Let's See Your Beasts! (Camera Rigs That Is...)

[x-ray]

1938 Deardorff 5x7View attachment 4818314

Beautiful, the camera that is😁

My first 8x10 was made around 37-38. A company I worked for in the 70’s had a Deardorff 8x10 that was probably from the first batch or two. Part of the front standard was wooden. I know the really early ones were like that.

 

[Rayt]

This is so funny, we stayed at the Blue Swallow three nights. We packed our Mini Cooper S and took the minimum and did 5000 miles over nearly 4 weeks following Route 66 from Oklahoma to AZ. The farthest we went was Phoenix to visit friends. Great adventure. I drove mostly 66 from Albuquerque to Oklahoma in 1975 because the interstate wasn’t completed and there were large sections we had to do 66. I was busting a hump to get back home but now treasure the experience.

Hate to hear you were sick. That’s can kill a great trip quickly.

That’s a nice shot of the Blue Swallow. I will stay there next time so can photograph it properly. My days with LF might be over. Price of sheet film tripling is one reason and the other is making prints. I never got a flat bed scanner because I didn’t want to digitize the negatives and wanted to contact print. I don’t know if anyone makes contact printing paper anymore or if I can access community labs to do that. Meanwhile I can do the same shots with digital camera with IBIS handheld with post processing perspective control.

 

[x-ray]

That’s a nice shot of the Blue Swallow. I will stay there next time so can photograph it properly. My days with LF might be over. Price of sheet film tripling is one reason and the other is making prints. I never got a flat bed scanner because I didn’t want to digitize the negatives and wanted to contact print. I don’t know if anyone makes contact printing paper anymore or if I can access community labs to do that. Meanwhile I can do the same shots with digital camera with IBIS handheld with post processing perspective control.

I pretty much gave up on color LF due to lack of good E6 chemistry after Kodak quit making it. I think Hunt or another commercial supplier still makes good E6 chemistry but you have to buy a large quantity. So reluctantly I shoot digital color and film based B&W.

I still have a full darkroom with a 5x7 Durst 138 and love printing. I’ve got a pretty good stash of paper and film in the freezer but fear my time will run out before my supplies. Age is creating problems due to arthritis and I’ve decided to sell the 8x10 and keep the 5x7 and 4x5’s. I was going to make some nice images of it and the Cooke XV and put them on LFF but got lazy.

I still love the darkroom. Just can’t get it out of my system. I was just thinking, I’ve been processing and printing 66 years.

That a beautiful lens by the way! I’ve never used one.

A friend has a couple of knucklers I’ve shot some with and I have an Ilex Photoplastic Extreme Soft Focus 10.5” in an Ilex 5. Had the shutter reworked but can only get up to 1/15 sec shutter speed. It’s really dreamy at f4.5 so I bought an 8 stop variable ND and will control exposure with that. Also have a Rodenstock Imagon and Wollensak portrait lens from the 30’s. It makes beautiful images. When the rain stops I’m taking the Photoplastic out to do some landscapes.

 

[Pál_K]

My last trip with the 5x7 was to Tucumcari. I have an irrational interest in fading Americana and every year I set out to photograph old towns and buildings. Downtown Tucumcari is a treasure trove for that.
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Iphone saves the day. The avatar was shot with it …

Your avatar interested me long ago; now I know the story. I hadn’t even heard of Tucumcari - so thanks. Fading Americana is indeed fascinating. There are several websites dedicated to old Los Angeles restaurants and buildings which are now sadly gone.

 

[Rayt]

Your avatar interested me long ago; now I know the story. I hadn’t even heard of Tucumcari - so thanks. Fading Americana is indeed fascinating. There are several websites dedicated to old Los Angeles restaurants and buildings which are now sadly gone.

I’ll revisit Tucumcari and other places again with a digital camera so I can shoot color. Old buildings with rust and peeling paint really come across better in color while b/w can do a lot with texture and shadows. B/W didn’t work at all for this one:

 

[Retro-Grouch]

I’ll revisit Tucumcari and other places again with a digital camera so I can shoot color. Old buildings with rust and peeling paint really come across better in color while b/w can do a lot with texture and shadows. B/W didn’t work at all for this one:View attachment 4818329

If you get to Tucumcari again, try also to head a bit further west to Santa Rosa. It's also one of those Route 66 towns that got bypassed when they built the new Route 40. There's a lot of the old architecture there as well, plus some great artesian spring swimming holes, chief among them being the Blue Hole, a welcome and rare treat in NM.

 

[Rayt]

If you get to Tucumcari again, try also to head a bit further west to Santa Rosa. It's also one of those Route 66 towns that got bypassed when they built the new Route 40. There's a lot of the old architecture there as well, plus some great artesian spring swimming holes, chief among them being the Blue Hole, a welcome and rare treat in NM.

I visited Santa Rosa a few times on that trip. Yes I really need to go back. At the time I only had that LF camera with me and regretted not also bring a small handheld camera. Glad I at least had the iPhone.