Intermediate large format questions/photography misadventures

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MTGseattle

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Horseman data seems a bit hard to find.
Tachihara also but largely due to that being a somewhat common surname, I think. It muddies the search waters.

Interesting things in the Calumet catalogs;

1999-2000 catalog; Horseman 612 roll back for graflock retailed at $850.
1999-2000 catalog; zero wood field cameras listed.

It also looks like the Horseman 45fa and 45hd both weigh 2+ pounds less than a Toyo 45a or most Wista 45 cameras. I need to pull up side by side specs to wee where all of that weight savings comes from.
I think interchangeable bellows vs fixed bellows would only add a few ounces. A revolving back vs a remove and reset back is likely significantly heavier. Geared vs friction movements?
 
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MTGseattle

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Recent bout of g.a.s resisted. I'll keep thee Wista 4x5 for sure. Weight be damned. I am still chafing a bit at the nature of 4x5 camera information that seems to be spread from "hell to breakfast" as my Dad would say.
 

abruzzi

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One small issue with the Horseman 4x5 is I believe it uses 80x80mm lens boards. Its the same lens board they use on their 6x9 and it limits use of larger shutters. I doubt a Copal/Compur #3 would fit, plus lots of older Ilex or Compound shutter likely wouldn't work unless you get a top hat board. The Wista uses Technika 99x96 which barely fits a Copal 3, and in some cases the rest of the standard can interfere. I think the small Toyo uses 110x110 boards don't they? Less common, but a reasonable size for all by the largest lenses (I do have a Nikkor 610 that barely fits on a Sinar 140x140 board.)

There is a benefit to standardized board sizes, especially nowadays where lots of us have more than one camera. The Technika board is as close to a standard as it gets for more compact 4x5 cameras. The Sinar is not as common but is the most common for larger sizes.
 
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MTGseattle

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I totally agree regarding lens boards. I sourced a big Toyo (158mm) to technika adapter for my Canham, and the Wista and the Ikeda can both use technika boards as well. I got lucky without having that in mind when I purchased each camera.
 
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MTGseattle

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I’ve seen a few examples lately of photographers happily trudging along and making fine work with a Speed/Crown Graphic. This has me questioning my choices a bit.
I’m on a quick weekend “getaway,” and have 3 cameras with me. I usually say that for me, choice equals inaction but I shall buck that trend.
Have any of you ever employed contrast boosting filters when photographing in the snow? As I look out the window, the idea seems silly but who knows?
 

GregY

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I always use contrast filters for photographing in snow. Sometimes medium yellow but more often orange.
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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Almost always. Sometimes #12 yellow (minus blue), or #25 red, especially if I want a really dark sky. I've used the #12 to help make the tiny ice crystals in slow pop out more.
 

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MTGseattle said:
...
Have any of you ever employed contrast boosting filters when photographing in the snow? As I look out the window, the idea seems silly but who knows?
Click to expand...

Almost never, but I usually don't have a lot of snow to work with. But even when I do have sky in an image, I generally use no filter...especially with TMax400. I am a fan of atmospheric distance as an important compositional element, filters go on only for specific needs an image might have. For example, this image had a lot of blue-heavy light of a sunny day. I used a red filter with the idea of bringing the intensity of the surrounding light down to better work with the light under the wharf. This is a 16x20 print from a 4x5 negative on Ilford Gallery Grade 3. I burned the underneath of the wharf a little to keep it a little more mysterious up there (does have detail still), a little burning on the sky areas on the right side of the image to balance things up a little.

The second image is more recent, a platinum/palladium print from an 8x10 negative, no filter. El Cap. Meadow, Yosemite Valley. Might be hard to tell in the reproduction, but the snow has retained light detail throughout.
 

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GregY

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Beautiful images Vaughn.... i likely wouldn't filter for those types of images either...but my lenses are stored with the filters on .....so it's my default....
 
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Vaughn

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I have kept yellow filters on my LF lenses for protection, but they usually come off with the lens cap.

But my general rule is that when I hear myself start with "I always..." or "I never...", I try to figure out why I would think or say such a thing and what are the exceptions....are the exceptions the rule...can I handle the rules...etc. It's a mess up there.
 

GregY

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Vaughn in my case it's an observation after the fact (& over time) rather than any kind personal philosophy or manifesto....

 

Vaughn

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Observations are notoriously wrong most of the time, even over time...that's why I question my own.
 

GregY

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Vaughn said:
Observations are notoriously wrong most of the time, even over time...that's why I question my own.
Click to expand...

I'll just say "I almost always use contrast filters when the image has snow &/or sky with clouds......& virtually never for portraits." .....& presumably it's like the choice of developer or paper....it's just how i do it....& YMMV completely.
 
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Thanks for the thoughts and the nice examples you guys. @GregY I wasn't in high alpine areas and agree with the filter use in your examples. I did go through a period where a Hoya yellow lived on my camera 99% of the time.
Luckily, yesterday's conditions were lower elevation, lots of trees "flocked" with snow and a pretty active sky with some sun breaks. I hope I got 1 or 2 decent negatives. We shall see. I did manage to expose 1 6x12 image then decide to relocate and didn't remove the lens cap for the remainder. It was actively snowing, and I wanted the cap on while I moved 20 feet or so.
 
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In non-photographic news, we welcomed 2 new kittens to our home on March 8th, and it has been fairly chaotic around here. For nay cat owners here, can you remember the activity level of months old kittens? We've had to embark on a whole new level of "child proofing." It's good fun. They have put most darkroom work (including film processing) on hold. In our fever to get the house cat ready, i essentially piled every loose/odd/maybe unneeded thing we had into my basement (darkroom area). Luckily my backlog is only 4 rolls 120 and 2 sheets 8x10.

There's an interesting plate burner for sale locally and my g.a.s has been piqued. It seems silly to buy some big monster piece of equipment before I even use my diy light source, but it falls in the very infrequent used item category.

This last should probably be placed into a more specific thread, but it's an odd question; How tight is the lens coverage on the various 645 rangefinders (Fuji gs series specifically)? Could one be modified to 6x6 without destruction I wonder? There's a GS645 for sale locally too, which seems to be a more useful potential purchase than the afore mentioned plate burner. It would take up a heck of a lot less space too.

Happy photographic pursuits everyone.
 

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Film cannisters go in the box and the straps come off when the kitties come out!
 

Truzi

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Oh yes, they are quite energetic. We took in a pregnant stray about 2.5 years ago, and she delivered 5 kittens - behind the only (large) tube TV left in the house. We are dog people, so cats in general were a bit of a new experience (I knew cats (not kittens) before, but never lived with any).

As they grow, you may need something like this to keep them out of cabinets. It works well, and there are many different types out there:
 

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AnselMortensen said:
If you're missing any small items, check under the couch.
Click to expand...

I have discovered that lost items are always found in the last place one looked. So one can save time it they would just go to the last place that they would look first.
 
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We're not new to cat ownership, just a bit out of practice where kittens are concerned. As I type, the female is up and down off of the kitchen counter every 5 min. I'm without a water mister for disciplinary purposes right now.
 

MattKing

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I thought it was the other way around. You don't own cats - you serve at their pleasure!
 

Truzi

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I'm a dog person... we were between dogs when a (pregnant) stray appeared in our back yard. They are different from dogs, but I've found they're not terribly different. That's probably because we've always treated pets as individuals, not as species.

Our cats don't act like royalty. One we adopted from a family member (who had to go to a nursing home) is emotionally disturbed, but he is a "people" cat. The stray is a bit "independent," but that's about it. We raised her kittens (now 2.5 years old), so that probably has a lot to do with them not acting like they own the place.

One problem I have is that I don't have a darkroom - I use the upstairs bathroom for developing, and their hair loves that bathroom. Wasn't an issue when we had a dog.
 
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