Nightski

I stopped at Jay Cooke State Park today on my way home from the Apostle Islands to see if they had the swinging bridge, that was destroyed in the flood, back up yet.

They did, and I met the most amazing man. He was standing there with this big apparatus that took up the width of the bridge, so I could not cross. I stood and watched him for a bit before I asked what he was doing.

"I'm taking a photograph." he said. This did not look like any camera I had ever seen. When I first saw him I thought he was doing some sort of surveying for the park. He saw that I was curious, so he invited me to come look under the hood, and I did. It was amazing. He looked at my 6D with the 100mm lens on, and he said, "Everything in my frame is going to be in focus. You can't do that with your camera." I smiled and said, well I can go out to f/22." He said, "Yes, but you still can't get everything in focus the way I can." Then he began to teach me. He asked if I would like to move to the next spot with him and watch. His wife got bored and went to the car.

So I moved with him and watched. He turned to me, looked at me, and my camera, and said, "You should get a tripod. You will find that your compositions improve with a tripod."

Then he got to work. First he put on his 450mm lens, and he didn't like what he saw. Then He put on his 300mm lens. Nope. Then He put on his 200mm lens. Yep, that was the one.

He uses a slide film in this camera. I didn't understand whether he said it was $10 for the slide, which takes 2 photographs, or $10 per photograph, which would be $20 for the slide. Either way, it's darn expensive to take a photograph, and he took his time, because mistakes are too expensive. He explained to me that he opens up his aperture and then adjusts from there. But somehow he ended up at F45! I have to admit, I didn't really understand it all, but the view on that 5X7 screen was amazing, and it was upside down. He said, "If it doesn't look pretty upside down, then you don't have a good compostion." I got to put my head under that hood and look. He also got out his light meter and explained to me how he uses it. He let me play with it.

One other thing. He was obviously elderly. I could tell by the way he moved. But he hiked the snowy, slippery trail like a champ, though he did give me a fright a couple of times. He had a pack on that was so heavy, I had to strain to lift it.

I had planned to just stop there for a few minutes, and I was there for well over an hour watching him take one shot. He gave me his card, with his email address. If I hadn't enjoyed my trip to the Apostle Islands, meeting this man would have made the whole trip worth it. What an experience.

The 5X7 View Camera

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Getting the Camera ready

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Getting the Camera ready

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Under the Hood

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Sorry it's blurry, but this is the slide.

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Elliern Loc: Myrtle Beach, SC

I found your story of the man and his camera fascinating. What an incredible experience you had. What was the name of the camera? Thank you for sharing your day.

Nightski

He said it was a 5X7 view camera.

amehta Loc: Boston

Welcome to the world of Large Format. Not for the faint of heart, but oh, the results! :-D

Nightski

Yes, that's right. He told me one of his images is over 100 megabytes!

rocco_7155 Loc: Connecticut/Louisiana

Awesome story of an incredible day. Thanks for telling us about it.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Hey, Nightski, that's the best set of shots you've ever taken!!
I hope you run into him again!! :lol:
SS

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Looks like a Deardorf to me. - Dave

Nightski

Is this what you mean? This is a lot of equipment to carry around.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=deardorff%208x10%20cameras&clk_rvr_id=599241638535&adpos=1t1&MT_ID=69&crlp=17739553324_2416792&device=c&geo_id=10232&keyword=deardorff+8x10+cameras&crdt=0

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

LUCKY!

The mere fact that he was using a 5 X 7 instead of a 4 X 5 or 8 X 10 is a good indication that he has been doing this for some time and has developed some strong preferences. A standard lens would have been 215-220 (218)mm, so he was using the equivalent of about a 40mm lens. By starting wide open, he was able to refine his focus. Did he use a magnifier against the ground glass? I have no idea how much his lens stopped down, but many large format lenses go to f/64 and some go to f128, so f/45 would get him great DoF. He appears to be an old master of a dying art. One of our members, Doogie, is a young and very talented practitioner of the art of LF.

I envy you the time you were able to spend with him. I hope you enjoyed your experience as much as I enjoyed your excellent rendition. Buy the way, I see his camera was made of wood; was his tripod wooden or modern metal?

Darkroom317 Loc: Mishawaka, IN

Yep. A beautiful field camera. I use a 4x5 press camera for some of my work.

Look up scheimpflug principle to understand what he meant about getting everything in focus.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Yes but the ones on the link are 8X10. Deardorf is a brand. It is top of the line. I use Graflex. It is a lot to carry around. I have three cases that I modified a golf cart to carry them. You can get more DOF with a View Camera by tilting the back. If you tilt the top back it will make closer objects in focus and keep the far away thing in focus too - Dave :idea:

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

Thanks for the post.
I asked a guy, years ago, to tell me about his "antique camera" and he got mad and said "it was brand new". Showed what I knew. He never let me forget it. He had it set up to take a group picture of a ski club. No, he didn't tell me about it.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

For 2-1/2 years, I used a 4x5 view camera, required for all of my school assignments to earn a Bachelor's degree. Pain in the butt!
I can truly say: "Been there; done that." And I ain't goin' back.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Wow, that far back, were you using wet plates? LOL