14 x 17 and or 20 x 24 users...?

[Dave Wooten]

Hello Tracy,

On your new camera (20 x 24) a nice option would be a mid bellows support "rack" not one that pulls on the front standard etc...bellows sag is one of my frustrations....usually stuff my hat and a lens bag underneath..

[Zebra]

Hello All,

As Dave mentioned I shoot 20 x 24, but only for a couple of weeks. I received my camera several weeks ago and have made two palladium prints with it (one landscape and one portrait of my wife). Its an exciting time. I am hoping to go out today and run a couple of sheets through it. I am working on my dip tank this week and will run my first wet plate collodion ambrotype through it hopefully early next week.

I also shoot 8 x 10 and 7 x 17.

Monty

[Dave Wooten]

The Guild groweth......

[RobertP]

Tracy, I assume all your new products will be special order. So with that in mind I would love to see the plans of your 14x17 model. As a prospective buyer of course.

[RobertP]

Dave, Excellent suggestion for a mid support rack. I have 36" of bellows on my 8x20 and bellows sag is always a problem that I must always keep aware of. Plus it would help alleviate the pull on my feeble front standard from the bellows tabs Maybe something that has height adjustment to make up for the tapers of the bellows as it changes with different focal length lenses. Its exciting to see Tracy take the entrepreneurial plunge, giving us another choice in cameras. I think it will work out great considering the lead times with the other camera makers is a good indication that there is definitely room for another camera maker in the market. Best of luck Tracy

[Dave Wooten]

I am aware of several 16 x 20 cameras built in the last 10 years or so...wondered if they are in active use.....I inadvertently left out this format sorry, I'd just recently been conversing with a few 14 x 17 and 20 x 20 photographers and it was on my mind....also of interest would be a sharing of info i.e. these formats....14 x 17, 16 x 20 and 20 x 24...a lot has been written about the panoramics and the 11 x 14 and smaller....

These ULF sizes have "special needs and issues"

1. Set up and take down....you don't exactly flit about the mountain side with your mule with these cameras...

2. Use of lens choice...visualization of the scene and decision to expose before the decision to "set her up"

3. Choice of film...as the cost of per square inch rises, it becomes more costly to stock several different films...

4. Special consideration in exposure and development of ULF films....different output processes chosen...


5. Handling, storing, traveling..

6. Purchasing film...

7. Organizing these format users for format promotion and establishment of

gallery showings of work produced by ULF photographers...

8. Special projects you might be working on in these formats...

9.

10.

[Kerik]

I am working on my dip tank this week and will run my first wet plate collodion ambrotype through it hopefully early next week.

Monty - I'm looking forward to seeing those massive plates! FYI, you can do without the dipper tank. My 11x14 silver tank sprung a leak, so I've been sensitizing my 11x14 plates in a regular tray and it works great. Times in the bath are shorter because you can agitate more and you will use a fraction of the amount of silver nitrate compared to a traditional dipper tank. I also fix in trays rather than a tank so I can use less solution and replace it more often.

Didn't mean to hi-jack this thread... As Dave mentioned, I shoot 14x17 and am fairly certain that's as large as I'll every go. Dave, do you have a 20x24 now??

[Dave Wooten]

Didn't mean to hi-jack this thread... As Dave mentioned, I shoot 14x17 and am fairly certain that's as large as I'll every go. Dave, do you have a 20x24 now??[/QUOTE]


Kerik, Not a hijack at all, just promoting the discussion and maybe some organizational ideas i.e. ULF......good input, thanks....Also I remember you had a special arm to support a big lens...the arm attached to your tripod leg etc...stuff like that is good to share....and what do you carry your camera in....

No I do not have 20 x 24....the 14 x 17 is a good size for me and I am too much of a wimp to move to the larger size.....although I like to hang out with those guys and it is a most facinating format, as with all the ULF sizes, even the setting up and looking on the ground glass, trying the different lenses and working with the movements and the whole process to me is quite a lot of fun, after nearly a year of "fiddling" and saving for film, getting my moves and organization down...I am just starting to shoot...it is a joy....

[Kerik]

Also I remember you had a special arm to support a big lens...the arm attached to your tripod leg etc

I use one of these as suggested by Clay. I attach it to a tripod socket that I installed on the bottom of my front standard. It really helps when you've got a big old portrait lens racked way out. I learned this the hard way when I had the front racked out with a heavy lens and the tripod socket pulled out of the bottom of my 14x17 camera and the whole she-bang rolled off the tripod and onto the lawn. With some patience and glue, I was able to put everything back together again. If I had been set up on a harder surface, it would have been a disaster.

[Allen Friday]

I shoot 16x20 and 20x24. Also a few of the "tiny" formats like 12x20 and 7x17. Most of my work has been in the studio for the past year. I built both my 16x20 and 20x24 cameras.

Currently I am moving into wet plate photography. I took a work shop and have assembled most the gear and made a few "miniature" plates in 5x7 and 8x10. Eventually, I want to get to 20x24 ambrotypes. I have two holders in that size. I have a project in mind that I think will work well in that size of ambro. But, I have a lot of technique to learn before starting. It may be a few years down the road.

Allen