scott f.

Tom-

 

Let me apologize for not offering sincere congratulations in my previous post.

 

Here's a small example of B&W delivery room pictures. Some others are in my photo.net portfolio.

 

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/818000">http://www.photo.net/photo/818000</a>

I'm expecting my second child in a week or two, and I'll try to give you some advice based on my experiences with my first child.

 

I'm not sure what lighting conditions might exist in your situation, but in the birthing room for my first child there was a mixture of fluorescent, sunlight, and whatever the high intensity surgical lights are. Since we had toured the birthing rooms prior to my wife's labor, I was aware of the mixed lighting conditions, and I figured black & white film would be my preferred choice. I think I used Tmax 3200 rated something like 1000 or 1250. I don't think I used flash at all.

 

If I were to use a color transparency film, I would use a magenta filter for the fluorescent lights and place a green gel over the flash (if I were to use one). Since fluorescent lighting is usually not very bright by itself, I would bring along some Kodak E200 or try to push some Provia 100F to at least 200. I've never tried it, but Provia 400F is supposed to be excellent, but it is also expensive.

 

If you don't have your heart set on using transparency film, let me suggest using black & white. In the birthing room, generally colors aren't very appealing, and black & white prints have a timelss quality to them.

The Congress Avenue bridge is an excellent spot for bat viewing. You can park for free in the Austin American Statesman parking lots on the south side of the river east of Congress Avenue. Arrive early to get a parking space, since there are crowds on the weekends (particularly holiday weekends). There is a grassy lawn where people congregate to watch the bats emerge at dusk. From this vantage point, the Austin skyline makes a good backdrop for bat watching. I have seen pictures of a stream of bats emerging with some light in the sky. However, the couple of times I have tried to photograph the bats emerging, it was too late and too dark to get a decent exposure of the bats. I even tried a bulb setting on the camera and using a flash to try to freeze some of the bats in mid-air, but this technique didn't work at all. You might get lucky and observe the bats coming out earlier, though. You'll probably still be shooting in low-light conditions, so bring the fastest film that you will be comfortable with (I used Velvia, but would probably try Provia 400F next time), a tripod, and flash if you want to try it. <p>

 

In Austin, there also used to be a colony of bats that lived in Memorial Stadium (the UT football field). I'm not sure if they are still there or not.<p>

 

Another location outside of Austin is the Old Railroad Tunnel Wildlife Management Area near Fredericksburg. This location is about an hour's drive outside of Austin.<a href="http://wingedmammal.com/action_photos_1998/action_photo_980908.shtml">Here's a link to a picture of the bats emerging from the railroad tunnel.</a><p>

Palo Duro is about 6 hours driving from Dallas. Caprock Canyons State Park is another suggestion, about the same distance as Palo Duro but less well-known and consequently less crowded. There is greak hiking/biking trails in both, and for additional biking I would suggest the Caprock Canyons State Park Trail way, a 64 mile trail that was converted from an old railway. Along this trail is the Clarity Railroad Tunnel and several elevated trestles.

I used to use the plastic cases that Mini M&Ms candy came in to store exposed rolls of 120 film. The cases are just the right size, and come with a handy flip-top lid. I didn't test them for water-tightness, but I suspect they would be at least moisture resistant. However, after shooting MF for a while, I just put the exposed roll in a jacket or pants pocket for developing later. Although it was a great excuse to eat a bunch of Mini M&Ms (they are great on ice cream), it became a hassle to keep up with all the cases. 120 rolls are suprisingly sturdy, and as long as you use a reasonable amount of care in handling, you will have no problems.

Soeren-

 

A flash sync speed of 1/30 seems absurdly slow, but for the technique you are describing (sturdy tripod, flash strobes) it should be adequate. I've photographed large groups of people indoors with flash and shutter speeds as low as 1/15 or 1/8 to pick up some of the ambient light. If you can get you subject to hold very still, you shouldn't have problems.

From the serial number, your Rollei TLR was manufactured in 1979 according to the following website: <a href="http://foto.no/rolleiflex/index.html">http://foto.no/rolleiflex/index.html</a> which is also a good reference for general Rollei TLR information. <p>

 

Henry Fleenor is generally recognized as the Rollei repair source in the US, but <a href="http://foto.no/rolleiflex/Rollei-11.html">this link</a> gives repair sources in Europe and Norway, too.<p>

In Response to Brian's question, Honeywell currently has several divisions, which include the following:<p>

Aerospace -- they manufacture nifty avionics like the ring laser artificial horizon<p>

Consumer Automotive Care -- Honeywell manufactures products under the Autolite, Prestone, and Fram names<p>

Electionic Materials Manufacturing -- semiconductors, printed circuit boards, etc.<p>

Polymers, Plastics, Fibers & Chemicals<p>

Home Products -- fire alarms, thermostats, etc.<p>

Industrial Controls and Optimization -- Distributed Control Systems, transmitters, instruments, etc.<p>

Power Generation -- Turbogenerators, heat exchangers, etc.<p>

Transportation -- braking systems, turbochargers, etc.<p>

This is already probably more than you wnated to know, but Honeywell is soon to be part of GE, in a merger valued at $45 billion approved by shareholders on Jan 10, 2001.

If you shoot travel, handheld and no tripod, then the choice is a no-brainer: Leica system. I have a Hasselblad 500cm w/80mm f2.8, and with its big mirror, rarely does it ever get used off a sturdy tripod with mirror lock-up anymore. In fact, I only use it for images I know will be enlarged to greater than 8x10, such as group portraits, or for images like landscape or architecture that I will submit for publication. Otherwise, the convenience of 35mm outweighs the image quality advantages of medium format. <p>And to throw another wrench into your decision making cogworks, have you considered the Mamiya 7 II 6x7 rangefinder? Phillip Greenspun recently reviewed one <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/medium-format/mamiya-7">here</a>. About the camera, Phillip claims, "The Mamiya 7 is a great camera. If you need higher image quality than 35mm, some flexibility as to lens choice, and portability, the Mamiya 7 is a faithful companion. "

I'm not sure how much finer grain you can get than with tech pan and technidol. I've developed tech pan 120 in technidol by hand and can print 11x14 prints all day long with no evidence of grain whatsoever. Granted, the combination is contrasty, but I keep that in mind when selecting subjects to shoot with it. <p>If I want "normal" contrast, I go ahead and shoot Tmax 100, which has grain that is generally fine enough for me. <p>As far as consistency goes, well, that depends more on technique than on the selection of chemicals. However, I find it easier to maintain consistency by using one-shot developers like diluting HC-110 straight from the concentrated syrup. Technidol is nice in this respect since it comes pre-packaged in single-use packets.

I briefly scanned through Mr. Fatali's website because I was curious to see what kind of lighting effect could be achieved by burning Duraflame logs in aluminum pans. I suppose Mr. Fatali won't be posting those images. But still I'm curious...since this is a "common professional technique of lighting during nighttime photography," perhaps I could use it to enhance my amateur photographic endeavors...

This happened to me once when I didn't have the shutter cocked all the way. If you are loading film with the A12 back attached to the body, then make sure the crank is turned all the way before you load the back. I ran through a couple of rolls of film before I figured it out. Now, does anyone have any ideas on how to go about respooling 120 film?

Scott Eaton: Is that $10 per roll, or per frame?

Because of its generally static nature, landscape photography lends itself well to bracketing. Since you don't have time for testing beforehand, it will be easy to perofrm your testing in the field. You may have to bring more film than you originally planned, and you'll have to take notes to get meaningful results, but you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you have gotten the exposure you wanted. Otherwise, you will go out and shoot at 100 on an overcast day, then get the prints back and wonder, "Gee, how would that have looked if I shot it at 160? or 64? or 50? or 200?" Testing yourself is the only way to know for sure.

Gene-

 

The only time I've had problems with jamming was when I've tried to remove or replace a lens or back improperly, so that's why I asked. Actually, jamming was only a problem when I've used extension tubes. If the camera jams without anything being disassembled or reassembled, then I would suspect a mechanical problem. Good luck!

Did it jam after you removed the lens and/or back? Are you familiar with the lens removal procedure (always remove and replace the lens with the shutter cocked)? Sounds like you got a great deal, but I'd be skeptical if it was broken. Did a manual come with either of your Hassy purchases?

I didn't mean to say that any of the other information besides the mirror lock-up tip on this thread wasn't useful, it's just that it wasn't particularly useful to me (but I'm glad Daniel found it helpful).

 

Incidentally, on my 500CM with an A12 back the darkslide won't insert all the way when the mirror is locked up. Michael's answer seems to be the only way.

Michael-

My lenscap is transparent plastic, but I get your point and can devise a workaround. Thanks for the tip.

 

Apologies to everyone for diverging from the main topic, but I'm just glad I could glean some useful info from this thread.

With a Hasselblad, how <b>do</b> you return the mirror without advancing the film once it is locked up (specifically a 500CM)?

The only time I've had mine jam on me is when I'm using extension tubes, and I remove the lens and tube in the improper order. Again, it's not a big deal; it takes about 30 seconds (or less) to fix once you know how.

The auction was for information only? What was the auction price up to? What had the seller sold this information for in previous auctions? Just curious. Sounds like the adage "If it sounds too good to be true..." might apply here.

This method ought to be very effective. You can put your 50mm 1.8 lens on the A2 and get general meter reading of the entire scene with roughly the same framing, or you can use the spot meter function or put a telephoto lens on the A2 for spot metering specific areas of the scene. I've done the same myself with an Elan II, but I've found it much more convenient to use a handheld incident or spot meter.

And remember...Pedernales is pronounced "PER-de-nal-ess" or "per-de-NAL-ess" by the locals...

Roberto-

 

Unfortunately, your experience isn't at all unusual. One thing you might consider trying are the ultrasonic deer whistles that you can attatch to your bumper. Supposedly they emit whistle noise that scares the deer away before you get to them. I can't really verify that they work or not, though. You are very perceptive to notice that they are attracted to the reliable water supplies of cattle ranches, and they are out and about most often at dawn and dusk. There's no good way to avoid them except to slow down and keep a close look out. Cadillac has been advertising a night vision viewfinder in the windshield for their new cars, which looks like it would be helpful for seeing the deer beyond the headlights, but most of the deer I've hit are grazing at the side of the road and are spooked and jump in front of my car at the last second.

Ah, the adage "You get what you pay for" seems to fit nicely in this scenario. The EX one at $450 is cheaper than the $510 ($310 + $200 CLA) "bargain," so that's what I would go for. Of course, if you still aren't satisfied with the $450 EX lens, then send it back and get a EX++ lens, or whatever you want.