I’ll ease back into the rhythm of writing posts and articles with a [...]]]> It’s been far too long since I’ve posted anything on Photaku, but now that the school year is winding down (still have a lot of grading to do, however) I have little excuse for not keeping up my end of the bargain.

I’ll ease back into the rhythm of writing posts and articles with a simple announcement: I am now officially a Large Format Whore. I’ve been doing 4×5 film for a couple years and 5×7 for about a year I think, but it wasn’t until I started doing 8×10 with a Kodak 2D View Camera that I could claim the moniker “Large Format Whore,” a label I learned from an English lens and camera dealer friend of mine Andrew Plume, a self-professed LFW. I never thought I’d join the ranks, but there’s something about that huge negative that renders smaller formats pointless. This is the 8×10 that turned me into a LFW:

This specimen of a Kodak 2D View Camera is in excellent condition for being from the early 1950s. I has the sliding tripod block and extension rail, bellows are immaculate and gearing confidant. Totally worth the $625 I paid for it. Came with no lens, but I have several that fit it. What you see on it here is an 1880s Darlot Paris magic lantern projection lens of a Petzval configuration, meaning it’s essentially a Darlot Petzval portrait lens. This one is unusually  compact for being of 11-inch focal length. It covers 8×10 well for portraits and close-in still life and botanicals, but I have used it for vignetted landscapes as well. Overall it’s better suited for 5×7 (the main reason I got it), but having the option of using it under certain circumstances with the 8×10 is a nice bonus. Presently I’m trying out several lenses on it, including an Imagon with its glowy softness.

So far so good as a Large Format Whore…

I like the gendered aspect of book camera—a lady with a camera in public might seem a [...]]]> My day job (professor of Japanese history and culture) involves books. My fantasy job involves cameras. What better way to combine the two than through a book camera? The 1892 Scoville photography catalog advertised just that:

I like the gendered aspect of book camera—a lady with a camera in public might seem a bit unseemly, but carrying a few books would be socially acceptable. Note too the sense of public opprobrium that might be hurled one’s way for simply carrying a “hand-camera” that is “now almost universally recognized and avoided.” I think this “fear” that is alluded to might stem from the frightening prospect of passers-by being caught in the cross-hairs of a stealthy snapshot. Of course, I wonder what passers-by might thing when one starts unfolding these “books” to reveal this:

If you have at least 15,000 euros you could get into the bidding for this one at this auction house. And then gift it to me. Assuming that is unlikely to happen, perhaps I will peruse the old books we have around the house and start hollowing them out….

The general trend of the year for me was the inevitable: addiction to increasingly larger formats. I slipped into 5×7 with [...]]]> Photaku’s has been around only half of 2011, but I figure I can think back upon the entire year for notable acquisitions, discoveries, and triumphs (we’ll skip the blunders and failed experiments for now).

The general trend of the year for me was the inevitable: addiction to increasingly larger formats. I slipped into 5×7 with the acquisition of an Ansco 5×7 View Camera (Flickr set here). I already had some lenses that would cover 5×7 so it wasn’t a whole new round of lens investments. I did get a few of different focal lengths and effects, perhaps the most notable being a 7″ Pentac (as analog to the Aero-Ektar on the 4×5 Speedy G). However,I’m still looking for a Petzval that will cover 5×7 better than what I already have. Any sellers out there? The larger negative is fantastic and makes for nice contact prints, of which I’ve a few. Working with that format makes 4×5 seem real easy to handle and renders medium format downright dinky. 35mm becomes pointless, except in my toy camera (Gakkenflex), although I did get two 35mm M42-mount camera bodies (a Pentax Spotmatic and a GAF something-or-other only because it is my initials) and still use my Pentax Super ME/MG as a lightweight tagalong point-and-shoot. I like the 35mm cameras, but the film is just too small and fussy.

And then came 8×10, making medium format seem quaint…. I never really intended to do 8×10 film, but did have plans to do 8×10 pinholes with paper. I already had a couple film holders and only need to make some kind of body. Not having a real workshop and only limited tools, I settled on converting an old 8×10 camera. The one that suited the bill was a Kodak 2D — relatively lightweight (9-10 pounds) and inexpensive since it was bare bones and only in fair to good condition. In other words, it was in perfect condition for a pinhole. I fully intended only paper negs (8×10 film is expensive), but ended up doing only a handful before discovering a cheap pipeline for (unmarked) 8×10 Efke IR820. I’m getting it for about the cost of 4×5 and it looks great when used as normal bw film (a shoot it with a Hoya 25a filter). What’s really remarkable is the sharpness of the results — better than many lenses! I think the pinole itself is well-drilled and I’ve matched it with the focal length (180mm) perfectly. You can see my 8×10 Flickr set here. After a little experimenting I got a system down for exposures with this combo and the results have been very satisfying. Besides expense, I hadn’t planned on using 8×10 film because I figured scanning it would be a challenge and I don’t have much time to do contact prints (although I plan to). Fortunately, I ‘ve had good luck scanning straight on the glass without too many Newton ring problems;  I think only 3 out of 3 dozen have shown rings. The quality of the big negative is incredible — makes 4×5 seem quaint. I really must contact print some of them soon. Now medium format is the point-and-shoot convenience format for me. 35mm is strictly toy stuff now.

In the medium format arena I did strike gold and don’t at all regret investing more in that dinky format. The real big score was a Kowa/Six outfit from a small camera shop in Vermont. For $300 it came with big 55mm, 85mm, and 150mm lenses in great condition and a pistol grip. Results with it rival Sara’s Hasselblad at a fraction of the cost (see here). It’s my all-purpose go-to serious medium format camera now, relegating my beloved Yashica Mat 124G to the sidelines. The other interesting 2011 medium format acquisitions include a Koni-Omega (coolest film advance mechanism on the planet, and terrific lenses: see here) and a Fuji GSW690 (the “Texas Leica”) with a razor-sharp fixed 65mm wide angle lens. With the WA you can crop the neg in half for a great 1:3 aspect ratio panoramic shot for far less money than a dedicated 6×17 panocam. And speaking of cheap panocams, the hands-down Most Unusual and Coolest Camera of the Year goes to a Graflex 3A SLR I converted for 6×14 panos in the same way I did for my Kodak 3A Autographic. The big advantage of the Graflex 3A is that it’s an SLR with ground glass viewer, bellows focusing, and a focal plane shutter that allows the use of barrel lenses I already own. The lenses have to be in the 6″  to 8″ FL range given the design of the camera, but that gives me enough leeway for the lenses I have. The shutter is slow  – about one-fourth of advertised — but that still gives me about a 1/30 to 1/250 range of speeds. I’ve also used with it the pinhole I use with the 8×10 and have had very good results with that configuration; I’ll need to experiment more with it, but so far so good (see samples here). The vintage case it came in is the icing on the cake. Finally, I’ve been slowly assembling a Mamiya RB67 outfit, which is pretty much complete with range of lenses, pistol grip, 120 and 220 backs, waist level and prism finder, and case. It’s built like a tank and great to shoot with.  This will be a studio/field camera shared between me and Sara (if she can put her Hassey down).

I did sell off a few cameras and lenses this year (and bought Philip a trumpet with the proceeds) as I settle into what I like to use best. I still have several cams I rarely use, but they are hard to part with. I should mention that I’ve recently rediscovered the Brownie Hawkeye that set me off on the analog film adventure a few years ago….

This is my latest project: an 8×10 pinhole camera converted from an old and fairly intact 8×10 Kodak 2-D View Camera. In their day, these were on the middle-low end of the 8×10 models, perfectly capable but with somewhat limited movements. They are among the less expensive to acquire today if you want [...]]]>

This is my latest project: an 8×10 pinhole camera converted from an old and fairly intact 8×10 Kodak 2-D View Camera. In their day, these were on the middle-low end of the 8×10 models, perfectly capable but with somewhat limited movements. They are among the less expensive to acquire today if you want to get in to 8×10; I’ve seen them go for $500-$700 in good condition and with a rear extension rail and sliding block and serviceable lens. this one had no extension rail, no sliding block, and no lens and as a result was 1/3 the cost. But that was exactly what I was looking for–a decent 8×10 body and bellows to convert to a pinhole camera of variable focal length.

Contrary to the seller’s description, the bellows had several pinholes (so he refunded me my shipping charge). those were easy to fix with black silicone gasket goo. After the fix I did two test shots and discovered that the slightly loose back did indeed matter because the seam between the back and the rear standard was opened enough to let light in and turn an otherwise good shot into this:

That corner, though, demonstrates potential. the second test shot was indoors because it was cloudy and threatening rain. I set it up next to my computer as I was working for a three-hour exposure. This time the light leak was much less, but even after three hours it was underexposed:

What I’m looking at here is that window and beyond–terrific! That white haze is me sitting, getting up, leaving, sitting back down, etc. Post-tests I proceeded to put light seals on the camera back, so now I think I’m good to go with a new round of tests. Weather looks bad for tomorrow, so Thursday will probably be my first opportunity.

Then all I’ll need is a name for this newbie….

UPDATE: Still don’t have a name for this behemoth, but I’ve been shooting Efke IR820 film with it for some good results:

The clarity of this pinhole at 8×10 is incredible — it rivals many lenses!