now that is what you call a camera!

fionaB · 09-09-2007, 21:02

met this guy yesterday using this camera at Inchmahome Priory........ so who can tell me what it is. he was shooting speficially for platinum prints what ever they may be!

monkeydave · 09-09-2007, 21:17

what it is but on that tripod it looks great the old and new works really well ..

i like this shot alot

dave

Gary Bagshawe · 10-09-2007, 10:10

Looks to me to be a 10 x 8 plate camera.

**Dabhand16** · 10-09-2007, 10:25

It also looks like it has the ability to shift the lens to correct verticals

Soupdragon · 10-09-2007, 11:13

It looks like a Wista Field with a super angulon on the front.
I can't tell what film back he has on it but it's either 10 X 8 or 5 X 4.

I used to have an MPP 5 X 4, good fun but tons of work.

Gary Bagshawe · 10-09-2007, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soupdragon

It looks like a Wista Field with a super angulon on the front.
I can't tell what film back he has on it but it's either 10 X 8 or 5 X 4.

I used to have an MPP 5 X 4, good fun but tons of work.

Yep, I used a 5 x 4 one similar, can't remember make when I was an assistant in my first job doing studio product shots. They really make you slow down and think what you are doing but produce stunning results.

fionaB · 10-09-2007, 18:36

wista sounds familiar.. i did look at the name but i forgot it again but i know its a short name! lol cant help you with the back. apart from the fact it looked like frosted glass in little squares..... and as i said he was shooting specifically for a platinum print..........erm anyone want to enlighten me what that is?

Fi

Gary Bagshawe · 10-09-2007, 18:52

" The process for making platinum prints was invented in 1873 by William Willis. The process depends on the light sensitivity of iron salts to create an image. Chemical reactions exploited during developing, however, dissolve out the iron salts and replace them with platinum. Platinum prints were popular until the 1920's when the price of platinum rose so steeply that they became too expensive. They were valued for their great range of subtle tonal variations, usually silvery greys, and their permanence. Recently platinum prints have enjoyed a revival for fine art photography."

fionaB · 10-09-2007, 18:57

excellent Gary TY!.... i have just found out who the guy was that was using it. a guy named Terry King ( FRPS) has a web site with a whole lot of alternative processing workshops etc.

Fi

Les Meehan · 10-09-2007, 19:02

Fi

I would agree this looks like a 10x8 Wista field camera with a WA lens. Nice cameras and a joy to use when you want to experience 'real' photography! Personally, I use a 5x4 Zone VI camera made from American black walnut (its wonderful and oozes quality) and a 10x8 Cambo monorail for the big stuff (although too heavy for field work but great for studio shots). Using a 5x4 or 10x8 outdoors always draws a crowd because people think they are antiques (which they are not), I usually invite people to look thru the camera at the upside-down, reversed image. It's great fun!

A platinum print is simply a photographic print paper coated with platinum rather than the more usual silver halide. Platinum paper (or Palladium as it is also known) gives a much longer tone range than silver and thus produces stunning images. The prints are usually made by contact printing a large neg, usually 10x8 inch, which also increases quality as there is no loss due to enlargement of the neg. Needless to say, from a 10x8 neg there will not be any visible grain in the print and so the tones will be like mercury, smooth and oh so beautiful.

Platinum was the medium of choice for most of the great names of the past when they could afford it, silver halide provided a 'cheaper' and more flexible alternative for most photographers.

Any one wanting to experience LF photography is invited to come here for a weekend course!

Cheers

Les

Les Meehan · 10-09-2007, 19:04

Gary has given a more accurate explanation of the platinum process than my 'simplified' description.

A LF camera gives you much more control over image management than is possible with a fixed geometry camera such as 35mm and medium format. They really are a joy to work with and give you a sense of really being in command of your photography rather than the machine dictating your decision making process.

Using a LF camera should be an experience every one interested in photography has at least once in their life!

Cheers

Les

fionaB · 10-09-2007, 19:27

i agree they look old, at first i thought it was an old camera but he said it was only about 10 yrs old. thanx for the explanation guys!

Les why do u have to live over there! lolol

Fi

nathan vh · 10-09-2007, 19:31

10 Year's, not old!? for a camera it's a long time