Black & White Photography UK - WishList

Shangheye · Mar 6, 2008

I think the idea of introducing digital readers to film specific photography and some of its advantages, particularly in LF would be great. I doubt many film users and specifically digital users understand the differences, and reviews of that format, but also maybe others in the form of MF cameras etc, would allow them to get introduced to some of the attractive features....and who knows, maybe even generate more film fans...and keep it alive even longer ;-)

Les McLean · Mar 6, 2008

Erik Ehrling said:
It was actually that article that made me start thinking further. Maybe my idea is overly complicated, but I'm considering building something like a small size warderobe. You hang in the film strips vertically, after that you close the door and tilt it 45 degrees to avoid water running along the whole length of the film. (If it's a stable enough construction you could possibly add an air filtration system as well...)

Another article I'd like to read:
- Reportage from visits to film factories over the world

Regards,
Erik Ehrling (Sweden)

I built my own negative dryer many years ago at a total cost of less than £30I'll have a word with David Corfield to see if he would publish a small feature on how I did it.

Erik Ehrling · Mar 6, 2008

Les McLean said:
I built my own negative dryer many years ago at a total cost of less than £30I'll have a word with David Corfield to see if he would publish a small feature on how I did it.

I'd love to read that. I do hope it gets approved.

BTW - I posted a scetch illustrating my idea for a homemade film dryer here: (there was a url link here which no longer exists) (as it would be slightly off topic to continue that discussion in this thread.).

Regards,
Erik Ehrling (Sweden)

Erik Ehrling · Mar 15, 2008

Another topic I would like to see:
- How to start in Large Format: What equipment is required? How does it work (lens boards, loading film, developing etc. etc)? Where to buy one - and how much does it cost (maybe alternatives at different cost levels, used/new etc.)?

Also, in the last issue of Silvershotz there was an article on Digital-to-Film transfer. In general I think that coverage on hybrid techniques actually gains 100% analogue photography users as well, as more people will be using film, photographic paper, darkroom equipment etc.

Regards,
Erik Ehrling (Sweden)

Baxter Bradford · Mar 15, 2008

A feature on Brian Kosoff known here as Early Riser. His pictures are inspirational kosoff.com/. Concur with others for seeing work of Emil (Gandolfi) and Josef Koudelka.

I'd prefer the tone of current articles to lose the 'do this'.... I'd like to think that the readership are a step or two (with many several steps) above this.

Simon E · Mar 15, 2008

What interests me most is portfolios, interviews, analysis. I find anything about photographers, their images and motivation - both historical and contemporary - to provide the most 'meat'.

I do like the printing articles and would always be interested in techniques or equipment that would make life easier (especially if they only cost £30!).

From the very beginning BWP stood out from every other photo mag not just because it was about monochrome photography or imaging, but because it was about photographs. This is, to me, why it's the only photo mag I buy these days. Come to think of it, I hardly ever even browse the others that crowd the shelves in WHS. OK, I steal a glance at AP, but that's it.

To eliminate water marks I *gently* run a folded piece of kitchen roll down the shiny side while the film is hanging.

thomsonrc · Mar 26, 2008

Kevin Caulfield said:
That's been done, quite recently. In fact, due to a printing error, that article actually ran two months in a row.

Les McLean gave a great suggestion for using two coat hangers as the top of a film dryer, with polythene sides and a wooden base. I slightly adapted the idea and am extremely happy with my new film dryer.

I got as far as putting the coat hangers together, but i thought once you have put the poythene on how does any air get in to dry the films and how does the moisture escape? Anyway what was your adaptation?

Cheers

Ritchie

thomsonrc · Mar 27, 2008

What I would really like to see in B&W is a series on lith printing, especially the two stage development options and info on papers and developers for this process.

Soeren · Mar 27, 2008

jd callow said:
colour?

Any you like as long as it's black (&white)
Slightly modified from Henry Ford's statement

osprey48 · Mar 28, 2008

I'd like to read more about how a particular photo was captured and printed to make it look the way it did, such as exposure times etc, so we can try to take our skills up another level. I don't mind a bit of digital, as I always scan my negs before deciding which ones to print, and most people don't have access to a darkroom, but I hope the analogue stuff doesn't get squeezed out.

bwakel · Mar 28, 2008

I think everyone here has covered the good ideas. I think the main thing for me, though, is that the articles should be in-depth and researched. The current content is pretty vacuous. It feels like it's been written by people on a tight deadline with little interest in their subject. I can get what is essentially base-level comment or thoughts on the Internet. What's rare on the Web and, more and more so, in magazines is thoroughly researched, detailed articles. I'd hope that the people likely to buy B&W Magazine are more willing to spend the time and intellectual effort to better understand other photographers' techniques and motivations. Afterall, our chosen processes are time-consuming both to carry out and, more importantly, to finesse.

Barry

thomsonrc · Mar 28, 2008

I think Barry has a point. There are a lot of 'lightweight' articles. The answer I think is that there should be series, so for example we could have a long term series on say lith printing starting with basics and going through more advanced techniques.

Ritchie

Alatapug · Apr 3, 2008

What would help bring the true atmosphere and ambiance of the magazine to life would be scratch-n-sniff panels appropriate to each section. The darkroom section would be easy with alternate patches of hypo and ammonia - imagine that wafting off the page. The large format people could be enthralled by the faint odour of leather bellows and the editorial section by sweat and coffee.

Kilgallb · Apr 28, 2008

I find the articles on famous photographers interesting. They would be more interesting if they actually published a few of the photographs they allude to in the articles.

Wyno · Apr 28, 2008

I'd love to see a series of articles field testing current large format cameras. Not just 4x5, but 8x10 and larger. More and more people are moving to large format, but there is very little in Black and White about it.
Mike

hywel · Apr 28, 2008

Exactly what I think...

bwakel said:
I think everyone here has covered the good ideas. I think the main thing for me, though, is that the articles should be in-depth and researched. The current content is pretty vacuous. It feels like it's been written by people on a tight deadline with little interest in their subject. I can get what is essentially base-level comment or thoughts on the Internet. What's rare on the Web and, more and more so, in magazines is thoroughly researched, detailed articles. I'd hope that the people likely to buy B&W Magazine are more willing to spend the time and intellectual effort to better understand other photographers' techniques and motivations. Afterall, our chosen processes are time-consuming both to carry out and, more importantly, to finesse.

Barry

Hywel

Kevin Caulfield · Apr 28, 2008

thomsonrc said:
I got as far as putting the coat hangers together, but i thought once you have put the poythene on how does any air get in to dry the films and how does the moisture escape? Anyway what was your adaptation?

Cheers

Ritchie

Sorry, I just found this question. Instead of using two coat hangers at the top, I took apart a clothes hanger type thing from a storage type shop. It has a square made of plastic with a wire strand on each corner going up to a clip. I still used the wooden base inside at the bottom and just white fabric instead of the polythene. The moisture still evaporates fine, and it works like a treat and takes up little space as it comes apart so easily.

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