Large Format Photography Australia

Boats, Weyba Creek
Gelatin-silver photograph on Ultrafine Silver Eagle VC FB photographic paper, image size 21.5cm X 16.3cm, from a 4x5 Kodak Tmax 100 negative exposed in a Tachihara 45GF double extension field view camera fitted with a Schneider Super Angulon 90mm f8 lens.

Front to back sharpness was done by tilting the camera back to lay the Scheimpflug plane through the two boats. This "stretched" the bow of the foreground boat but no one notices the distortion. Or do they?

I didn't notice the distortion and after reading your notes, I still don't see any distortion; so to speak.

I wonder if they are now under water after the recent rain up there. We just returned from sunny Qld after a very fast up and down trip where we encountered closed highways and buckets and buckets of rain. Fortunately we had new windscreen wipers, which received a hammering.

We stayed in Coolum Beach for a night then visited Yandina to conduct some business and hightailed it before the roads closed again; talk about wet.

Mick.

Greetings Mick. There is a bit of stretch in the bow of the boat but because the lens was a "mild" 90mm wide it's not too conspicuous in a subject that has no straight lines. If I'd used your 65mm lens (and fancy centre filter) the effect would be much more extreme.

It's still wet here but not raining; it's the temperature and humidity that's oppressive. Calculating the Discomfort Index/Heat Index/Humiture yields a result that is border-line dangerous for outdoor workers in the shade. That's why I'm off to the air-conditioned darkroom instead of hauling cameras in the jungle!

We'll be flying to Qld late April early May, but that will be to Yandina and a business trip to pick up a new truck for travelling almost anywhere in this continent. Driving straight back to Melbourne to get it registered, so no time for dallying about, plus the camera bag is in Melbourne.

It's entirely possible we'll be in Qld next year for some extensive travel through NP's various, maybe we may be able to meet up and you can try the 65mm with the fancy centre filter, could get you wishing or not wishing.

Hoping after our shakedown trip, which may include Goog's track, we'll head back home and make adjustments prior to a trip to the Kimberly region. That will probably be between 3-4 months; taking a couple of hundred sheet boxes of FP+ 5x4". Hopefully I don't shoot anywhere near that amount, the developing saga could be stupendous if I did.

Our house guest is finally going to earn her keep.

The 65mm really is a great lens, but unless you go out of the way to find subjects suitable for the optics, it is less used than one would think. That said, I do use it a fair bit and really like it........

Mick.

A 65mm wide angle with a centre filter could be an interesting try-out. I occasionally use a Nikkor-SW 65mm f4 on 4x5 and a Schneider Super Angulon 121mm f8 on 8x10 and see lots of fall off. Without having a CF I get plenty of practice in getting the tones nice on the edge of the picture and then burning-in the middle. That's what everybody does, isn't it? Or is it better to get the middle right and then dodge the edges?

Well the Nikon is a 67mm filter size, from memory, but I'm sure the 121mm Super Angulon is bigger, probably 72mm at a guess.

The Nikon would be catered for, but I'm afraid the Schneider wouldn't, unless you want some very serious vignetting.

Mick.

There's something about the prow of a boat no matter which way upit is that connects with both the intellect and the soul.