Film Photography

We shoot film. . . doesn’t everyone?

CALUMET SHUTTER SPEED TESTER LF UPGRADE

CALUMET SHUTTER TESTERIf you are lucky enough to own a Calumet Shutter Speed Tester, you know it is not exactly ideal for testing large lenses and shutters. I have owned one of these handy little devices for over ten years. I performed a modification/upgrade near ten years ago that makes the tester much more suited to testing large lenses and shutters.

This modification/upgrade is not difficult, but does require a little ingenuity and proficiency with a soldering iron. With a little planning and a good junk box full of odds and ends you can construct a remote trigger for the tester.

Follow the link HERE to our main web site which will take you to the ‘ARTICLES’ area and scroll down the page to download the PDF titled “CALUMET SHUTTER TESTER MODIFICATION: AN UPGRADE FOR THE LF SHOOTER.” This modification/upgrade has served me well over the years. Hopefully you will find this of interest also.

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in DIY, How-To, Photography

D/FW LFG IN PARIS. . . TEXAS THAT IS

The D/FW LF Group had one more outing for the 2011 season. This time we headed up to Paris, Texas for a weekend of our usual fun. We met up Friday night at the hotel and prepared for two days of sightseeing and shooting some film. Michael, Janice & Terry, and Susan & I made up the group on this outing. We had a couple others that were not able to make it, but it was still a fun and productive trip.

Susan and I exposed some B&W film and Michael got in his first field test of his new roof-top shooting platform on his truck. Nothing like customizing!

 We would like to thank Carolyn and Marcus for their warm hospitality and for arranging and guiding us on a tour of the town. We especially enjoyed the neat places and alleyways around the town. Wish the weather had been a little better. Cloudy is not a problem, but that excessive wind is when shooting LF. Fortunately we were able to find out of the way places and shelter from that south wind in some really great alleys around town.

Two days of really fascinating shooting in a very interesting and scenic town. Again, thanks to everyone in Paris for a great weekend and thanks to Michael for arranging this outing. We anticipate more of these outings beginning early in 2012. Hope to you see you there!

JB


Posted by JB Harlin in D/FW LF GROUP, Events, Photography

D/FW LF GROUP OUTING SATURDAY OCT 29th

We had another one of our fun outings last Saturday to St. John’s Church in Fort Worth.  This was a limited outing and we ended up with only five making the trek, but it was well worth the time.  We would like to thank Fr. David for allowing us to have access to his beautiful church.  Here are a  few snapshots of the group at work.


Posted by JB Harlin in D/FW LF GROUP, Events, Photography

SAMPLE GALLERY VIEW CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY BY JB & SUSAN HARLIN

For those that are planning to come to our current exhibition and those not able to visit, we have created a sample album which contains a few of the 28 images on display. Do not forget to mark your calendar for our reception Saturday, Nov 05th.

 

VIEW CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY BY JB & SUSAN HARLIN

Posted by JB Harlin in Events, Film, Photography

AN INTERESTING BOOK “MAKING KODAK FILM” by Robert L. Shanebrook

I have always been a collector of books, and I have always been interested in how things are made. I am especially fascinated with large industrial manufacturing processes. Photography is also more than a fascination for me, it has become my prime interest. I have little interest in the chemistry and mechanics beyond knowing how to make things work, yet I am still fascinated with how things are made. I ran across an interesting book a while back, put it on my list of things I needed to check out, and promptly forgot all about it. Typical for me, but thankfully I did remember the book and ordered a copy.

If you were ever curious as to how photographic film is manufactured, then I can highly recommend a great book on how Kodak makes film. “Making KODAK Film; The Illustrated Story of State-of-the-Art Photographic Film Manufacturing” by Robert L. Shanebrook, is a book I can suggest to answer the majority of your questions about  what goes into manufacturing film. I will quote from the author’s web site;

MAKING KODAK FILMInformation in the book

The book was compiled based on my personal experience plus the input from Kodak experts. Kodak provided access to Kodak Park and assigned experts to the project. Typically the experts explained the operation to me and then accompanied me as I photographed. After I retired I spent over forty days photographing in Kodak Park and many more days in discussion.

In addition, I was aided by input from 24 Kodak retirees. In most cases the retirees were the predecessors of the current Kodak experts that helped me. I also utilized the advice of ten experts from outside Kodak. To insure accuracy the manuscript was reviewed by many of the people that provided information used in the book.

I am grateful to over ninety people who helped me with the book.

Author

Bob Shanebrook graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology and worked at Eastman Kodak Company for 35 years before retiring in 2003. At Kodak he worked as a commercial photographer, researcher, product development engineer, film manufacturing manager, and for over twenty years was a Worldwide Product-Line Manager for Kodak Professional Films. He was involved in nearly all aspects of Kodak’s black-and-white and professional film business.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the art and craft of film manufacturing. For me this was a slow read since the book is mostly photographs. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, with some of these machines, it may be more like ten thousand.

Mr Shanebrook has self published this book and I can recommend it is a good one. . . two thumbs up from me. A great read if you are interested in just how complex the film in your camera is to produce. More information and how to order a copy from the author can be found HERE.

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in Film, Photography

D/FW LFG WEEKEND

The D/FW LF Group had another exciting weekend, with two gatherings. Saturday we started off with breakfast at the Original Pancake House in Grapevine. We had ten people join us for the beginning of a usual gathering. After breakfast we then adjourned and moved over to the Grapevine Convention Center for the Camera Show. This one was a productive one. I found several things including some raw chemicals for the darkroom. Susan and I actually made several trips to the van to unload our trappings. Larry made even more trips and needed some help. What fun!

Sunday it was an early trip down to County Road 1118 in Johnson County to photograph a very old iron bridge on the Brazos River. If I counted correctly we had eight people that showed up before, and some after sunrise. Beautiful morning, not a cloud in the sky, not a breath of wind, and it was in the upper 40’s to mid 50’s. Couldn’t have been better for such an outing. As usual we migrated mid morning over to Glen Rose for a late breakfast, early lunch at the Big Cup Cafe. Outstanding hamburger and by a little after noon we were home. Susan and I shot a few 4×5 negatives and, as usual had a great time.

We will be planning more outings and if you are interested in joining us, please watch for our next gathering.

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in D/FW LF GROUP, Film, Photography

“VIEW CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY BY JB & SUSAN HARLIN”

"VIEW CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHYHopefully fall is coming and bringing cooler weather and some rain. The Texas summer is just too brutal to get out and do much photography. So, with a little cooler weather finally moving in, it just may be a good time to get out and look at some photographs. Susan and I are having another exhibition of our work that will carry everyone from fall into winter. We will have 28 of our latest Black & White photographs on display including everything from snow, to desert, from 8×10, to 8×20, in living B&W, on display at the Downtown F/W Library.

“VIEW CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY BY JB & SUSAN HARLIN” will run September 29, 2011 through January 12, 2012 at the Central Library West Wing Gallery, Downtown Fort Worth Library. We will be posting our reception date soon, so check back for the date and time.

Library location and parking information HERE.

JB & Susan

UPDATE:  We have 28 photographs up and ready for viewing.  If you stop by, please drop us a line and let us know what you think.

"VIEW CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHY

Posted by JB Harlin in Events, Photography

D/FW LFG FIRST FALL OUTING. . . TWO DAYS!

The D/FW LF Group is heading out for an early fall outing next Saturday & Sunday, October 1 & 2, 2011.

CAMERA SHOWSATURDAY, October 1st

We are planning to meet for breakfast at the Original Pancake House at 9AM then head over to the Camera Show at the Grapevine Convention Center that starts at 10AM. Follow this LINK, and print out the page for $1.00 off admission.

SUNDAY, October 2nd

We are heading down toward Granbury to photograph down the Brazos River under the BRIDGE that is on County Rd. 1175. Sunrise is at around 7:20 so there is no need to be there until around 8AM for us B&W shooters!  Before you get to the bridge (from the north) there is a small parking spot on the left.  Once you walk toward the old r-r bridge you will see a path down towards the river. I do recommend some good support for your feet!

Breakfast, a camera show one day, and an outing, and I would bet more food the next!  Hopefully everyone will be able to join us both days!

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in D/FW LF GROUP, Events, Photography

WRITING ON THE NEGATIVE EDGE

WRITING ON THE NEGATIVE EDGEI was recently asked what type of writing device we use to mark the catalog number on the edge of our film. I had not given it much thought since we have been using the same pens for marking film for many years. I have heard of people using various mechanical pens and India ink. Some say they use a common Sharpie. There are numerous ways to do this, but the easiest and most effective way I have found is to use a pigment liner pen.

Specifically, I have used a Staedtler pigment liner pen for years. They are clean, easy to use, make very dense letters and numbers that easily show up on proofs, and are filled with permanent black ink. The ink used is lightfast and will not fade. One nice thing about the Staedtler pigment liner pen is it will not dry out. The manufacturer says, “The unique cap-off feature of the ink enables pens to be left uncapped for 18 hours without drying up. Even when left open during long breaks in writing, they remain ready for action without delay.” They also last a long time. We have not had to buy new pens in years.Staedtler pigment liner pen

The Staedtler pigment liner pens are available in nine writing widths from 0.05 mm to 0.8 mm. My favorite sizes are the 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 mm widths. I use the smaller diameter pen for small film where the clear edge is very narrow. You still get very legible writing along the film edge that prints well on the proofs. I prefer the larger diameter pen for the really big film. These have worked well for me for over 30 years, and should work well for you also.

Staedtler pigment liner penHere are a few things I have learned over the years that may help when using these pens to mark your film. I always mark my negatives on base side opposite the emulsion, this way the file number prints correctly on the edge of prints and proofs. Be sure to let the ink dry thoroughly before you place the film into a storage sleeve. It should only take a minute to dry. I have found that if you make a mistake, you can remove the ink using a cotton swab lightly moistened with acetone. And, one more thing; the biggest mistake you can ever make is not using a filing system for your negatives. If you choose to mark your film on the edge, these markers will do the trick.

If you are interested in learning more about Staedtler pigment liner pens, HERE is their web site.

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in Film, How-To, Photography