ULF photography website...

[janvanhove]

Hi,

Some of you might already know, but I'm currently working on building a website on ULF photography, trying to regroup ideas and people around an aspect of Photography that is not well know and practiced by few.

You are more than welcome to give a visit at : http://ulf.janvanhove.com , and also very welcome to give comments and submit contributions to the site.

I look forward to hearing from you

Patrick Jan Van Hove

 

[sanking]

Hi,

You are more than welcome to give a visit at : http://ulf.janvanhove.com , and also very welcome to give comments and submit contributions to the site.

I look forward to hearing from you

Patrick Jan Van Hove

Hi Patrick,

I have visited the site several times. Thanks for your work in developing this site. The pictures of the big cameras in particular really show that ULF photography is a reality and not just something a bunch of fringe folks are talking about. Also, it would be nice to have a gallery with pictures of folks actually using these cameas in the field. My friend Sam Wang made this absolutely wonderul 360 degree panoramic shot of me working in the middle of the Chatooga River (northern divide South Carolina/Georgia) with an old 7X17 Korona that captures the magic of ULF work as well as anything I have seen, and another nice image of me working with my home made 20X24" cameras. I am sure that others could contribute interesting images of actual field work with ULF cameras.

The lens section needs some work because the coverage data provided for various lenses is not really very indicative of their true coverage with ULF work where the final product is usually a contact print. Many of the most popular lens many of use for ULF work in 7X17, 8X20 and 12X20 size are not even listed. Instead of the type of compilation of data from lens manufacturers it would better in my opinion to solicit opionions from ULF users regarding the lense they actually use. This practical information would be very useful for folks thinking of getting involved in ULF.

But I don't want to sound critical. I really apprciate your efforts in making the ULF site a reality and just wanted to offer an idea or two that might make it more excitiing.

Sandy King

 

[janvanhove]

Hi Sandy,

This is exactly the sort of comment i'm looking for ! And I agree completely with you, the lens section needs some work and some input from actual users of those lenses. I'm a newbie to ULF, and haven't produced a single large negative, so I'm in no position to share my experience except of my camera building project. I'll be more than happy to share my work as soon as I have some ! And the same goes for lenses !

As for pictures of people working with ULF cameras, that's the one thing I'm trying the most to get from ULFers, so If you have one, i'll put it up as soon as possible ! With a homemade 20x24, you are very welcome to present your camera, impressions and work if you want !

I built this site to give ULFers a rallying point, a compilation of experiences and ressources, your help is more than welcome if you feel like it !

PJ VH

 

[Ole]

I passed up a German 24x30cm camera on eBay.de some weeks ago, I decided I din't really have time to drive half way across Europe to collect it.

What I have got from ebay.de, however, is a book containing among other things a list of just about all the lenses available in Germany in 1910, with prices, specifications and coverage... If anyone wants to know if a German antique can be used for ULF, I'll look it up.

My main surprise in that direction was a 135mm "Monoplast" which I bought as a "defective shutter with glass in". It covers 8x10" from f:22, and possibly 11x14" too at f:45...

 

[Jim Chinn]

When you first discussed the site on the LF Photography forum I got the impression the emphasis would be on homemade cameras. Will you be including data and information or reviews of cameras being produced new today?

Also, i think it would be a great service if you could compile a catalogue of sorts of common used ULF cameras listing specifications such as bellows extension, weight, style tilt (pivot or base) type and extent of available movements. This would be nice for people looking for used cameras and only have the word of the seller (who sometimes know about the camera) to go by.

And as already pointed out, a list of lenses and basic specs of lenses that cover ULF up to 20x24. Coverage wide open and stopped down, type of lens, size and weight.

 

[Deckled Edge]

Patrick,
Good work. Thanks for you contribution to the ULF movement. I agree that a gallery of ULF images would be useful, but practically, how does one scan a 20x24" print for the web? Do you pay $$$ for a large drum scan with multi-dozen-megabyte file size then degrade the image by 90% to fit it on the page? Do you post the whole enchilada and wait 40 seconds for it to load on broadband (20 min. on dial-up)? Can anyone tell the difference between a scan of a 4x5 and of a 16x20 from their monitor? In the end we're converting those eye-popping contact prints, with their 125 lpm to digital images at 72 dpi. That a 97.74% degradation in image quality.

Monitor optics aside, I look forward to re-visiting the site many times, and I hope to see much more regarding techniques, resources, and equipment.
Thanks

 

[sanking]

Hi Sandy,

And I agree completely with you, the lens section needs some work and some input from actual users of those lenses.

snip, snip, snip, snip .. .....

As for pictures of people working with ULF cameras, that's the one thing I'm trying the most to get from ULFers, so If you have one, i'll put it up as soon as possible ! With a homemade 20x24, you are very welcome to present your camera, impressions and work if you want !

PJ VH

I have contacted my friend Sam Wang, who made the pictures, to send you the file so you can put the images up on your site.

About the lenses, I will be happy to write up a small description of the lenses I use for ULF, or if you like, I might even volunteer to do a full article for you on this. It is something I have been wanting to do anyway and I could probably get Ed Buffaloe to put it up on his site as well. I know quite a number of ULF workers and would plan to solicit their input as well because there are really a lot of wonderful lenses out there that most people know little or nothing about. Everybody knows Dagors and Protars of course, but there is a lot of other good stuff as well.

Sandy King

 

[Alex Hawley]

Sandy,
I for one would appreciate an article on ULF lenses. It seems kind of mysterious trying to determine coverage with the info out there right now.

 

[janvanhove]

Ok, computer problems last weekend, sorry I couldn't reply to all of you :

Sandy, I got the picture, and you are now on the site for all to admire along your 20x24 camera (very nice camera by the way, I wouldn't mind a short text on it !)
And the ULF lens article idea is a very very good suggestion, my list, as I said, is put together from various web ressources, and as someone pointed out, it doesn't reflect the actual ULF use.

For image postings, i'm trying to figure out my self how to get a larger than 8x10 image scanned for the web... And how to do it for a reasonable ammount of money... My current scanner only does 4x5 transparencies, so the idea of scanning the print in multiple parts and re-stiching afterwards seems clumsy at best, but probably the only cost-effective option. How do the people who have ULF photos on their website do it ? In theory you could re-shoot the print with a digicam, but that's just ridiculous, I think...

Cheers, and keep up the great contributions and comments ! If I got so many people's attentention, I guess there was a need for something like that in ULF...

PJ VH

 

[Jeremy]

Why don't you take a digital photo of the print? This seems to me to be the easiest way to get them on there. At the top of the gallery make a note that these are digital photos of a copy as the web could not do justice the depth and tone of a ULF print as it is.