Monophoto

If I understand correctly, the choice is between a simple credit line ("photo by") or a copyright notice ("photo copyright XXXX 2007").

A copyright notice says that you own the image, whereas the credit line merely identifies who the photographer was. If the image is published with a credit line only, I would think that the law would presume that the image is covered by the copyright on the publication, and the photographer no longer owns it. Therefore, a copyright notice provides the photographer the right to subsequent use (or sale) of the image.

Others have summarized the situation fairly well - model releases are required if the image is to be used commercially (for advertising); they usually are not required if the image is to be used editorially or for artistic purposes. However, in either case, a publisher may insist on a release prior to publication.

However, I would suggest two additional special cases. First, if the model is under the age of consent, you definitely should get a release from a responsible parent/guardian.

Second, if the subject is nude, it would be very wise to ask for a release. That way, you have written confirmation that the model agreed to being photographed under those circumstances.

One additional advantage to add to Ken's list - because the quickload process has the film contained within the envelope from the time of manufacture until the time of development, except for the few moments required to make an exposure, the quickload system does provides better control over dust.

But like the other guys, my Scottish heritage causes me to favor the lower cost of traditional holders.

Argentina is not a good place to buy photo or electronics.

But it is a great place to buy wine.

Ian Leake is looking into the possibility of organizing a Pt/Pd workshop in London.

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum162/40168-demand-pt-pd-workshops-london.html

The lenses alone are worth more than the price!

I have a friend who used a Cambo monorail for field work for many years, producing some wonderful landscape work. He carried the camera in a big aluminum box - inconvenient as hell - but he found ways to cope.

My Zone VI lightweight uses nylon washers.

I haven't specifically looked for replacement nylon washers, but I know the small screw section of the hardware store down the street has nylon machine screws and nuts. So I would expect that it should not be too difficult to find replacement washers.

James -

I've never been in Providence for the WaterFire show, but I have had other experiences in that city that may be helpful.

The river essentially separates the downtown business district from the east side of the city. The east side is a mixture of residential and institutional - it is the location of both RISD and Brown University. There is very little public access parking on the east side, but if you are patient, and if you arrive early, you should be able to find a spot on the street within a few blocks of the river. And as I recall, on-street parking in the downtown area is metered. If I were you, I think I would plan to get there early, find a parking spot on an east side street, have dinner (Hemminway's is a great fish place), and then make photographs along the river.

If you are looking for skyline images, the best area may be on South Water Street, north of I195.

There is a seismograph from the earthquake on display at Lick Observatory.

You may not be able to find one person or place that presents a total picture of the earthquake. But you should be able to put together a series of smaller "adventures" that touch on the earthquake experience. Sevtap's suggestion of the Tech Museum is excellent

Commercial "lantern slide" projectors were made!

Today, sadly, they are about as scarce as unicorns.

Mariana -

Impossible to answer your question.

The results of using out of date film depend entirely on the conditions under which it was stored. Some out of date film will yield results that are indistinguishable from new film, while some short-dated film will yield distorted colors and be fogged.

The only way to know is to try it and see what happens.

Jared -

What is the expiration date of the film and what were the conditions under which it was stored prior to when you got it? Sitting in a drawer in a bulk loader is no more harmful to bulk film than having prespooled film sit in that same drawer in sealed boxes.

If the bulk film was reasonable fresh when you got it, and the expiration date was well into the future, you should have no problem.

JV -

The notched end of a sheet of 4x5 film usually has a border that is wider than the other three borders. The trick is to attach your clips at one end of this strip such that the film hangs at an angle for drying.

Sometimes, you will find the borders to be more nearly equal on all sides. This is because of the way the film was loaded into the holders. A good habit to get into is to tap the hinge end of the holder against the heel of your hand before you expose the film. If the film is not in the correct position, tapping the holder will cause it to slip into position to cause that one wider border.

As to clips - I have three kinds of clips in my darkroom. I have some Patterson clips that have a pair of stainless steel pins that pierce the film. These are designed for rollfilm, and when hanging 4x5, I attach them to the sheets by piercing the corner with only one of the pins.

I also have a set of clips that I think were manufactured by FR (whoever that is). These are yellow plastic clips that have a couple of mating plastic pins and dimples - they don't actually penetrate through the film, but rather crimp it. Again, I hand sheets by one corner, using one of the pins.

But most of my clips are ordinary PLASTIC clothes pins. As I recall, I bought a couple of dozen at a Woolworth's many years ago for less than what four purpose-made Patterson clips cost. I clip them to the sheets at one corner. I have added small metal screw-eyes to have a way to hang them - I held the screw eyes using pliers and heated them using a propane torch. That made it possible to embed the screws into the handles of the clothes pins.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago I saw some neat clips at Central Camera in Chicago. These appeared to be alligator clips with eyes attached to the ends opposite the teeth. You can find alligator clips at any Radio Shack, and based on the design, you have to cobble some means of hanging them in your darkroom.

Second the Art Institute, and add the Museum of Modern Photography. That's a few blocks further south on Michigan - probably a block or two from your hotel.

Food - for breakfast, find the nearest Corner Bakery. That's a local chain with branches all over - prices and food are good, service is fantastic. For dinner - well, depends on how much you want to spend. Chicago is a beef town, and there are some fabulous steak houses (Ditka's, Gibson,s Morton's, etc). Seafood is so-so. Good pizza, good asian, especially in China Town. One thing - Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, and the best ethnic food is in the neighborhood. The downtown (loop) area is great for steaks, but for ethnic you need to venture out a bit.

By hand - you don't want to put any sensitized material into your checked luggage.

Paper is far less sensitive than film. So if the x-rays used for carryon baggage doesn't visibly affect film, it also won't visibly affect paper.

Jacob -

Let me share some practical advice.

First, you will always want to fill your tank completely. Yes, if you process fewer sheets than the tank is designed for, the rate of consumption of developer will increase. Whether that is a real concern depends on which developer you use. I have been using HC-110, dilution H (which is dilution B with twice the normal amount of water - use twice the dilution B development time), and at that high dilution, the cost of the developer is not significant.

The developer should normally be used one-shot (unless you are into really high volume work).

Second, you will need to experiment to find the best way to agitate. I've heard stories about Yankee tanks and uneven development, but I have also heard of lots of people like Robert who have no problem. The bottom line is that you should think of the first few batches of film as experiments as you fine-tune your agitation process.

Third, if you use fewer than the maximum tank load, it may be prudent to space out the film in the tank. Again, that would be in the nature of an experiment until to see how changing how the rack is loaded affects the evenness of development.

Fourth, a common complaint with Yankee tanks is that they leak. If you plan for that, it's not a problem.

Finally, if you make a mistake (and you will - we all have), you will ruin an entire batch of film. For that reason, processing in smaller batches makes sense because it minimizes the impact of a mistake. I choose to process in six-sheet batches.

Corey -

A couple months ago the spousal unit and I flew to California. I took my 4x5 in its Lowepro Nature Trekker backpack, along with two lenses, half a dozen holders, a meter, darkcloth and filters. I also had a secondary bag - an old Compaq computer briefcase that I used to take film, additional holders, empty boxes to bring the film home in, a Nikon FM-2, GPS, and a book to read on the flight. I put my tripod in a canvas tripod bag and checked it along with my suitcase.

I put both the backpack and computer bag through the full carryon inspection process with no request for special treatment. On the outbound leg (in Albany, NY) the TSA dudes wanted to do a wipe test on the backpack. They also opened the tripod bag for a visual inspection (they leave a note inside when they do that). On the return leg out of San Jose (where they probably see more LF equipment per capita than in any other airport in the world), none of the stuff attracted any unusual attention at all.

All checked baggage is subject to high-intensity x-ray, so you never want to put your film (exposed or not) into checked baggage. And you are right - if you check a bag, it must be either unlocked, or else it must be locked with a lock for which TSA has a master key. If there any strange shadows show up on the X-ray, TSA will try to open the bag. If they find that it is locked, and they don't have a master key, you will be paged and required to go back to checkin to unlock the bag. If they can't find you, they will either break into the bag or else just not put it on the plane.

Bottom line: if you can find a way to package up your camera and film so that you can keep them under your control, you won't have any problem.

Let's say this one more time - inspectors have no control over the strength of the x-ray field, and cannot increase its power!

The only thing the inspectors can adjust is the contrast of the image on their screen.

Lead bags can provide protection, and may be effective. However, recent scientific tests (widely documented on various boards) have shown that NORMALLY, a modest number of passes through airport carryon screening will not result in any perceptable effect on film.

The exceptions to this rule generally would be in developing countries where the equipment being used is older (often recycled from countries that have gone on to more modern equipment).

Gill -

One other point - sadly, in Rome it is necessary to be especially vigilant about pickpockets. The band we encountered were kids - all pre-teen. Their trick is that one kid distracts your attention while another lifts your wallet, passport, etc. Its a good idea to do your touring in pairs, each person watching the back of the other.

The most I've paid for a Nikor lens for my Nikon SLR system is $150. The least I've paid for a USED Calumet (house brand) lens for my 4c5 is $325.

I think you need to recheck the data supporting your premise.

Gill -

You have mentioned the usual tourist attractions, and they are things that you should see.

The best time I had in Rome was the day that my wife and I walked across the Tiber and into Trastevere - and then proceeded to get lost in the back streets of that older part of Rome. Eventually, we found our way out, but the experience of wandering through areas where people actually live and that aren't on the tourist maps was really neat. And there are some fabulous photography opportunities as well as wonderful, obscure, small restaurants and cafe's to make the day go by.

Ben -

Thanks for the correction.