Oaklands

          Okay, so I have this great piece of history, that can still make great pictures if I do my part. The Graflex definitely rewards hard work and doesn't tolerate any shirkers. So it was time to do some planning. What do I shoot? As I have stated earlier I often will just get a vague idea of what I'd like to take pictures of and just go. Oh I'll plan "the big trip" but locally I simply consider what I'll be shooting pack my bag and hit the road. But, this was different.
          I felt that I needed to be much more deliberate. Going so far as actually imagining what type image I wanted to capture and how I wanted it to look. It is different that most other photography I do. It's the difference between a hunter going into the woods seeking whatever quarry he may find, as opposed one hunting a very specific prey with very specific weapons and knowledge. You have to consider it a lot more. The environment, the animal's behavior, weather conditions and more. The same can be said of large format, at least in my experience. Yes, you can go out and be spontaneous, but I felt like I needed to be purposeful. What am I photographing? When? What type of weather is there going to be? What type film? What position will I shoot from, assuming I had been there previously to scout it out.
          That's when I decided I would take pictures of where I'd been before. I was familiar with these locations after all and I knew what to expect. So the first places I decided upon were the Stones River National Battlefield (and it's aforementioned failures), the Murfree Springs Wetland area and the Oaklands Historic Mansion. I decided upon the Oaklands.
         One of the things I love about Murfreesboro is the rich history it possesses. Once the capital of Tennessee it featured prominently during the Battle of Stones River during the American Civil War. Much of the impact of the founding families can still be felt in the city today.
         The Oaklands began as a plantation founded by Dr. James Maney and his wife Salile Murfree Maney. Located at the then north part of the town next to some nearby springs that Sallie inherited in 1813.

Murfree Springs located near the Mansion. Named for Colonel Hardee Murfree
Nikon F6, Tokina 100mm 2.8 Macro Ilford XP2 400 film

          Setup was straightforward. There is a turn-about in front of the mansion with a large circular area of grass with two huge trees on either side. The Optar was working perfectly for once that day and I released it a few times just to be sure. I metered on several locations of the home and surroundings and performed a simple average. What was different this time was a second attempt at using color, after the failure at the Battlefield. Loaded with Portra 400, this time my shutter on the questionable Optar worked. 

Golden Afternoon at the Oaklands Mansion
 Pacemaker Speed Graphic, Optar 135mm,  Kodak Portra 400

          Upon development I found the exposure was a little overexposed. But the beauty of color negative film, especially Portra 400 is it's incredible exposure latitude. It is extremely forgiving and a very good choice for one's first foray into color film. I made some corrections in Lightroom and got an acceptable image. 

          I am using a "hybrid" system to process at present, as I do not have a darkroom set up in my home as of yet. So I develop my film in the traditional manner then scan, process and print digitally. While not 100% traditional it does make film shooting easier for those who do not have a dedicated darkroom. 

         I did take a black and white capture from exactly the same position. I had to meter again for the slower film, which yielded a more accurate exposure this time. 

Oaklands in Black and White
Ilford FP4+ 125 film

          When I returned home and developed my sheets I was very happy. Both the images and the performance of the Optar's shutter. I thought my prescription for work to cure this shutter had finally succeeded. It was a brief calm before the storm. Nearly every shoot after this one would be met with failure of the shutter to release properly and end in many failures and frustration. It nearly made me stop shooting the format all together. Happily that was not the case. 

          If you are ever in Murfreesboro, be certain to stop by the Oaklands. They have many programs that occur there during the year along with a very friendly staff. Until then you can visit their website for more information on this wonderful historic home. www.oaklandsmuseum.org

Once again thanks for reading and until next time, search for beauty and creativity in the great world around us!

So...why large format?

     Something that happens quite frequently when I go to shoot the Graflex is, it tends to draw a crowd. This is generally a positive experience as people seem genuinely interested in the camera and it's history and use. Most people have never seen such a camera and the device tends to fascinate people. Particularly younger folks. They tend to look on curiously as you set up a shot, but sooner or later they come by as their curiosity gets the best of them.
     Most know it's old and that's the first comment they make. "That's an old camera." Or, "What is that?" I even had one person think it was some sort of video camera as the back of the Graflex has a hood that pops out and looks something like the hood of a video-camera monitor. Then comes the next question or rather statement. "It shoots film?!" and "How does it work?" To which I patiently and enthusiastically explain it to them. Most people, particularly and encouragingly young people really seem to appreciate it. But then comes the inevitable question. "So, why do you shoot it?"
     It's a valid question. "Why do I shoot large format?" Well, there are a number of reasons. Today's society is so fast paced and technology driven that I think we forget to take time to slow down and enjoy much of what is going on around us. I've sat at our local Zoo and have seen people go to an exhibit, take a picture, look at it on the screen and then walk off. They never took the time to enjoy the animal in front of them. To observe it's behavior. So for me it is a way to slow down. It is in a way my own personal form of rebellion against our "forever rushed" society. But, it is much more than that.
     Shooting large format makes you think. It is very contemplative. You generally will think about what it is you want to shoot and plan for that shoot. It may be for only one location or subject and maybe only one exposure. There may be no capture of any image, the conditions may not be right. You tend to know your subject. You may learn the history or the geography of a place; it's significance, or you may know it in a physical sense as you travel over the land and learn it's features. You scout and explore the hidden places, the secret groves and streams that few people ever venture. You may visit a place several times and see something new each time. The purposefulness of the format forces you to contemplate what you are doing, what you are photographing. I find too, that when you are under the darkcloth, you shut the world out. It is just you, the camera, and your subject. Not only is the light diminished, but sounds are muted as well, you become more isolated.
     It is also very reflective. I find when I shoot that my mind will drift and think about a location and how it affects me. What is it about a place that I am trying to record? Why does black and white reflect that better than color, and vice-versa? Which film will render better? I will also find myself thinking a lot about the location and/or my subject long after I'm gone. The format makes you more a part of what you are photographing, you not only take away an image, you take a part of "it" with you. And you leave a part of you there. I still find myself thinking about places and people from when I first starting shooting large format. I can't say that about other formats, at least not as often.

"Snake Fence"
Pacemaker Speed Graphic 135mm Optar, Arista EDU 200.

   

                                                                             "Murfree Springs in Summer"                                                                            Pacemaker Speed Graphic, 135mm Optar Lens, (Objective Tilted for effect) Ilford HP4+

     It makes you a better photographer, as I have said before, you have to be mindful of everything. It's not like shooting an advanced 35mm SLR or DSLR. Even shooting them manually is still faster than the Graflex. But the technology can make you a little complacent if you're not careful. It slows you down. You don't have a lot of built in advanced technologies to assist you. You have to adjust your style of shooting to fit the camera, and once again think ahead and be creative.
    The other very important aspect is simply image quality. The sheer size of 4x5 film lends to a better quality image for a variety of reasons. The negative is simply much larger than that of 35mm/full frame sensors and medium format, to say nothing of APS-C size sensors. A "full frame" sensor or 35mm negative is approximately 1.33 sq. inches. While a 4x5 negative is 20 sq. inches! Almost 20 times greater, and 4x5 is the smaller of the large formats. 5x7, 8x10, and even larger sheets of film are available to produce unbelievable quality for those who know to produce them.

4x5 Large Format Negative vs. 35mm "Full Frame" Slide

     Each type of camera, whether they are small format, medium or large formats all require and produce different forms of visualization. Each has it's own unique qualities, and each photographer at some point gravitates toward one to take photographs. I find large format unique and very enjoyable. To see the image on a ground glass before composition is a special beauty in itself and the inverted nature of it makes one view the image in a new and different way. You pay closer attention to edges, shapes, and composition, than through a smaller format viewfinder. 

     So, for all of these reasons and more is why I have come to enjoy large format. I have only just begun my large format journey, but it has been a wonderful trip so far. The deep contemplation and reflection associated with it is a tremendous  advantage in my mind. And the flexibly of the Gralfex to be able to shoot handheld if need be aids in the flexibility and transition. I hope that if you are interested in photography, that you will give the larger formats a try. Film is much more forgiving than most realize and there is a special type of freedom found in this contemplative approach to photography.

Thanks for reading and until next time, search for beauty and creativity in the great world around us!

Bob

Early Failures

     Shooting my Graflex was a pleasant experience, and it was growing more and more so. I was learning the theories behind tilt and shifting lenses for a variety of effects. Eric was continuing being his helpful self in guiding me along the process. Developing was still being a little bit of a hassle as I struggled with scanning the much larger negative. In all though my new camera worked marvelously and I marveled at how those dapper reporters of yesteryear carried and used these larger instruments to document the world around them. I also enjoyed the minimalist aspect of shooting this camera. I had but one lens! An Optar 135mm 4.7 lens. Not carrying a bag full of lenses was in many ways liberating and it is something I now do on a more regular basis with my 35mm's.
     Yet, in all of this a problem was developing. My little Graflex Optar was of course old and it had seen much use and then little use. It began to stick on me when I tripped the shutter. It was only occasionally and I thought little of it. I had a Bronica lens that did me that way and it freed itself up after some use. So I prescribed more work for it to do. I doubt you'd want me as your physician. "You feel sick? You need to sweat it out, go give me 10 laps around the clinic! That'll do the trick!"
     Well obviously, since you are reading about failures, it didn't.
     I decided that the next few places I'd take my new friend were some of my regular haunts, Oaklands Historic House Museum and Stones River National Battlefield. These are some of the most beautiful locations in my home town and I was anxious to capture them on 4x5 film. I first went to Stones River, or just "the battlefield" as we call it locally. I found a nice paved path that moved in a straight line away from the tour area and was encircled by trees and bordered with "snake rail" fences. I was excited to try some tilt effects and set up my shot. I went through the motions of preparing the camera and fiddled with the tilt mechanism until I got the desired effect of adjusting the focal place closer along the plane of the ground. An effect not possible with traditional 35mm and digital lenses. I locked my focus. Everything was set. I depressed the plunger of my release.
    "Tick." This wasn't the usual double "click-click" I normally hear. I looked at my optics and I was disgusted that the shutter was stuck open. I pushed the release arm the rest of the way with my finger. And slightly aggravated I reset to shoot it again. I did and once again it was just a "tick." But the shutter was closed this time, so I figured it took. It didn't. That ended up being a blank negative, with no exposure. The first did record an image however.

"What's Wrong?" Graflex Pacemaker Speed Graphic, Optar 135mm (stuck open), Kodak Portra 400

     Yep, that's my ugly mug trying to figure out what went wrong. The straight lines weren't caused by the stuck shutter. That's something else. More on that later.
     Thinking that I had only wasted one sheet I moved on to the other location I wanted to go and photograph. I nice open spot with two cannons and ammo carriages near the main visitor center.
This time I clicked the shutter many times to be certain it was working properly. It was, so I readied the camera and made two exposures. The first once again didn't open properly and I got a negative with no image. The second did take and I was happy that I knew I had at least one shot, if I did everything correctly. I had done everything correctly hadn't I?
     Well, I got home and prepared to develop. I used my darkbag and made the "tacos" to fit in my tank. But something was wrong. The funnel of the tank didn't feel like it had locked properly but it felt secure, so I assumed it was and put the lid on. As long as you have the tank funnel and spindle connected in the tank it is light tight. Opened the lid to do a pre-wash and I heard a rattle. I looked and I saw film emulsion in the hole where the spindle was supposed to be, it wasn't secure. I quickly put the lid back on but I knew it was too late. I opened it back up in the dark bag and resealed everything. I decided to develop anyway, there was a chance that one made it. Turns out, they didn't.
     As a result my cannon shot looked like you are going back into time through a portal.

Portra 400, Shot through a temporal displacement field (yeah that's it)

     This is one of those "happy accidents" as Bob Ross would say. It was a "failure" that turned interesting. I was happy to see my tilting would have been successful. This is the care one must take. My lens issues put the first damper on my excitement. I should have sent it off then, but I was still confident it would work itself free of it's issues. Indeed my next shoot went without a hitch. But it was a problem that would continue to plague me all the rest of the year until I finally had to do something about it. This episode was very frustrating in what I was hoping to accomplish. As I couldn't blame it on equipment failure but also my own carelessness.
     In photography, you are going to make errors. That's normal, and it's fine. It's part of the journey. So in your own work don't get frustrated if you miss a shot, or get the light wrong or botch a composition. Learn from those mistakes. It's easy to be bothered, but turn it into a determination to learn and correct them.

As the painter Bob Ross once said, "We don't make mistakes. Just happy accidents."

Thanks for reading and until next time, search for beauty and creativity in the great world around us.

Bobby