Dancing with the Devil! Flirting with the Dark side! Have I gone too far for BOKEH???

[jimgalli]

Just finished a page with 12 8X10 images I completed today testing an Ancient Burke and James AJAX Petzval lens on the Century 9A studio camera.

How is that flirting with the Devil you ask??

I used Kodak Polycontrast paper as my in camera light sensitive material. I developed normally in my old favorite, Ansco 135.

But then I scanned the 8X10 paper negs into the computer and inverted them to positives in Photo Shop.

I'm so ashamed! There, it's out. I feel a little better.

Kidding aside, I wrote up a page for anyone with no life and nothing better to do than read my trivia. About 5 minutes. You know the drill. It's Dead Link Removed

It won't do any good to report this post. I'm the moderator.

 

[david b]

So does the gundlach radar work?

 

[Eric Rose]

Ok now I know what you meant when you said unconventional. Outstanding results. personally I have no problem with using PS to invert the prints.

 

[Dave Wooten]

So these were made with paper negs and not film! This is quite amazing actually....

1. Jim how do you compute the exposure for the paper?
2. How to these contact print?

thanks
Dave

 

[jimgalli]

So does the gundlach radar work?

OH YEAH! I'm gonna love that old lens. What a nice smooth look it's got. I dis-assembled it, soaked all the glass for several hours in detergent, repaired the shutter, and it's nearly like new now.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

The highlights off the Goerz camera look great.

 

[david b]

Glad to hear it is working well for you. That makes me very happy. That lens nearly got tossed in the garbage.

 

[jimgalli]

So these were made with paper negs and not film! This is quite amazing actually....

1. Jim how do you compute the exposure for the paper?

thanks
Dave

Rated the paper at ASA 1. SWAG from there. I had to make some adjustments to my times because obviously paper doesn't act like film as far as reciprocity for the long exposure times. But don't forget, paper's cheap, and you can run downstairs to the soup and find out your answer in a minute longer than a polaroid takes. Just throw it in the soup.

2. How do these contact print?

thanks
Dave

I didn't. That's why it's unconventional for APUG. I scanned the paper negs and inverted them in photo shop to get what I'm showing you. I suppose you could contact print them through the paper, and I may give that a try sometime, but for my purposes, I was after quick and dirty results so the scans work fine for this. Luckily Tonopah is too far for Ape Huggers to drive to stone me.

 

[Dave Wooten]

I like it,

I am having some 7 x 17 negs scanned, I might try this and scan some paper etc....good idea....on my monitor every photo is really nice...good tonality et al.
thanks

 

[MattCarey]

Luckily Tonopah is too far for Ape Huggers to drive to stone me.

Let's see, I could drive over...stop for some fly fishing on the Tuolomne...stone Jim Galli...load my trunk with toys...drive back...stop for some more fishing...

When does the pass clear of snow?

Matt

 

[Dave Wooten]

that fly fishing part sounds pretty good!

 

[jimgalli]

Let's see, I could drive over...stop for some fly fishing on the Tuolomne...stone Jim Galli...load my trunk with toys...drive back...stop for some more fishing...

When does the pass clear of snow?

Matt

All roads to Tonopah have avalanche warnings. Impassable. IMPASSABLE! We're snow locked.

 

[Aggie]

All roads to Tonopah have avalanche warnings. Impassable. IMPASSABLE! We're snow locked.

Not from my direction!

 

[df cardwell]

But you know that can't exhibit the picture at the Conference.
.

 

[Dave Wooten]

JIm you are more than welcome to hide out down here....in my root cellar

 

[Ray Heath]

g'ay Jim
great results and beautifully scanned
amazing how clear and sharp paper negs can be
i've been working with paper negs in a home made 8x10 camera, i actually want a less than perfect image quality, something different from the modern over sharp, high contrast image
i've been called a ludditte more than once
i use cheap magnifying glasses or close up filters as len elements and contact print the FB negs so as to get the paper grain

 

[MattCarey]

that fly fishing part sounds pretty good!

Besides being very photogenic, the Tuolomne river is filled with small, hungry fish. Lots of rainbows, brownies and brookies.

Not the fight of your life, but you can stop for a couple of hours and catch and release 5-10 fish on a decent day.

Of course, this time of year, no way in or out of that pass. I'll have to wait for the thaw to do the fishing/stoning trip.

Matt

 

[jimgalli]

I'll have to wait for the thaw to do the fishing/stoning trip.

Matt

I'll be long dead by then. Aggie says she can get here.

...great results and beautifully scanned
amazing how clear and sharp paper negs can be
i've been working with paper negs in a home made 8x10 camera, i actually want a less than perfect image quality, something different from the modern over sharp, high contrast image
i've been called a ludditte more than once
i use cheap magnifying glasses or close up filters as len elements and contact print the FB negs so as to get the paper grain

Very nice Ray. I'm more interested in the antique glass, but I did take a 13" Beck symmetrical (RR), removed the front group, and replaced with a #3 close up lens one time. Ended up with a VERY nice 7 " lens with excellent bokeh.

 

[MattCarey]

I'll be long dead by then. Aggie says she can get here.

No, Officer, Aggie was with me the whole time. She couldn't have been there. We were discussing my new 11x14 camera and fine, old lenses at the time!

Matt

 

[hortense]

Aaaamaaazingggg.

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Jim that's awesome, the picture of the Compur-mounted lens is my favorite. Do you have any idea what kind of light wavelength response the paper may have in your shooting circumstances? I'm tempted to say that it feels like an ortho film, but it's definitively distinct from a panchromatic emulsion, and I think that's what is so good about it, because it works great with the bokeh.

 

[MattCarey]

Jim,

the picture of the toy-train has some cool bokeh. If it weren't for the image you posted around Christmas, it would be awesome. There was something about that one that really suggested motion to me.

Matt

 

[jimgalli]

Jim that's awesome, the picture of the Compur-mounted lens is my favorite. Do you have any idea what kind of light wavelength response the paper may have in your shooting circumstances? I'm tempted to say that it feels like an ortho film, but it's definitively distinct from a panchromatic emulsion, and I think that's what is so good about it, because it works great with the bokeh.

Ploycontrast paper is sensitive to blue and green. The yellow filter I used was -blue to soften up the contrast I was getting a bit. It doesn't see red at all. Very similar to old time ortho films in it's response. You could use that to advantage. I thought of using a red backdrop since it would appear as black, but I didn't. One of the items I grabbed to photograph was an antique Kodak Kerosene darkroom light. It's the same color as an OY filter, sort of a drabbish redbrown. Then it occured to me that I could expose that thing all day and photo paper would never see it.

 

[jimgalli]

Jim,

the picture of the toy-train has some cool bokeh. If it weren't for the image you posted around Christmas, it would be awesome. There was something about that one that really suggested motion to me.

Matt

I agree, the other one is better, and it's on film and prints very pretty at 11X14.

 

[MattCarey]

I agree, the other one is better, and it's on film and prints very pretty at 11X14.

You know, if you have an extra work print of that one...well....

Matt