Artikel Core

There's Always Irony

Be advised Coming back after a week away, naturally I find myself inundated in, and nearly overwhelmed by, e-mail. Wading through it all and trying to find the ones I need to respond to is no trivial task. I'm sure most everyone reading this has experienced the same thing a time or three. However, it reminds me once again that I should periodically advertise my regrettable inability to respond individually to queries and requests. Every week I get dozens upon dozens of questions on every conceivable photographic topic. Is the Canon X or Nikon Y better? What do I think of X lens? Have I ever tried Y film? What do I think of X company's prospects for success or survival? Can I discuss metaphysics or politics? What's the best book on Y? Can I please sign a petition or advertise a show or review a book or link to a website or post a picture or look at a portfolio or recommend a school or advise someone about a career choice? Don't get me wrong—this is not an annoyance. I read everything anyone sends me, frequently get great tips or learn something from what someone has to say, and the questions I get are almost always thoughtful, the correspondents polite and friendly. And—ach—I usually have to ignore them anyway. Believe me, I hate appearing to be snooty by ignoring these requests. It's not that I suffer from self-importance. Far from it; yr. hmbl. blggr. would love to help. And it's not just incompetence or ignorance, i.e., that my knowledge is spotty, that I think sometimes well but most always slowly, and that I type like a blind bandsaw operator. No. It's a simple equation: (free hours in the day) – ([numbers of questions] x [time required to answer each]) = less than zero. That's all. But: sorry. Really and truly. I wish I had time to answer every question and help everyone who asks for it. Bedside reading Meanwhile—speaking of being inundated and overwhelmed—there's been a small disaster chez Johnston. Over time, a massive tower of books had accumulated by my bedside. Don't get the impression these books were organized into neat stacks. Rather, the bedside reading was a great mound of volumes of every shape and size, some opened to where I'd left off reading—a miniature mountain of intricately interdependent structures, in some places weakened by slippery slick-paper magazines, constantly shifting and being shored anew as I occasionally extracted titles from lower down in the pile, jeopardizing everything higher up. I guess disaster was inevitable. I needed to retrieve a floor lamp to replace a broken switch, and alas, the base of the lamp turned out to be too great a stone in the foundation of the great pile. There was a bookalanche. The whole everlovin' edifice toppled; books slid and skidded every which way, picking up and carrying off other books as they roared by; mountaineers were killed, villages buried, massive conifers snapped like twigs, hikers lost for ever. Send in the brandy-bearing St. Bernards. The floor by my bed and for many feet in every direction is now an undifferentiated jumble of books, shin-deep. It is not a pretty sight. And the irony? (There's always irony.) Buried somewhere in the carnage, one of the casualties of the incident (only temporarily lost—I hope) is Henry Petroski's The Book on the Bookshelf, a fascinating history of the organization and storage of books. I think I should have read a little further in that one, before letting it disappear into the pile. Posted by: YR. HMBL. BLGGR.

There's Always Irony

Be advised Coming back after a week away, naturally I find myself inundated in, and nearly overwhelmed by, e-mail. Wading through it all and...

8:29 AM

Wallpaper

I'm just back from a trip to visit friends for a week—if the postings here have seemed a tad sporadic lately, that's the reason. While we were gone, Lulu went to stay at a kennel called Guardian Farm in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin, which is about midway between Milwaukee and the capital, Madison. The farm isn't far from the highway, but to get to it you have to get off the highway and tweedle around quite a bit, turning, twisting, moseying through old Johnson Creek (pop. 2,100) and looping under railroad trestles, finally crossing over the freeway again before doubling back to the farm, which is set in a valley between rolling hills. At one point I had to flag down a passing tractor to ask for directions, without realizing that the driver would have to climb down out of the cab to talk to me, an action I would personally have put into the category of "exercise," if it were me. (He looked to be about eighty, too.) Fortunately no other vehicles came along while we had the road blocked. The experience was a bit traumatic for Lulu, I think. If she doesn't exactly live a pampered life with us, at least she's highly appreciated; but she was originally a foundling, a stray rescued from a perilous life scrounging what food she could find in a vast public park in Chicago, so she has memories of a much less secure existence. One can only guess what she thought of suddenly finding herself in a transformed situation again—this time confined to a small indoor/outdoor run with several dozen other dogs nearby. As a pack animal she's non-dominant, so she gets cowed and submissive around lots of dogs, and the attendant said she was submissive almost to the point of being fearful with the keepers. Lulu? <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePsnTpmRaiOkoqQXpjwSp-wy0hyphenhyphenhLUYZCPFNzVx9OI4V6E4HFHQF6c0wff25rub56Nc0kvOgFU4_qFyp9HblM5oJLYt7N6D9qauAVA-w2kNz3fBUmxgxzRKb6WnEqP8QVLFgDJwbAhNw/s1600-h/doggiessmall.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053287124133891842" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePsnTpmRaiOkoqQXpjwSp-wy0hyphenhyphenhLUYZCPFNzVx9OI4V6E4HFHQF6c0wff25rub56Nc0kvOgFU4_qFyp9HblM5oJLYt7N6D9qauAVA-w2kNz3fBUmxgxzRKb6WnEqP8QVLFgDJwbAhNw/s400/doggiessmall.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>A few of the temporary denizens of Guardian Farm, Johnson Creek, Wisconsin </div> But the dogs boarding at Guardian seemed healthy and happy. You can't tell from this picture—this was the lineup sending her off as we took her out to the car—but every dog in this picture was barking enthusiastically and wagging its tail. It was a pleasant, almost amusing sight, those dozen or so tails all waving back and forth. I meant to do a lot of photography on this vacation, but the spirit never quite caught. Not counting duplicates, I ended up taking only a dozen pictures—none of them more than an afterthought. I really am finding myself in a creative doldrums lately, and I don't really know why. I even took a portrait of my cousin's cat, and when I shoot cats (not that there's anything wrong with that), it's a clear indicator of malaise. I suspect it might be that, with a camera that records colors, I just naturally see—and photograph—colors, which would be fine except that color just doesn't happen to be what whets or satisfies my own particular creative appetite. But maybe that's not even it. I don't know. I'm going to have to work through this, though, one way or another. <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAK8ne9CjFAAwTCyAkTs9i1XWvS2SYrs8LpBr3lkK4Jym0zUrzU7iAQXEAOlDGqnsJ4gkUphPh7FT6vBgtU5CswkaRiBdx1ISxGpt_VpWr_Z60Mr6IMfZ1QT4FpQwt6VVugYC0CQ_fmxg/s1600-h/wallpaper.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053293454915686178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAK8ne9CjFAAwTCyAkTs9i1XWvS2SYrs8LpBr3lkK4Jym0zUrzU7iAQXEAOlDGqnsJ4gkUphPh7FT6vBgtU5CswkaRiBdx1ISxGpt_VpWr_Z60Mr6IMfZ1QT4FpQwt6VVugYC0CQ_fmxg/s400/wallpaper.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>Wallpaper </div> Posted by: MIKE JOHNSTON

Wallpaper

I'm just back from a trip to visit friends for a week—if the postings here have seemed a tad sporadic lately, that's the reason. Whi...

6:53 AM

So Long, Mr. Rosewater

So Long, Mr. Rosewater

Jill Krementz, Kurt Vonnegut Posted by: MIKE JOHNSTON

5:21 PM

The Worst Photographic Mistake I Ever Made

by Ctein In 1975, I was making a photo trip around the country. My next-to-final stop before heading to Illinois to photograph a customer's family home was a science fiction convention in Louisville. There, I met up with an artist friend of mine, Freff, who had recently graduated from Ringling Brother Clown College (he unfortunately did not make the pick for the circus). The circus was in town, and he was seeing old classmates. Freff brought a clown friend down to the con to hang out. Well, we had a delightful time together. Turns out I get along really great with clowns (ahem). Towards the end of the weekend Freff's friend asked me if I was local. I told him I was from San Francisco and traveling through on photo business and fun. He said, "That's where we're going next week. Do you want to ride back to California with us? You could probably make some photographs." And I replied... "That would be fun, but I have to do a photo shoot up in Illinois next weekend; maybe I could do it some other time?" And he said, "Sure," and that was the end of that. Yes indeed, people. I was offered the chance to ride cross-country on the Ringling Brothers circus train. In the clown car. With the clowns! And I turned it down. Why? Because I had this over-developed sense of responsibility, and I was your typical, white, 20-something, filled-with-a-sense-of-self-entitlement male. I just knew that opportunities like this came up every day. If I didn't ride the circus train this week, surely I would some other time. Right? Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid. And it really was stupid because I could have told the folks in Illinois I'd be coming a week later. I could have cashed in my refundable airline ticket (ah, the good old days) bought a new round-trip ticket to Illinois and flown back after the train got to SF. It would cost me a few hundred bucks, a little inconvenience and several extra days of my time, and that's all. But, I didn't even think of that alternative, I was that certain that I'd have another opportunity to do this. Like I said, really typically-stupid, 20-something male thinking. Or lack thereof. I remember this once in a while just to knock a little sense back into my head. I'm told that builds character and keeps me humble. So far, it's worked great! It is that "road not taken" thing. It makes ya wonder. I'm not complaining about the road taken; It's gotten me to two solar eclipses, three space launches, close enough to red-hot, flowing lava to get myself a "sunburn", and if the gods continue to be kind, the South Pole. Not too shabby. But, jeez, man...circus clowns! The Moral, kiddies? When someone offers you a chance to ride The Circus Train, TAKE IT! It only comes through town once. There's no photo for this column, because...well...that's the point. <div style="text-align: left;">Posted by: CTEIN <form method="LINK" action="http://www.ctein.com"><div style="text-align: right;"><input value="Ctein's Site" type="submit"> </div></form></div>

The Worst Photographic Mistake I Ever Made

by Ctein In 1975, I was making a photo trip around the country. My next-to-final stop before heading to Illinois to photograph a customer...

6:47 AM

Detrich Resigns

I'm sorry to report that veteran photojournalist Allan Detrich <a href="http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2007/04/toledo03.html">resigned yesterday</a> in the wake of his suspension for submitting a digitally altered news photograph to his paper, the Toledo Blade. The alteration was not substantive, and Detrich has explained <a href="http://detrichpix.typepad.com/allandetrich_picturethis/2007/04/i_know_what_it_.html">on his blog</a> that it was a simple mistake and not the result of an intent to deceive, but as we've learned several times in recent years, photojournalists are just not allowed to make mistakes like this. The newspaper has felt obliged to give assurances that it's examining Detrich's past submissions for irregularities. After hearing of this story and reviewing the available evidence, we're inclined to give Allan the "benefit of the doubt. We wish him well in his future endeavors. Posted by: MIKE JOHNSTON UPDATE: Following an investigation by the Toledo Blade, <a href="http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070415/NEWS08/704150316" target="_new">explained by Blade Vice President and Executive Editor Ron Royhab on toledoblade.com</a>, it now appears that Allan Detrich might have been more in the habit of altering photographs than he was willing to admit. An excerpt from Royhab's article: "An intensive investigation of Mr. Detrich's work, conducted by Nate Parsons, The Blade's director of photography, found that since January of this year, Mr. Detrich submitted 947 photographs for publication, of which 79 had been digitally altered. "Twenty-seven of the altered photographs were published both in the newspaper and on toledoblade.com, and an additional 31 were published only on toledoblade.com. Another 21 altered photographs submitted by Mr. Detrich were not published. "The changes Mr. Detrich made included erasing people, tree limbs, utility poles, electrical wires, electrical outlets, and other background elements from photographs. In other cases, he added elements such as tree branches and shrubbery. "Mr. Detrich also submitted two sports photographs in which items were inserted. In one he added a hockey puck and in the other he added a basketball, each hanging in mid-air. Neither was published. "The Blade is removing all of Mr. Detrich's photographs from toledoblade.com and blocked access to any of his photographs in the newspaper's archive. Like many other newspapers, The Blade shares its work with the Associated Press, an international news cooperative. On April 6, the AP removed all 50 of Mr. Detrich's photographs from its archives. "Honesty is the fundamental value in journalism." This also would seem to render Mr. Detrich's defense of his actions (in his blog post) to be itself deceitful. Mr. Royhab goes on to cite the NPPA's Digital Manipulation Code of Ethics, which he says Detrich signed. The NPPA Digital Manipulation Code of Ethics states: <blockquote>"As journalists we believe the guiding principle of our profession is accuracy; therefore, we believe it is wrong to alter the content of a photograph in any way that deceives the public. "As photojournalists, we have the responsibility to document society and to preserve its images as a matter of historical record. It is clear that the emerging electronic technologies provide new challenges to the integrity of photographic images ... in light of this, we the National Press Photographers Association, reaffirm the basis of our ethics: Accurate representation is the benchmark of our profession. We believe photojournalistic guidelines for fair and accurate reporting should be the criteria for judging what may be done electronically to a photograph. Altering the editorial content ... is a breach of the ethical standards recognized by the NPPA." </blockquote> Update posted by: MIKE JOHNSTON, thanks to bomath

Detrich Resigns

I'm sorry to report that veteran photojournalist Allan Detrich resigned yesterday in the wake of his suspension for submitting a digita...

6:18 PM

DPNow's Epson P-3000 review

DPNow's Epson P-3000 review

DPNow has posted a new review of the excellent Epson P-3000 portable storage and viewing device. Posted by: MIKE JOHNSTON

6:08 PM

More about the Ebony SV Wholeplate

by Oren Grad / pictures by Sal Santamaura A few weeks ago we did a brief post about a mysterious new camera. So how did that <a href="http://theonlinephotographer.blogspot.com/2007/03/ebony-wholeplate.html" target="_new">whole plate camera</a> come to suddenly make its appearance in the Ebony catalog? The short answer is that two people placed orders for cameras to be custom-built in this format. Who would do that? Why? And what’s involved in obtaining a special camera like this? History First, a bit of context. The 6½ x 8½-inch format dates back to the beginning of photography, when Daguerre chose that size for his “daguerreotype” plates. That “whole plate” size, along with fractional variations on it, became well established during the brief but vigorous flowering of the daguerreotype; together with the half plate and quarter plate sizes, it survived through the succeeding glass plate era and into the era of cut sheet film in the twentieth century. Judged by the availability of new cameras, whole plate remained an important format in the United States at least into the 1930s, though after World War II it was rapidly eclipsed by 8x10. The format remained in common use far later in Japan, however, with new yatsugiri cameras and adapter backs being offered at least into the 1970s. Today, whole plate is of interest primarily to photographers who like to make contact prints, and to compose the picture in the intended final print size at the time of exposure. Among contact printing aficionados, some find the slightly smaller size and more elongated proportions of the 6.5 x 8.5" negative more pleasing than the larger, squarer shape of the more familiar 8x10 format. Compared on the one hand to smaller and on the other to larger sizes, whole plate is also unusual in that the prints typically are practical and pleasing both in the hand and on the wall. The typical whole plate user works with vintage cameras and film holders that have been patched, refurbished and adapted as needed. The biggest ongoing challenge has been obtaining film; for years, those who work in the format have obtained film by hook and by crook, sometimes cutting down 8x10 film in our own darkrooms and sometimes taking advantage of an ever-changing mix of special order and third-party cutting arrangements. 'Odd Formats' Recent months have seen new interest and activity in whole plate. Ironically, this new activity can be traced to a near-catastrophe: the bankruptcy of Ilford Imaging in 2004, part of a wave of consolidation in film manufacturing with the rapid transition of the mass market to digital photography. Fortunately, Ilford was saved from liquidation when a group of its senior managers succeeded in purchasing the company’s monochrome-related assets and reestablishing a slimmed-down company under the Ilford Photo / Harman Technology name. As part of re-establishing Ilford on a sustainable basis, the Harman management team terminated the predecessor company’s practice of selling rolls of uncut sheet film stock at bargain prices to third-party finishers, thus eliminating a key source of supply for users of sheet film in odd formats. Yet at the same time, they recognized that black and white film was now a niche market in which responsiveness to special requirements had taken on increased importance. In response to vocal feedback from odd-format users, Ilford/Harman launched a program which aggregates small orders for odd sheet film sizes through a network of select dealers for a yearly special production run, enabling users to obtain Ilford film in these sizes without having to spend thousands of dollars to meet the usual minimum order quantity for a special cut. As plans for the first production cycle under the new program were being made in late 2005 and early 2006, a group of us with an interest in whole plate petitioned Ilford to include our favorite format in the program, and were thrilled when the <a href="http://theonlinephotographer.blogspot.com/2006/05/more-things-we-thought-wed-never-see.html" target="_new">response was positive</a>. <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1WjUbR0qLS5RvbUkc7DmNwyMvgtYcIxdqPZ_asdSxuftY28YiFC0R1ZfYAXNu3df6nS0TLtq7FaPGRClsDGWv9r2ClwaHsz2p-xqirhz1cdq-JqR1lYLHNBzKLbqUytICtfJ_NVi5BI/s1600-h/salwholeplate.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051304912025306930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1WjUbR0qLS5RvbUkc7DmNwyMvgtYcIxdqPZ_asdSxuftY28YiFC0R1ZfYAXNu3df6nS0TLtq7FaPGRClsDGWv9r2ClwaHsz2p-xqirhz1cdq-JqR1lYLHNBzKLbqUytICtfJ_NVi5BI/s400/salwholeplate.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>Custom Wholeplate #1, designed by Ebony / Hiromi Sakanashi </div> Which brings us, finally, to the Ebony. Early in 2006, with the prospect that the excellent Ilford FP4 Plus and HP5 Plus emulsions would soon be available factory-cut to whole plate size, Sal Santamaura began to investigate the possibility of having a new camera built in the format. An experienced amateur photographer and fan of contact printing, Sal had previously worked with both 5x7 and 8x10 and was keenly aware of their respective limitations relative to his photographic ambitions. Now, some fine whole plate examples that he had encountered in the work of Ansel Adams became the inspiration for a bit of creative thinking. A brand new whole plate camera offered the potential of achieving an ideal balance, combining the precision and versatility of a modern view camera design, easier portability on Sal’s favorite Rocky Mountain trails compared to an 8x10, and a contact print size more pleasing and practical than either 5x7 or 8x10. The <a href="http://www.ebonycamera.com/" target="_new">Ebony Co</a>. of Japan was the logical target for a query. Ebony is well known in the large format community for offering the widest range of wooden field camera designs and formats, and has probably the most extensive experience among current vendors in building custom models to meet special needs; and Sal had been quite pleased with the Ebony SV57 model he had used. Happily, Sal found that Ebony chief designer Hiromi Sakanashi had fond memories of the yatsugiri format and was pleased to take on this assignment. The matter of the holders <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JX7sDeVgAasqNJeexEY6njgGjQrmI0TaMpXx880fN0J31wWOQ4FTCBdJeNtMi5_8BqSaLcaO1FuDmY2AF8kAH3NKw7NAit7GHC1Gujal7Tj7yZt035-Z7tFTfJUYH76NpoDw2AFU4ZM/s1600-h/salwholeplateholder.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051305221262952258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JX7sDeVgAasqNJeexEY6njgGjQrmI0TaMpXx880fN0J31wWOQ4FTCBdJeNtMi5_8BqSaLcaO1FuDmY2AF8kAH3NKw7NAit7GHC1Gujal7Tj7yZt035-Z7tFTfJUYH76NpoDw2AFU4ZM/s320/salwholeplateholder.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>As with the camera, Sal was determined to have new film holders; for these, he turned to <a href="http://www.lotusviewcamera.at/" target="_new">Lotus View Camera</a>, another small company that, in addition to building wooden view cameras, can also build wooden film holders to custom order. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just tell them, “make me some whole plate holders!” For all of the sheet film formats that remain in general use, including the familiar 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10, ANSI standards exist that specify precise dimensions for the corresponding film holders. As a result, it’s possible to buy holders from one vendor and a camera from another and expect them to fit and work properly together, more or less. However, there has never been a standard for film holders in the whole plate format, and antique cameras utilize a variety of holder designs that are not fully interchangeable. For compatibility between film holder and camera, the three critical dimensions of a holder are its width, which determines whether it will fit in the camera back at all; the position of the locking rib on the holder, which determines whether the holder will lock in place with proper parallelism and a complete light seal; and the “T-distance,” or depth from the bearing surface to the septum on which the sheet of film rests. If the T-distance does not match the position of the ground glass focusing screen in the camera back, with an appropriate offset for the thickness of the film, it will be impossible to focus the camera with a high degree of precision (though for many typical view camera uses involving photography at small apertures, some discrepancy can be tolerated). Finally, beyond compatibility with the camera, one must be sure that the inner dimensions of the holder are large enough to accommodate the expected film size, but not so large that the film will not be held securely. Lotus suggested thinking about the new whole plate holders as scaled-down versions of their wooden 8x10 holders, which resulted in a T-distance borrowed from the ANSI specification for 8x10 along with external dimensions scaled down proportionately to the format. For the internal film channel dimensions, Sal obtained information on nominal film dimensions and cutting tolerances from Ilford and Kodak. The result was a film holder specification that made the manufacture of new wooden holders relatively straightforward, while being similar enough to Eastman-type holders—the most commonly seen antique holders in the United States—that those holders could be interchanged as well for most purposes. And with the holder specification settled, Ebony was able to complete design and construction of the camera back, with compatible dimensions and proper alignment of the ground glass. Because both Lotus and Ebony needed to fit the custom work into their regular production schedules, construction of the new holders required several months, and completion of the camera several months more. In the end, the total time required from project conception to having the completed Ebony SV Wholeplate in hand was the better part of a year. And the second Ebony SV Wholeplate? While Sal was thinking through his vision of an ideal camera, another avid large format photographer, <a href="http://www.clayharmon.com/" target="_new">Clay Harmon</a>, had already begun tinkering with the format. Clay’s special interest is in contact prints made via the platinum/palladium and gum-over-platinum processes. In pursuit of the best tools for his own work, Clay had already gained experience with both antique and modern cameras in other non-standard formats. A chance purchase of a set of whole plate holders led him to have an adapter back made by <a href="http://www.lg4mat.net/" target="_new">Richard Ritter</a>, which allowed him to use these holders with his late-model Phillips 8x10 camera. An antique Eastman whole plate camera soon followed. Clay worked with these two cameras for a while, and gradually came to the realization that whole plate was becoming his “default” format. Finally, last summer, an encounter with a friend’s custom-built Ebony 20x24 inch camera inspired Clay to inquire about the possibility of an Ebony whole plate camera. With work on Sal’s camera well under way, the timing was perfect for Clay to order a second camera built to similar specifications. The internet is key Remarkably, at a time when digital is dominant and some perceive film as being in terminal decline, the barriers to trying sheet film formats other than the common 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 are lower than they’ve been in decades. The Internet is key. Between eBay, online dealer listings, specialist discussion boards and the personal websites and blogs of photographers with specialized interests, it’s much easier to learn about the existence of these things, to compare notes with others who share one’s fancies and to track down the components, restoration services, film, etc., that are needed. At the same time, the Internet makes small-scale specialty commerce more viable by making it much easier for manufacturers like Ebony and Lotus and independent craftsmen like Richard Ritter to find interested buyers and to recognize and aggregate demand that would otherwise be invisible. I’m happy to be able to close this post with yet another example. As a result of discussions on <a href="http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/index.php" target="_new">the Large Format Photography Forum</a> and t<a href="http://www.apug.org/forums/home.php" target="_new">he Analog Photography Users Group</a> that were spurred in part by the appearance of the Ebony Wholeplate here on T.O.P., Paul Droluk of <a href="http://www.fotomancamera.com/" target="_new">Fotoman Camera</a> has announced that a run of whole plate holders will be produced in a modern metal and plastic design, comparable in style and proportionate in pricing to standard 8x10 holders from Fidelity and Toyo. Availability is expected for later this year. Specifications for these holders are being developed based on measurements of the Ebony as well as a range of antique cameras, with the goal of making them usable on the majority of cameras that might be encountered in the market today. To my knowledge, these are the first whole plate holders to be manufactured in this modern style, and their ready availability at a mass-production price will further reduce the barriers to experimentation with this wonderful format. Posted by: OREN GRAD

More about the Ebony SV Wholeplate

by Oren Grad / pictures by Sal Santamaura A few weeks ago we did a brief post about a mysterious new camera. So how did that whole plate ca...

11:24 PM