Analog film photography and cameras

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  • It might just be mine. It's an issue I haven't heard of in the reviews. That's why I chose my words carefully. This was my experience with it.
    It gives me a proper reason to return it though besides the actual "feel" of it which seems off to me.

  • Can’t believe my luck: Have just had a tour of Joel Meyerowitz’s exhibition at the Tate by the man himself!!
    Was at the gallery by chance with my eldest during half term and didn’t even know there was his show on there.
    I saw a man in a hat surrounded by about 15 people in a corner and he looked like an old tour guide. I went for a listen and he started talking about the Dearlove [edit: actually Deardorff see below] camera used to take the Into The Light pictures with a lot of inside knowledge. A sneaky Google of his face showed it was Joel himself!!
    Not sure who organised it but it didn’t seem anything official and they didn’t seem to mind me gatecrashing it.
    Such a nice guy and very happy to have a chat and answer questions.
    My main takeaways from it was that: everyone has a favourite focal length (his is 35mm on the Leica he was carrying); crop when you take the image not in post (I asked if his New York Empire State series were cropped!); and printing photos is part of the process not an addition to it.

  • Pretty amazing and very jealous you got to experience that. Slight correction he used (for some series) a Deardorff 10x8 not dearlove.


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  • Thanks for that - have amended.
    I think he was saying at one time he took the Deardorff back to the factory for some reason (i guess repair) and was told his was one of 2 built around 1935.

  • A few people I assisted back in the day used a Deardorff 10x8.
    Right pain in the arse compared to an Arca/Sinar/linhoff/Horesman, couldn’t see the attraction myself?!

  • I’ve never used 10x8 but I’m guessing it’s to do with weight as all the cameras mentioned would be (from
    memory) metal and extremely heavy in 10x8 vs a comparatively light wooden Deardorff?

    JM would be lugging it around Cape Cod a lot…

    https://huxleyparlour.com/critical-texts/joel-meyerowitz-seminal-series-cape-light/

  • Saw those Cape Cod shots on his website, amazing.. 🥰

  • Right pain in the arse compared to an Arca/Sinar/linhoff/Horesman, couldn’t see the attraction myself?!

    I guess it helps if you're trying to set yourself apart.

  • The Dearforff is a field camera that folds down into a small package, most of the other ones mentioned are metal rail cameras, massive pain to carry around and assemble.

  • I din’t realise that it was used for location only, I only ever encountered them in the studio which is where they were a pain especially when you were using the movements.
    Not having them geared or at least with central detents, base tilt only and focus on front standard which changes subject distance all working against you.

    That’s why I had a linhof technicardan as it was the best of both worlds for studio or location.
    10x8 was an Arca, don’t think i ever took that anywhere but there was an odd occasion as an assistant including the polaroid machine which weighed a ton and meant hand cranking when no mains power available.

    I don’t miss any of that and don’t understand the hipster romanticism/fetishization of actually using those cameras.

  • Ah, for a moment there sohi's post made me think I'd missed a joke. :)

  • Defo agree about using large format for commercial studio based work but I can still understand the appeal of using it out in the field.
    I think it was Alec Soth who talked about how his portrait sitters would relax a bit while he set up his 10x8 camera, used to break the ice a bit.
    Also maybe quiet beneficial about how long it can take to capture whatever it is your after and how this makes you consider if it’s even worth capturing.

  • Also maybe quiet beneficial about how long it can take to capture whatever it is your after and how this makes you consider if it’s even worth capturing.

    ..not to mention the cost of shooting, developing & scanning sheet film, which helps as well 😀

  • Yeah totally agree the cost, time, effort required to work in large format is very intensive!

  • I'd normally print sort of 'full coverage' like this rather than cropping into the frame, opinions on how well it works for digitsied images?

    These are from my Hexar RF, I'd like to get a bit more ummm, expressive with it but I'm finding it difficult to break away from taking technically 'correct' images with it.


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  • finding it difficult to break away from taking technically 'correct' images

    ..have you tried drinking five pints before going on your photo walk?

    Jokes aside I like your shots, especially the last two.

    Regarding the "full coverage" - I think it's fair to do this, even if it's a picture shown digitally, in the end - actually, to me it's quite the same as when actually printing the negative on paper: can look stupid / like a "gimmick", but can just as well look very natural and fitting, it always kinda depends 💁

  • ..have you tried drinking five pints before going on your photo walk?

    I think the camera might still win!

    I reckon it's just that I've been mostly out and about in subdued lighting and using the 15mm lens it's almost impossoble to have things out of focus and even really slow shutter speeds produce really sharp images too!

  • think the camera might still win

    Increase number of pints and post evidence-selfies until images are looking kinda fucked up?

  • In the spirit of not-quite-analog... I've been building an iPhone camera app. I figured this might be a good thread to get feedback.

    It's a camera app that weaves your ambient environment in to your photos. It uses your phone's analog sensors - detecting air pressure, magnetic fields, sound, and more - to dynamically adjust tone, contrast, color, and clarity.

    It is attempting to authentically infuse analog information to photos, not just apply a filter – for example, the tone of a picture taken on top of a mountain would be different to one taken at ground level.

    If you'd like to help test it, you can pm me and I'd be glad of your feedback :)

  • I’ve been using this for a while, and have put some shots on here too. It’s great. And good to know you’re “on here”, I’m an admirer of your work, you make some incredible sites

  • Small world! Really glad you're enjoying it enough to post it here too.

  • It’s a really great app. It didn’t work for a while but it’s back up and running now so I’m going to get back into the groove of using it

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Analog film photography and cameras

Posted by Avatar for GA2G @GA2G

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