're talking about a camera that break just sitting in your attic, then that's worth thousands of dollars.

While it could easily be argued that I didn't CHOOSE Pentax, since my MX was given to me, it's the intense reusability that makes me love what I have.

 

I spend my professional life in the computer world, where every technological innovation gets stymied by backwards compatibility issues, or just kicks everything you knew and loved out the door as Too Old, Too Slow. Sure, the interface stays the same, but the underlying mechanics of what you're doing and how you're doing it is completely different every year.

 

But when I started looking through those two big boxes of cameras, all I knew about cameras was that you used film in them. But from the medium format to the 35mm, from the TLRs to the SLRs to the Polaroids, the tech was the same. The Brownie No. 1A had the exact same markings and operation as the Pentax MX. I was actually disappointed to learn I had inherited something that could use a battery.

 

And the Pentax pieces I have honor that history in a way that is completely novel to me. As modularity came into the technological paradigm, Pentax cameras took that innovation and kept the best parts of its historical context. I LOVE the fact that I can tell people I'm using a 1993 lens on a 1983 SLR with a focusing screen thats been popular since the 1960s.

 

Because it keeps my hobby so markedly different from my career.

I know this is going to sound silly, but have you had the thing oiled yet? My MX was giving me horrible inconsistent shots, so I took it in to a repair shop, fully expecting to drop two or three hundred on the thing. A little oil and the ten minutes of working it into gears, and it was good to go. The lube job cost me $40.

I inherited a substantial camera collection and am now trying to learn

the hobby. The most modern SLRs I own is a Pentax MX and an H2. I'm

taking a class in Black & White photography/darkroom practices. My

Significant Other wants to buy me a modern Pentax for Xmas, but as she

knows less about cameras than I do, doesn't know which to buy. From

the Pentax site, it seems that the ZX-5n is a good choice (knob

control, auto bracket, spot metering for me to learn), but our local

camera store says that the ZX-5n is both unreliable and somewhat

pointless given the number of manual lenses I have, and suggests

either the ZX-M or ZX-L.

 

I'm learning as fast as I can on my own, but there's just so many

little things that slip through my grasp, like basic terminology. I

don't even know what the various lens categories mean, other than that

they all fit K-mount bayonets. Could someone please tell me what the

differences are between FA-J, FA, F, AK, P/K, PK-AR and all the rest

are? The difference between a 50mm macro and non-macro lens?

 

And, given the lenses I already have, and the new 50mm lens she's

getting me, which one should I get ? The lenses I inherited are....

 

Screw Mounted (attaches with adapter)

325-650mm, 105mm, 35mm (f-4), 35mm (f2.8, has an Auto mode setting on

aperture)

 

P/K

62mm macro

 

PK-AR

28mm, 70-210mm macro, 100-300mm macro

I inheirited a MX and an H2 from a man who was fifteen years dead. Both had been sitting in an open box in a basement for all that time, and after a little oil the MX is working fine. I wasn't into photography before, but that MX has been useful enough that I'm taking classes and posting on this website. It's a pure manual camera with all the nessecary functionality you could ask for, and the only thing the batteries do is power the built-in light meter, AFAIK.

 

I love the thing, but then again, it was my introduction to this hobby, so perhaps I'm biased.

I've got one issue with your idea. Your vac is too powerful, the airflow through that HEPA filter is going to be faster than the filter is rated for, and dust will get through. At those speeds, the dust won't just adhere to your film, they'll HIT it.

Thanks for the input. Obviously, I'd prefer to wear gloves, when doing work in the darkroom, but I'm using a communal darkroom over at Pittsburgh Filmmakers right now, so splash happens, which had me concerned.

 

And, while I realize it's somewhat silly to be concerned with appearance in a darkroom, I can't find protective gear that looks appealing. Dishwashing gloves, while apparently resistant to all the chemicals involved, tend to come in ugly colors, and I need more coverage than an apron, but I can't find anywhere that sells lab coats.

Is there any information anywhere on the effects of Chemistry on gold

or silver jewelry? My wife doesn't like me taking off my wedding band

for any reason.

 

I have another question, but on second thought I'll post it as it's

own thread.