New 8 x 20 images

Well, I'm finally starting to take images with my new home made 8 x 20 and home made film holders. Light leaks are controlled, the bugs are just about all worked out with the camera and tripod, the darkroom sink has been re-built to handle the big trays, and the good thing is that I've put camera and accessory building on a back burner to try do some more serious shooting with the big beast. These two images are what I would call my first real attempts at something.

Now I know what all you ULF'ers have been raving about - those big negatives are pretty cool when you turn the lights on after developing. I'm not looking for real critique comments here, because these were really made with the intent on trying out the camera in both vertical and horizontal formats.

One is at the top of Mt. San Jacinto above Palm Springs and the other is my wife's 19 year old nephew who is scheduled to ship out to Iraq in February. It's kind of scary when the Middle East war is about to hit home and that these are the faces of all the kids serving over there.

Note that these are silver prints, not Platinum. For some reason, the digital camera and computer changed the tone of the prints to look like it.

Hope you like,

Dan

Congratulations, Dan.

I understand your thrill. Those first results are very promising, especially the landscape print.

As you mention, you will now encounter the problem of displaying your prints on the web, if you would want to share them online.
I also went the digisnap way for my 7x17" but I am not very pleased with the result. Too much PS work afterwards to make the pixels match the print.

Greetings,
G

Hey, Dan,

Congrats on the first real images. I just received your CD yesterday and started reading from the beginning. You obviously put a lot of thought into this project (and the documentation for that matter) and it's thrilling to see and hear of your continuing journey.

All I can say is...more, MORE!

argus said:

Congratulations, Dan.

I understand your thrill. Those first results are very promising, especially the landscape print.

As you mention, you will now encounter the problem of displaying your prints on the web, if you would want to share them online.
I also went the digisnap way for my 7x17" but I am not very pleased with the result. Too much PS work afterwards to make the pixels match the print.

Greetings,
G

Click to expand...

G - This may sound like a dumb question, but is there another way of getting the ULF images on the computer than using a digital camera? I'm sure that you can have them scanned, but I'm not sure if I want to spend that kind of money (I'm sure it's expensive).

Dan

Alright Dan..way to go. Put those months of toil to work.

Maybe try scanning two halfs (I do) then a simple overlay and crop.

blaze-on said:

Alright Dan..way to go. Put those months of toil to work.

Maybe try scanning two halfs (I do) then a simple overlay and crop.

Click to expand...

Thanks Matt - I'll give that a try. Why didn't I think of that?

Dan

Dan, nice shots from the new beast. I saw it at Joshua this year and like what you have done, a labor of love to be sure. Did you figure out a way to make the read bed extension a bit more stable? That was the only thing I saw which looked like it needed a bit of attetion. The composition with your sister's nephew is interesting with the soldier and the statue "supporting him" in his journey. All I can think of for scans is that a tripod and didgi-snap with everything perfectly level is the best way to go with your format. You might contact Matt (Scooter) to see how he does his.

Please thank your sister's nephew for us, as these are some of the best young people we have in our country. Hopefully, he will be well and return home in good shape and be ready for the rest of his life. Best, tim

noseoil said:

Dan, nice shots from the new beast. I saw it at Joshua this year and like what you have done, a labor of love to be sure. Did you figure out a way to make the read bed extension a bit more stable? That was the only thing I saw which looked like it needed a bit of attetion. The composition with your sister's nephew is interesting with the soldier and the statue "supporting him" in his journey. All I can think of for scans is that a tripod and didgi-snap with everything perfectly level is the best way to go with your format. You might contact Matt (Scooter) to see how he does his.

Please thank your sister's nephew for us, as these are some of the best young people we have in our country. Hopefully, he will be well and return home in good shape and be ready for the rest of his life. Best, tim

Click to expand...

Hi Tim,

Yes, I made some channel support rails from aluminum angles that clip on around the outside of the center bed and the front and rear beds at the same time and the whole assembly is very sturdy now.

These two photos were spur of the moment digital shots at night with no additional lighting so I had to shoot them at a little bit of an angle to get rid of the reflections on the paper. Next time, I'll try other things to get some better results.

I'm going to be in Phoenix next week on a business trip and plan on looking around for some photo ops for the future. Can you offer any suggestions in and around Phoenix?

Dan

Dan, I don't shoot in Phoenix but with your format, I would try a night shot of the downtown skyline and some stand development. If you are busy during the day, this might extend the shooting time. Might make for an interesting study. tim

Regarding Phoenix shots. I would suggest going to South Mountain in Phoenix and shooting the view of the valley to the north at sunset. You can drive to the observation parking lot.

The view from the top of Squaw Peak is interesting, but the climb with large format equipment might be a little tough.

Wayne

Dan, tough for landscapes in Phoenix. Generally speaking you must drive 2+ hours for landscape. Abstract, older towns, etc. easier to get too within two hours. Most of my images were within a couple of hours of Phoenix, but are more abstract in nature. You need to drive further for 'better' landscape. Or, you could consider Vulture Mine, Robson Mine, or Tumacacori, or Globe, Superior, etc...Sedona is probably the closest in landscape at around 2 hours. You can check out Westfork which is just outside of Sedona.

Go to the east side and fort Mcdowell. Get on 87A and and just start driving north up to Payson. Beautiful rugged country. You go from Saguaros to pine forests on The Mogollon rim.

Not a lot in Phoenix. You could try down town.

Congrats of=n getting your camera completed. I am envious.

Head up to Sedona and shoot what everyone else does.