New Thread: Is That A Hasselblad? [ITAH?]

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Arklatexian

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I got the Hasselblad question a couple weeks ago while setting up my 4x5 field camera at Bryce Canyon NP.

Last time I heard of a similar situation at Bryce Canyon, a long time friend of mine was there with a 4x5 Speed Graphic. A park ranger watched him put his camera on his tripod, focus it, set the aperture and shutter speed and only then spoke and said: "at last someone is going to get some decent pictures here and walked off, and he did!............Regards!
 
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Last time I heard of a similar situation at Bryce Canyon, a long time friend of mine was there with a 4x5 Speed Graphic. A park ranger watched him put his camera on his tripod, focus it, set the aperture and shutter speed and only then spoke and said: "at last someone is going to get some decent pictures here and walked off, and he did!............Regards!
I did get some good photos. Already printed. The closest thing I had to a Hasselblad was the 120 film that I used to make 6x12 panos. My Hasselblads were tucked away at home.
 

AgX

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I never heard that question.
But with as certain model of my Super-8 cameras I'm typically asked:
"Is that a laser speed gun?"
 

Theo Sulphate

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I never heard that question.
But with as certain model of my Super-8 cameras I'm typically asked:
"Is that a laser speed gun?"

Braun?
 

jscott

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Today I pulled out my EL-M "10 years on the Moon" model Hassy with flash unit to do a portrait of an elderly friend. They asked "what is that?". So I affixed it to my belly and walked like a spaceman to remind them of the Apollo astronauts on the Moon. They later implied that digital must be better..... Some people just don't get it about romance and nostalgia (and damn fine quality).
 

Cholentpot

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Today I pulled out my EL-M "10 years on the Moon" model Hassy with flash unit to do a portrait of an elderly friend. They asked "what is that?". So I affixed it to my belly and walked like a spaceman to remind them of the Apollo astronauts on the Moon. They later implied that digital must be better..... Some people just don't get it about romance and nostalgia (and damn fine quality).

Fountain pen vs. word processor.
 

fdonadio

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Fountain pen vs. word processor.

This made me think... maybe, the ones who like the new technologies so much are just lousy users of the old technology.

For example, if your calligraphy is bad, it's just natural that you will love the possibility of correcting before printing that you get with a word processor on a computer.
 

E. von Hoegh

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This made me think... maybe, the ones who like the new technologies so much are just lousy users of the old technology.

For example, if your calligraphy is bad, it's just natural that you will love the possibility of correcting before printing that you get with a word processor on a computer.

Or perhaps "lousy users" of any technology.:sad:
 

Cholentpot

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This made me think... maybe, the ones who like the new technologies so much are just lousy users of the old technology.

For example, if your calligraphy is bad, it's just natural that you will love the possibility of correcting before printing that you get with a word processor on a computer.

A nice letter is nice whether typed on a word-processor or with a fountain pen. However it means oh so much more if handwritten in beautiful penmanship.

I can't write in a straight line by hand. I have the epitome of chicken scratch. Word-processors are my savior, without this stuff I would appear as a moron to the world.

Not everyone got the hang of film and development. It's finicky and difficult to work with and has little feedback. However you'll still get a good photo if you understand the mechanics and have a good eye. An excellent digital photographer will get an excellent shot on film no problem. The little A mode does wonders for those that have no time or patients to mess around and only care about the image.

I enjoy all aspects, so I tinker around with stinky chemicals and screw up amazing shots because it's enjoyable and fun for me. If I did this for a living I'd be shooting digital.
 
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Sirius Glass

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Today I pulled out my EL-M "10 years on the Moon" model Hassy with flash unit to do a portrait of an elderly friend. They asked "what is that?". So I affixed it to my belly and walked like a spaceman to remind them of the Apollo astronauts on the Moon. They later implied that digital must be better..... Some people just don't get it about romance and nostalgia (and damn fine quality).

<<sigh>> You were casting pearls before swine.
 

fdonadio

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I can't write in a straight line by hand. I have the epitome of chicken scratch. Word-processors are my savior, without this stuff I would appear as a moron to the world.

Don't get me wrong. My calligraphy was never top-notch and got worse after using computers fo a long time. I can't write cursive anymore, only block letters.
 

Theo Sulphate

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... maybe, the ones who like the new technologies so much are just lousy users of the old technology.
...

Many using digital simply are young enough to know only digital. Others simply like the instant feedback and the ability to share photos immediately on social media and web sites.

The casual camera user accounts for maybe 90% of camera sales. From the mid-1970's onwards, those people used some sort of automated exposure mode and rarely learned the basics of exposure and focus. Digital cameras and camera phones just makes it very easy for these people to get their photos of family, vacations, etc.
 
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MattKing

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I have been using medium format cameras for 40 years or so, and to the best of my recollection I have never been asked the question - until yesterday!
I was walking through Watershed Park in Delta yesterday afternoon. I was carrying my Mamiya C330, a bag, and a tripod and I was looking for photo opportunities.
Two women caught up with me on one of the trails. They were conversing between themselves and walking quicker than I was. I would guess that they were in their early 30s.
The following conversation ensued:
First woman: "Is that a Hasselblad?"
Me: "No, it is a Mamiya, but it is the same format as a Hasselblad".
First woman: "Cool"
They then passed me and continued with their walk.
And all I could think of was this thread :D
 
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I purchased a Rodenstock Imagon Tiefenbildner recently, an outstanding lens that however requires some preventive learning, and I'm practicing with it portraiting statues. I don't know if you ever considered it, but statues are by their nature beautiful and plastic, they have a lot of patience, they never shut their eyes in synch with the shutter and never complain if the photographer is slow while they strike the pose.

So I was in a park of my hometown last month, taking pictures to the satues that sorround a fountain, with my good old tripod and my good new Imagon and another ton of heavy stuff, when a bunch of folks of all ages participating in a digital photography course came over and, in turn, begun to take pictures to the statues - but as if they were in a battlefiled carrying a machine gun. In my very humble opinion, none of them was in a good perspective in respect to the statues, at an appropriate distance and height with their subjects, and at a decent angle in respect to the sun and overall illumination of the area. The teacher said absolutely nothing to them all of the time, so perhaps the topic of the lesson was to take intentionally awful pictures and see what can be done at the computer in order to tweak them. However, what impressed me most is that none of the "pupils" came over to take a closer look at the camera, to see how it is operated, or asking questions. Their complete lack of curiosity really striked me.

Half an hour later, however, a nice old fellow, parhaps in his eighties, passed by. After having looked at the camera for a while, he asked me: <<Excuse me, is that a Linhof that I see?>>, to which I replied <<Indeed, Sir. The real McCoy>>. It turned out that he also was a photographer, owning a nice Leica setup that unfortunately he was no longer using. We had a very pleasant chat, during which I encouraged him to take up his camera again, suggesting a pair of shops in town where he could easily find films. I hope he did: he looked like the mindful kind of person that knew how to take beautiful pictures.
 
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NJH

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Your going to love this Sirius.

Last year I was taking some pictures of a fishing village in Tenerife when a Canadian couple approached me and asked ITAH.
Wait for it.









I was using a Bronica SQ.
 

Theo Sulphate

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... In my very humble opinion, none of them was in a good perspective in respect to the statues, at an appropriate distance and height with their subjects, and at a decent angle in respect to the sun and overall illumination of the area. The teacher said absolutely nothing to them all of the time, ...

I wonder if this teacher was even aware of those aspects of the scene.


However, what impressed me most is that none of the "pupils" came over to take a closer look at the camera, to see how it is operated, or asking questions. Their complete lack of curiosity really striked me.

That is sad. Their loss.

... Linhof...

A very high quality 4x5 - perhaps they were intimidated.
 

faberryman

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Not everyone got the hang of film and development. It's finicky and difficult to work with and has little feedback.
It is not rocket science. Not knowing anything, I followed the instructions for my first roll of film, and everything came out fine. That was in 1973. Some photographers want to make a mystery of the process, as if we are practicing alchemy.
 
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Cholentpot

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It is not rocket science. Not knowing anything, I followed the instructions for my first roll of film, and everything came out fine. That was in 1973. Some photographers want to make a mystery of the process, as if we are practicing alchemy.

My first roll went off without a hitch. By any chance are you handy in the kitchen? I've found that people who develop their own film and make prints are generally good to excellent in the kitchen. On the other-hand some people just can't follow instructions, like the people that hate T-Max.

I still use an old typewriter when writing letters. Mine is a Royal Quiet Deluxe from 1946. Works beautifully, and to me feels a lot better than using a computer keyboard.

I was looking into getting a mechanical keyboard for my PC. Clackty Clack and I would get thrown out of the house.
 
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Sirius Glass

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Your going to love this Sirius.

Last year I was taking some pictures of a fishing village in Tenerife when a Canadian couple approached me and asked ITAH.
Wait for it.









I was using a Bronica SQ.

At least the got for format correctly and the body shape in the right category.
 
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A very high quality 4x5 - perhaps they were intimidated.
Do you think so? Well, it may be, although I never really thought about it that way. Technical cameras didn't have any major evolution since the '50s, just some retouch here and there. A Linhof Technika III and the to-day Linhof Master Technica are basically the same camera. I had so far assumed that to the profane's eye it looked like some kind of cute grandad's camera, but perhaps it is not perceived as such. In any case, shiness of the "pupils" aside, had I been the "teacher" I would have caught the chance to give to the "pupils" a quick insight into classic photography. It was a missed opportunity to pass to them a bit of historical awareness about photography, in my opinion.

At least the got for format correctly and the body shape in the right category.
Agree, they almost got it right! :D
 
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