Large Format Horror Story

[TheFlyingCamera]

I did not document it. I haven't even taken the carcass out of the trunk of the car yet. I need to mourn before I can consent to the autopsy.

 

[mark]

I would get it out of the trunk now to let it all dry properly.

 

[pgomena]

Yeah, get the bellows dried out before mold sets in, and hope the wet wood doesn't warp.

What a shame. Cameras that have lived that long deserve to be resurrected, though. Best of luck with the repairs!

 

[DREW WILEY]

Having spent several decades in the mtns with a view camera, it was inevitable that a few didn't survive or simply wore out. When I traveling into esp rainy areas like the Pacific NW, I pack a mini
dessication chamber - a tight Tupperware box & some tape, with fresh silica gel inside, just in case I
need to emergency-dessicate a lens. It works. Last summer a buddy of mine got a little too carried away photographing up a creek at twilight. We were an entire weeks walk from any road, and way off
trail too. He slipped and sent a couple of very expensive Zeiss lenses into the drink, and busted two legs on his Gitzo CF tripod. None of us had a pr of pliers, so we managed to get his filter threads workable denting them back in position using a soft stick and a rock mallet. One lens cleared enough
by being put in the sun all day, but then the rain came in again, and the humidity fogged it up. It finally
cleared after the trip using my dessication box method. The tripod got two pine sticks duct taped to it.
And the poor photographer himself had to limp out with an injured heel and a 75lb pack over 12000 ft
passes. Life in the fast lane.

 

[bdial]

I haven't had to try it, but I've been told that minute rice is a good emergency desiccant.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Well, everything has dried pretty well on its own. The shutter seems to be back ALMOST to working order, after exercising it a little, although the shutter tripping mechanism is a little wonky. The camera body is dry, with no mildew or rot. Next step is to contact Richard for an estimate.

 

[Eric Rose]

Glad to hear you didn't go over the falls! Camera gear can always be fixed or replaced, a broken neck, well not so easy.

 

[c6h6o3]

How were the pictures? One of the best images I've ever made came at the expense of a broken lens. Sometimes it's all worth it.

 

[Sparky]

ouch! we should start a thread! I have LOTS of stories. My FIRST LF was taken out from being run over by a bunch of rowdy college kids in a pickup truck in a gravel pit at 2AM. My second (arca swiss) I lost over the side of a building when i hit the quick release by mistake (not used one SINCE!!) - and an acquaintance of mine working for hedrich blessing left a bag of lenses in a parking lot...

 

[mark]

Good Idea

 

[DBP]

Any accident that turns out better than the opening shot of Rear Window should count as minor. Amazing how tough these old beasts are.

 

[DREW WILEY]

The nice thing about a view camera is that I can't fix almost any problem in my own shop, except for
the lens itself.

 

[brucemuir]

Any accident that turns out better than the opening shot of Rear Window should count as minor. Amazing how tough these old beasts are.

what was that again…was it a racecar accident?

Sorry to hear it Scott but it sounds like you'll be back in biz here shortly.
Good luck.

 

[pgomena]

You can give it a name: Lazarus.

 

[NedL]

My thoughts similar to others... I'm glad you didn't go in the river and get hurt. Hope your camera is back to normal soonest!

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

You can give it a name: Lazarus.

I was thinking more along the lines of "Steve Austin" once it's been rebuilt (cue theme song from "The Six Million Dollar Man"). Fortunately it won't cost anywhere near that much to return to function.

 

[mopar_guy]

There are better ways to "make a big splash" as a photographer.

 

[Alan Gales]

That is a horror story. I sure hope that everything can be made good as new.

Just think if you had been shooting a digital camera with an ultra expensive back tethered to a laptop computer and it all hit the drink.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Oh, had it been anything else (even a modern metal view camera) I'd be lucky to have my tripod back, with a hunk of useless, twisted metal on the end of it. And were it electronic, well... I'd be lucky if the memory could be recovered.

 

[cepwin]

Oh no!!! I'm glad it's fixable though...yes a Steve Austin plaque would be apropos

 

[lxdude]

. And were it electronic, well... I'd be lucky if the memory could be recovered.

I'd think this would be one memory you'd rather not recover...