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eftychia at 02:14am on 2003-10-27A week ago, two guys were up on my roof with rolls of roofing paper and cans of tar.
Right now it's raining buckets in Baltimore, very noisily on that roof.
It's a real relief to be looking at dry ceilings and floors upstairs instead of trying to guess how often I need to check the placement of the buckets. Much nicer than the last several rains.
In other news, I've got a new expensive time-sink.
Until the owner needs it back, I've got use of a folding
4x5 camera. I get to learn how to use tilts and shifts.
Now I already know how I feel about "big" negatives (and
even better, slides) from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
anniemal's 1939
box camera, which is medium format, so I'm looking forward
to seeing a four-inch by five-inch (approx. 10cm by 12.5cm)
piece of exposed film. And I've got control over the
shutter speed and aperture, unlike the box. (OTOH, I can
reasonably use the box camera without a tripod and a black
cloth to put over my head. (And if I want an assortment
of different focal lengths and a built-in meter, I haven't
lost my enthusiasm for 35mm.))
I've wanted to try large format -- 4x5 or 8x10 -- for a while now, but didn't expect to get a chance for a long time. This is gonna be fun. I wonder how long it'll take me to get used to loading the film holders. (The other challenge will be paying for developing ... or for chemicals if somebody lends me developing trays. But worst-case, I empty the pouch of quarters I hang on my belt when I'm in garb.) I think I know what I want the first photo I take with this camera to be, if Perrine will be patient enough for me to set up the shot when the light is right. Boy, do I need to find a way to make money with large-format, to come up with both the money to pay for it and the excuse for spending that money on it.
Basically, this is going to be fun. The money angle just determines how much fun. Now I get to learn how to make the camere movements useful. I've got a smidgen of theory, but I never expected the application to really click for me until I had a chance to spend a lot of time fiddling with the camera while staring at the ground glass. Now I have my chance. Now I can find out what folks were talking about when they told me tilt could help me with a tricky macro shot I've wanted to do.
Finally, I have no clue how I'm getting to either of my rehearsals this week. Wheee.
I am rather tired, but my brain keeps shouting, "Look! A 4x5 camera!" and waking me up.
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What I have does not have lids. But they are large, flat, about two inches deep (one considerablyu deeper), and (probably resistant) plastic. (Two or three shallow, one deep.)
I am also 3/4 through a shirt for you. I have to figure out how to do the collar -- the cuffs are trivial, and the rest is done.
Have you found the Henson statue yet? If it is actually in place, I can loan you my digital camera to catch a photo of it. They might have it lit...
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I haven't gotten around to looking at the Henson statue yet -- I should've done that before sunset started being so early. Sometime when I've got my own wheels that'll take me there (i.e. replace/repair my car or have keys to a borrowed car on a Tuesday) I'll have to swing by to grab your digital and run down to College Park early, and shoot the statue in four different formats.
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AAAAAAH! Bad case of equipment envy here... My desire for large-format gear got so bad at one time that I actually converted one enlarger to a repro camera. You're going to have fun.
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The thought also struck me that if I want to exaggerate perspective distortion, I can use shifts to do that too, right?
Oh yeah, fun.
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Last fall I was doing closeups with magnifying lenses for a photography class I was taking at a local rec center. I set up a light stage on the dining room table, and set up half a dozen incandescent lamps around it. Incandescent. Heat. Pellie, then a moderately small kitten, decided to take a nap in the middle of my carefully arranged still lifes.
I got a great close-up of his nose.
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One macro shot I'd really love to get is a sideways view of a cat's eye, with the way the lens protrudes so far. But that's one where I can't just wait for the cat to sleep to stop moving, alas. I'll need an assistant for that, whatever format I shoot it in.
(I do have a bellows and extension tubes for screwmount 35mm, and I used to have a reversing ring. Macro is fun.)
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Http://www.largeformatphotography.info/
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I've already got this queue of ideas in my head, getting longer and longer, including one that the rear tilt will make work. So far what I'm finding is that, in general, I need more light (even with the black cloth over my head). The light coming through the windows has been pretty dim, with all the rain, and now that the rain seems to be stopping, the sun is setting. Ah, but if it's sunny tomorrow...
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