william_hahn1

Here's an example that had me wondering the same

question:

http://artscenecal.com/ArticlesFile/Archive/Articles1995/Articles1095/Skrebneski.html

"The Last Years of Walker Evans" is by Jerry Thompson.

There is a portrait there of Thompson, taken by the elderly

Evans with an 8x10 view camera. Next to it is a blow-up of

Thompson's eye in the portrait, and you can see the reflection

of the bearded Evans working with the view camera.

It's that shot that finally destroyed my resolution to not

get into large format photography....

Here is an earlier thread "How are LF photographers treated

where you live?". Forgive me for just giving the URL, and

not making a link.

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=003j32

Just wanted to add that the 1992 video "Remembering Edward Weston"

has some scenes with Cole Weston; particularly interesting was

his description of how to print one of his father's most famous

shots, based on cryptic notes on the negative envelope. Worth

watching, if you can get it. (It's listed in the www.photoeye.com

catalog....)

If you can, find a video called "Dorothea Lange: A Visual Life"

which has extensive audio of her describing her photographs,

plus some comments from one of her assistants about the way she

worked. I'm not sure it will answer your questions, but you will

get a sense of how she thought/worked.

Just wanted to give two more examples:

Peter Beard's "Last of the Game", with all the elephant

carcasses.

And in Eliot Porter's book "The Color of Wildness", there

is a shot of the remains of one of the sled dogs from Scott's

1911 Antartic expedition....

Just would like to add that there is a 28-minute film

about the Pittsburgh project called "Brilliant Fever" by

Kenneth Love. (I think you have to order it via the Carnegie

Museum in Pittsburgh. Mine was a gift.)

At the end of the film, during the credits, there is a lot

of audio and film footage of Smith which is priceless. (I

think the film footage is credited to David X. Young.) In

the audio he is explaining a few of his Pittsburgh photos,

and discussing gear and techniques. Let me do two quotes

from memory (so these are approximate):

"I used the prime lens because it was fast, and I needed all

that there speed. Speed kills, right?"

"I used to drink brandy until one night at a bar the bartender

told me brandy was a suicide's drink. So I switched to scotch

because I wanted to prove that scotch could also be a suicide's

drink....I never drank before I encountered my first censor."

Seriously, if you revere Gene Smith's work you should try to

get your hands on this film....

-Bill Hahn (Leicaless but envious)

There is a list of dealers ("agents") available on:

www.walkercameras.com

Nick,

If it's any comfort I made the same mistake for a year (!)

after getting my LF camera. A horrified co-worker saw what

I was doing and explained how to slide the film holder under

the ground glass. It's an easy mistake to fall into if:

(1) You start with Polaroids, and

(2) You don't have any experienced LF people around to help you out.

I'd like to tell you that you won't have any more light leaks, but

there are a whole host of mistakes out there, waiting to be

made...:-)

Here's a picture of Link, his assistant, and some of the

flash equipment:

http://www.peterfetterman.com/artists/link/link_pic25.html

There is an interview with Charles Sheeler at

the Smithsonian archives:

http://artarchives.si.edu/oralhist/sheele59.htm

He talks more about painting than photography, but

does talk about learning with a Brownie.

As an aside, the oral history archives at that site

are a rich resource. For giggles read the interview

with Imogen Cunningham...

Saw the exhibition twice this weekend. In addition to

the material mentioned by David, there is an original

signed print by Imogen Cunningham of Adams at work with

his LF camera. (And if you want an example of Georgia

O'Keeffe's painting, there is one downstairs in the museum.)

Thanks David for the heads up.

-Bill

Michael,

I respond, not as a very experienced architectural photographer,

but as someone who has used the Walker Titan XL (4x5 version) to

photograph a building or two (with a SuperAngulon 90XL lens).

I found I had enough movements, but then I only use mostly front

rise and maybe a little bit of tilt.

My only dislikes (and these are minor) are: (1) the lack of a handle

like the Titan SF and (2) it's a bit awkward for my camera bag (of

course it doesn't fold). These are minor complaints compared to the

actual photography you can do with it.

If you have specific questions about the camera, feel free to

email me. I assume you're aware of www.walkercameras.com. I've

been happy with both my Walker cameras.

Hope this helps,

Bill

FYI:

There is a relatively recent interview with Emmit Gowin at:

http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/dialogs/dialogs_a-m/emmet_gowin.html

I'm glad I went.

Not only did I learn some useful techniques (movement-wise), but

I was reassured about things like replacing the ground glass on my

camera. And it wasn't intimidating for a beginner like me.

Finally, speaking as one who has photographed a lot without seeing

another LFer, it was reassuring to see so many LF camera people assembled in one place at one time. Nice to know that one isn't

the only eccentric in the area.... :-)

-Bill

I frequently photograph with my 4x5 at the Fruitlands Museum in

Harvard (the town, not the university), Massachusetts USA (www.fruitlands.org).

One gentleman approached me and asked "What publication are you

shooting for?". Another gentleman approached and asked me to

photograph his collection of Shaker furniture. A trio of delightful

English tourists (elderly women) politely waited for me to finish, then approached, curtsied, and asked if I wanted them to pose.

Another man, who I think had a bad case of "bellows fever", came running up and asked me a thousand questions, until his wife came out of the museum store, at which point he pretended not to have talked to me.

I've been thinking of writing an essay entitled "The Panache of the

Large Format Camera". Break out that view camera, swing your dark clothe rakishly over your shoulders, and watch as strangers attribute you with mysterious and marvellous photographic powers...

Tried to put the roll film adaptor under the ground glass (which I

didn't realize could be removed) and scratched the GG 4 minutes after

receiving the camera. This had repercussions. When I moved to real

sheet film, I used to remove the ground glass and try to attach my

Fidelity film holder to the back standard with the flimsy sliding

pieces of metal (for use with Polaroid adaptors). Did this for

months (which is why the local lab knows its me when I sign my

order "King of Light Leaks"), then had an epiphany and slid the film

adaptor under the GG. During all this time owned several books on

LF, but didn't read them because I think information is somehow

mysteriously transferred by the mere ownership of books. (Ask me

about my chess library.)

Shot an entire 10 sheet box of ISO 100 film with the meter set for

320.

Carefully composed a picture, in front of a gathering crowd of the

curious/admiring, then spoiled the effect by doing a face plant

by tripping over my camera bag when I went to set aperture/shutter

speed on the lens.

Bought a used lens, and spent hours claiming I had been ripped off

until I thought to remove the rear lens cap.

Loaded my film holders, and only when I took one out of the bag did I

notice the end flap hanging open.

Unzipped my changing bag after loading film holders, and noticed

several sheets of film lying on top of the film holders.

Enough. I have established my moron credentials....

Andrew,

Please inform me via email of any workshop you organize. (But

I can't guarantee I can attend, due to pressure of work/family.)

I've been doing 4x5 LF for about 18 months, I frequently shoot at

the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Mass. (www.fruitlands.org)

-Bill Hahn

The first time I used sheet film holders in the field, my

companions were greatly amused when I removed the holder from

the back standard and a sheet of 4x5 film gently floated

from the camera to the ground.

There is an article on www.butzi.net about loading large format

film holders that was helpful to me. After reading it carefully

I practised with a scrap sheet of film in the daylight until I

got it. Maybe it will be helpful....

There is a video called "Remembering Edward Weston",

which has some B&W film footage of EW at work. It's

available at www.photoeye.com. I don't know if it's

the film shot by Willard Van Dyke.

Fellow Pentax 67 users,

<p>

When doing closed-down metering with extension tubes

I find that I'm paranoid about changing the aperture

of the lens with the Depth of field preview enabled.

<p>

My question is: does changing the aperture of the lens

with the depth-of-field preview enabled damage the lens

in any way? Or is my reluctance just another in a

long list of irrational fears?

<p>

Thanks,

<p>

Bill Hahn

I believe the latest issue of "View Camera" (the

one that arrived at my house yesterday) has an

article by Mr. Dykinga about packbacking with a

large format camera, complete with photographs

showing how he packs the equipment.

I agree that the original Pentax bellows was too

expensive, but also look at the maximum bellows

extension for both units. The Pentax bellow extends

much further than the Novoflex unit. (Although keeping

it stable on a tripod is another issue....)

<p>

--Bill

Peter,

I've used the bellows unit. It gives wonderful magnification,

but you'll have very little depth of field, and it is very unwieldly

to use in the field.

I have the 135mm lens, but no experience with the newer 100mm macro

lens. (By the way, there is a Pentax 67 forum over on

www.greenpun.com/bboard, and the relative merits of these two

lenses were discussed there in a recent thread.) My preferred way

to do macro work is to use the 105mm lens with extension tubes.

--Bill Hahn

Try KEH (see www.keh.com, but you can call and talk to

a human). I've bought two Pentax 67 lenses from them and

have no complaints about their service. They usually

have a good assortment of Pentax 67, 6x7 bodies available.