24 Years or More

With the cold temperatures of winter frosting my windows, the time spent indoors has increased. Some of this time has been spent imagining, wondering and dreaming. One of the things on my mind has been a couple cameras stashed upstairs in the attic. It took awhile, but one day, I finally crawled up under the rafters.

    Along with a lot of things which never should have been saved, I found my two Speed Graphics. One, the smaller camera, takes pictures on a 3.25 x 4.25 negative while the other uses film that measures 4x5 inch. Both of these cameras were made before 1950!

A 4x5 negative is about 15 times larger than a 35mm negative!

    I had to do some digging to find everything, the cameras were put up in the attic over 24 years ago and all the connected pieces weren’t put in the same spot. The various boxes had been put there after a move and we all know how hectic and disorganized that can be!

    I had just finished reading “Learning to See”, by Elise Hooper, the semi-fictional story of Dorthea Lange. Everyone is familiar with her iconic shot, “Migrant Mother” taken in 1936. One of her favorite cameras was her Speed Graphic. Reading about her life and how she documented the migrants from the dust bowl, along with her other photographic work sparked my interest in the dusty cameras hidden in the attic.

    These cameras had been purchased sometime in the 1980’s. Photographers and astronomers share a certain trait; we all have “aperture envy”. Size can be so seductive! “If I can see this with a 3” telescope, just imagine what I can see with a 10” scope!”, the same goes with cameras.

    In the 1980’s, there were these wonderful things called Photo Flea Markets. Camera dealers and collectors would fill a hall at a local hotel with their used and new cameras, lenses and accessories and offer them to us suckers, or I mean aficionados, at bargain prices. It was an amateur photographer’s dream land! Frank and I would arrive early to get a good spot in line, wanting to get in and get the best bargains. We both filled much of our kits at these pre-internet gatherings.

    After bringing the cameras down into the light of day, I gave them a good once over, and tried the controls. The bellows seemed light tight and the shutters appeared to be working correctly.

    The next step was talking myself into purchasing some B&W film and then, reviewing a few videos about loading the film holders. I had two holders, and I had some old 4x5 negatives, so I spent a day practicing putting the film in them. When I did it with the new, unexposed film, it would have to be in complete darkness. Practice makes perfect, so I’ve heard. After successfully completing the loading process (in the dark) I had another decision to make, what should I take pictures of?

    Sunday was cold and cloudy. Ann Marie and I loaded the camera gear in the car and drove up to West Winfield to visit the old iron furnace. White snow covered everything except the roads. In Winfield the snow was broken only by the footprints of wildlife. Occasionally the sun broke through the clouds creating bright patches, only to disappear just as quickly as it had appeared.

    I set the tripod in front of the furnace and then mounted the camera on top of it. I opened the lens and attempted to focus. This is done by looking at a sheet of ground glass in the back of the camera. The white snow caused reflections on the glass making it hard to see, but I had come prepared!

    I had brought a dark bathroom towel along with us and I used that to cover the camera.

    The center of the viewing screen was easy to see but the edges gave me a bit of a problem. For these first 4 pictures, I would just hope for the best. There are other ways of focusing and composing these cameras but for now, a dim image and some reflections would have to suffice.

    Once focused, my next chore was to get a light reading to determine the proper exposure. I used a grey card and my trusty Luna-Pro for that. I opted for a rather smaller aperture to allow for a deeper depth of field and a longer exposure to compensate for the smaller opening.

    Making sure all the tripod locks were tight, that my shutter was closed and cocked and the proper settings were picked, I was ready to put the film holder into the camera. Carefully I slid it in and then, rechecked everything once again. I wrote down the settings in my notebook along with a couple other notes and then…slid the dark slide out, waited a moment or two for any shake to stop and then clicked the shutter. DONE! The first shot in over 24 years, probably over 30! I was careful to replace the dark slide before removing the film holder!!

    Taking pictures with a large format camera is nothing like shooting with a digital camera! The time alone is so much different. The quantities of the pictures you take are lowered and so is the instant gratification. It is a fun endeavor requiring a bit of thought; depth of field, composition and shutter speeds to name just some of the things to consider. There is much more than what I normally would do when taking a snapshot.

    It was fun taking these pictures but as we packed my gear and returned to the car, I knew that I was only partially done. The film still needed developed and then if any were worthwhile, a picture will need printed.

    At home, with the developing tank and the film holders in the darkroom, after some more practice runs, I turned off the lights and started. Carefully I removed a sheet of film from the holder, trying my best not to scratch it or put any fingerprints on the surface. Then, just as carefully, I slipped it into the holder for the tank. I tried not to hurry. Things went nicely.

    Once the four sheets of film were loaded and the lid was on the tank, I could turn the lights on again. I turned on the water and put my chemicals in a water-bath to allow them to come to the proper temperature. (68°) While the chemicals were acclimating, I checked on the developing times and made myself a “cheat-sheet” to hang up near my timer. I made a note on it marking the date, the developer and the film type for future reference.

    I picked up the tank and started pouring in the water pre-rinse. Once I started, there was no stopping. I could only hope that I was doing everything correctly. I wouldn’t know if anything was done wrong until I was able to open the tank. After the final wash cycle, I was able to take the negatives out of the tank and look at them. I then took them and hung them on a line to dry. Later after the water had all evaporated, I put them in an archival sleeve and took a photo of them on a light box.

(Negatives have been reversed to show them as a positive)

    Success! They came out properly exposed and there weren’t any scratches or fingerprints on them. Not bad for a slight 24 (or more) year gap. Both the camera and the photographer (both old also) worked well! Now, time to re-fill the film holders and try again, and hopefully improve my process!