used D76 as developer and found the much slower speed of developing to my liking, as compared to the fast speed of Dektol. Victor Keller mentioned this idea over at Paper Negatives group

third of november, hastily photographed a building, two shots on paper with the norma57 and the newly fixed lens plate carrying the super angulon 120mm f8. this lens will work for the 5x7 in terms of coverage. turns out not to be a good composition, nor a good exposure, but a few learning experiences here should help next time. used a meter with iso6 on the adox mcp310 paper. having a copal shutter as opposed to the non-shuttered darlot lens, kind of complicates the issue, but some practice should make this a good lens for close in structural shots, ......

the drive out from the coast became problematic when we discovered the high mountain pass over hiway 120 was closed, and that 108 was closed. we drove over to hiway 4 and managed to get over Ebbetts pass before it was closed, snowing lightly, and down the east side and over Monitor pass on 89, which closed behind us. these closed hiways made retreat somewhat iffy.

the following morning we drove up 168 into the lower White-Inyo mountains and turned onto White Mountain road and quickly gained elevation into the clouds. the temperature dropped off into the 28-32 degree fahrenheit. we managed to get to Schulman grove, but it was so cold and windy, I, not being used to lower temps, and having just come from 98 degree fahrenheit weather on the coast, could not tolerate outside of the vehicle for very long at all. I did get out and shoot a few photos in 35mm film, and finally set-up the norma57 under the tailgate of the volvo, just as the snow started to fall heavily, landing in several open bags in the back of the wagon. I took one paper negative, as seen below in figure A, and a second negative attempted, with a sudden giving up I packed up the camera, as the snow was only getting heavier.

atrociously hot weather struck last monday, finally some summer here, but i prefer the non-summer weather, and today we're in a Fall zone with cool mornings under fog but lifting still to a hot sunny afternoon.

we are driving out toward Bishop on monday, a place that does have the hot temperatures being just a few miles north of Death Valley, but hopefully monday will be about ten degrees cooler than usual, with some possible precipitation...

hopefully we will get part way up the White Mountains, that is if the high altitude does not make me sick, coming from sea level, rapidly, over about five hours to get to Bishop via the planned Tioga Pass, then the drive over to Bristlecone pine region.

might take a camera or two along, having not had much chance to use film or paper in the last couple months.

...out on a drive late in the day late in the summer, but oh so hot in the inland valley...drove away out the marshal-petaluma road to the area with the good views. decided, once there, that for the first time I could recognize Mt Tamalpais to the south, and follow the San Andreas fault north-westward, and out oceanward, the low lying fog that would come rolling in as it does and cool down the hot regions of the greater bay area, and northward I could look and not see far into the rolling grasslands, and eastward, I could see more rolling grasslands as well as distant ridge peaks, and best of all was the near quiet of it all...

took photos with old beat-up Nikon F's, one of which failed in its mirror return, such that I had to remove the lens and give the mirror a push, after nearly every exposure, not certain even that the shutter was opening, but not caring either, whether the shutter opened, it was the act of taking a photo that mattered. The other F seemed to be operating, and I was having fun with a 105 f2.5 nikkor, a lens i have not used in a long time. I'll develop the two rolls of film later, see if any frame was in focus, not too rough, or not too blurred....

relatively early morn with the fog layer intact. still a dark paper negative, printing with forty seconds f4 via the lamp from the B8. started at twenty five seconds, though passable, thirty seconds was better, so tried forty. ADOX mcp310 paper in Dektol 1+4. the mcp310 was used for the negative as well in the Sinar Norma 5x7 with a Darlot brass lens.

spent the day yesterday modifying a Sinar lensboard to accept a brass mounting flange and thereby mounting a Darlot petzval brass lens to the Sinar Norma 5x7. had time to drive to this favored site for some late day light, and practice the quick open and close lenscap shutter.....used paper negatives, developed in weakened Dektol.

On sunday the 18th of july, we drove to san francisco, an hour or so south of here. first stopped by the DeYoung for a lecture on malaysian weavings, then on over to sfMOMA, where it was free of entry fee day and thusly crowded, for the opening weekend of the New Topographics photography exhibit. entirely enjoyable photographic exhibit, despite the throng of visitors, i quickly made the commitment to visit this exhibit as frequently as possible over the next couple months. purchased the catalog, a nicely bound hardback book, very wordy indeed, and the group show of human altered landscape, well discussed, as I am finding.

same site, different day, different camera, different lens, but same section of landscape. the new Darlot brass lens with no shutter and no aperture adjustment is used on the kodak master camera with the 5x7 back. paper negative at approximate iso6 and guessed exposure time via lens cap. even though fogged in sky, the exposure is not short enough and the paper negative went nearly black, out of 8 sheets only 1 or 2 were repairable via contact print with 50 second exposures. overall, on this first effort with the Darlot, i am less than pleased.

July 8 took a short drive down the road to the county border where an old section of early concrete roadway still exists. Fog layer remained in place long enough to use the camera for 8 sheets of paper negative. I have taken a photograph of this roadway and tree multiple times in the past. I'm still intrigued.

the 3rd of july weekend is here. the neighbors make for a noisy environs. the cats look for a dark hole closet to crawl into. i'm experimenting with nodal moment, and not quite certain how many degrees i can pan.

end of June, some summer weather on occasion, I for one like the fog cooling effect, always wishing for more foggy days. drove my twelve year old toyota 4x4 pickup out over a familiar country road, bumpy narrow steep, gets a good vista up on top, gets the marine wind, gets a good wind chill when your standing there fiddling with a 4x5 camera. earlier in the late afternoon I'd stopped at a strip of beach on tomales bay, saw a Grebe curled up on the gravel, just curious as to why, I carried my gear down, the Grebe stood up in its clumsy land manner and hobbled to the water, falling flat on it's chest and scooting the last inches with its feet pushing it's breast into the wind blown salt water. i sat there in the fine gravel beach fiddling with the camera. the Grebe returned to beach several times for short stays ashore before fleeing from my movements several yards away...the Grebe is quite clumsy on land, surely not meant to be on land, the legs of the Grebe being too far to the rear for balanced walking, they walk a few inches then fall forward in their hurry to gain water, and once in water, their elegance is regained, and under the surface, they are nothing short of a speeding predator, try catching a glimpse.

I am not use to compressing an image as much as is required by blogspot. a foto post must be itty-bitty.

after several efforts at downsizeing, I have been able to post this image. a paper negative/paper positive

no foto

I did do a photo yesterday, a paper negative/paper positive, and would upload to this site, however, due to internal errors, there will be no upload

for the love of 'gear', not so much the use of...

one day soon i hope to post a photo....

yesterday i obtained a Sinar Norma 5x7, a swiss made camera produced between 1970 and 1947.

i intend to place paper negatives thru it, film maybe later, the paper negative having, from what i've seen from others, as well as a few i've done, the potential of a photographic quality of great appeal.

i have a Kodak Master camera 8x10 with a 5x7 back, which i bought specifically to do with wet-plate process, though i've been sidetracked from that pursuit the past year, i recently put some paper negatives thru it and this sparked my interest in the larger format again, thus the 4x5 linhof color and kardan-color45s, recent additions. the Sinar Norma 5x7 is however a natural size and feel to me format-wise, and i plan to further practice the paper negative process in 5x7....should i ever receive the 4x5 film holders i paid for at the beginning of may, i'll run some film...

Stellina

Curious in that I was unable to post a message on may 13, just the title which turned out not quite what I intended.

I have not put a film roll thru a camera since the March beginning. I have however, put some photo paper as negative thru the Kodak Master camera, gave me a good idea as to where to venture.

I am currently awaiting some 4x5 film holders from a particularly sluggish-shipping ebayer, the feedback shall reflect.

I did have lunch last week at a place called Stellina in Point Reyes Station, very enjoyable, and the light, seen through the windows, provided interesting relief to the ornate mouldings on a building across the street, not that I could have done anything photographically, but it was an idea, the seeing...

No film/No post

Early street use of the SWC/M. Had not got the knack of the viewfinder

simple start, coffee in Heath ceramics

simple start, a day with sun clouds and wind