- Joined
- Nov 29, 2008
- Messages
- 86
- Format
- 35mm RF
Well, in 35mm I'm primarily a Leica shooter. I shoot an M-240 and Monochrom (along with a couple of film M's), with some very good Leica glass, including the Noctilux 0.95. I'm certainly not rich. But I realized a long time ago that buying an expensive piece of gear every few years is very doable even for us non-pro amateurs, if that's where your heart and your priorities lie. It helps that my kids are grown and out of the house, college expenses are over, and the mortgage is paid off.
All of which is to say, I don't really have a pre-determined budget. I'm not averse to paying good money for excellent gear. That said, eight grand plus for a new Rollieflex almost makes me faint. But if I were to be convinced that that TLR would be the end-all for my photography, I'd probably find a way to make it happen.
I definitely get that the medium format marketplace has shifted from pros to amateurs and that that is a blessing to those of us who do this purely out of love. Prices have plummeted. But I worry about two things when buying used. First is the possibility of being scammed or taken, particularly when you're buying online. I've never bought anything from Ebay for just that reason. The second is because, with cameras and lenses, we're talking about precision-made objects that may hide an abusive history, and which will probably deteriorate over time even if treated well. It's hard to know what you're getting. At the very least, an older camera would probably benefit from a CLA. Who does that in the medium format world? Most the brick and mortar camera shops I grew up around are long gone.
So there's my bias. I'm averse to risking serious money on a used camera unless its history is knowable (rare), or the seller is a reputable entity who is willing to unwind the deal should the sale prove a lemon. Risk a couple hundred on a Yashica TLR? Sure. But a couple thousand on a Hasselblad system? Not so much. I'd be breathless with worry.
I'd be happy to entertain suggestions on how to deal with my anxiety!
My work plan? Well, I love digital (don't shoot me!). That Leica Monochrom renders exceptional images. But I'll tell you what... a couple weeks ago I had the task of printing off a 16x20 baryta print for a gallery exhibition in a few weeks. It's a nice image - taken with that very Leica Monochrom - and an excellent print, using a split-toned Piezography K7 pigment inkset on very nice archival paper. As I slid it into its sleeve, preparatory to driving it around to my framing shop, my eyes came to rest upon the very large, dark brown envelope that has stood between my desk and my printer stand for well over a dozen years. It was the only print from another photographer I have ever bought. But I had never had it framed. Pulling it out, I carried the envelope out onto the deck and carefully blew away the years of dust. Back inside, I carefully undid the tabs, and then slowly withdrew the print from the envelope.
It took my breath away.
22" x 26" matted, with an actual image area 13" x 17." Silver gelatin. Taken by a photographer named Dave Beckerman in NYC with a large format camera. On film, of course.
The print just simply glows, with a tonal depth you think you could almost step into. I was stunned.
I've always loved film. I still carry two boxes of long-expired film - one of Kodachrome 64, one of Delta 3200 - in the console of my pickup truck. Not because I'll ever use them. But because it just makes me feel good when I glance down and see them. Remembering how it once was.
But loving something and embracing it aren't always the same. Like so many others, for many years now I have fallen under the siren song of digital. It is just so much easier.
It took the infinite grays in that Beckerman print to remind me. As good as digital is - and I remain one of its staunchest fans - maybe, just maybe, there will be some things it can never do quite as well.
And so, in the last couple of weeks, in addition to getting my print and the Beckerman print framed, I ordered fresh Tri-X and Xtol and HC-110 and fixer and hypo clear. Yesterday I stood in the kitchen and developed the first roll of film in a long time. I had forgotten what a kick that is. A little piece of Christmas when you unroll the film from the reel and see those images, made whole of a sudden, glistening in the wetness.
Maybe there really is magic.
I've enjoyed shooting my Leica M6. A lovely camera, and my first Leica. You take it out of the cabinet and put a roll of film in it and take it out to the truck and it feels like meeting up with your childhood best friend. But I already know I need more negative. Infinite is a lot. Large format may, indeed, lie in my future. I dunno. First, I want to see how far medium format can take me.
So there's the not-very-good short answer to what my plan is. So rough it hardly deserves to be called a plan. Just... looking for infinite.
The Bessa III came. Nice camera. But it's probably going back. The one quick lesson it leaves, though, is that that 6x7 negative, hanging from the clip, drying, is a honking nice piece of real estate.
I'm partial to rangefinders. Would love to find a new-old-stock Mamiya 7ii with an 80. Or, failing that, at least one in mint condition. Any ideas what I could expect to pay for that?
The other thing I'd like to try in medium format is a waist-level viewfinder setup with a leaf shutter. I guess the TLR's, including that awfully expensive Rollieflex, fit that spec?
And though they don't have that leaf shutter, I'm still looking around at the RB's, RZ's, and Hasselblads.
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