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Part II : Planning a ULF project. |
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06-06-2004 |
 I started my ULF planning by looking for a junker 8x10 on e-bay that I could
convert to the larger negatives, but junkers are often that, junkers : cameras
that need major surgery to be usable and that just couldn't be converted in
something sturdy enough to hold a heavy lens and film holder.
I looked around
on the internet (isn't google the most wonderful thing ? ) for other ULFers,
and found very little information on camera making ouside of the 4x5 monorails
everybody seems to be doing these days... I found very interesting field cameras
and even some 8x10 field cameras, but as far as adressing the issues specific
to ULF, well, I haven't found a whole lot and that's why I decided to build
this page. My project started as a 11x14 field camera for which I would build
a bellows myself (I got a quote for a custom bellows from Camera Bellows,
but the price was not in my budget, not if I wanted to have a camera around
the bellows, a lens in front and film in the back. I sent a few e-mails to
printing companies around town and asked for used process cameras that were
not being used anymore. One actually called me back with an offer I couln't
ignore. He had a process camera to throw away, so basically if I take it off
his hands, it's mine to do what I want. He had another one that tried to sell,
but never found a buyer so he had it sent to the junk for scrap metal !
Now, for those of you unfamiliar with process cameras, they are used in graphic
arts and printing to produce life-size negatives from flat art to produce
plates for printing presses. They are huge things that can be best imagined
by thinking of a slide copy system with bellows, but for copying 20x24 or
bigger slides... Some are vertical, with a table and the film plane on top,
like a copy stand, and some are horizontal, with long optical benches. They
are being replaced by computers by most publishers and printers, so those
cameras are left to rot or thrown away, or recycled by mad photographers into
really big cameras. I don't know how much of the original's huge metal structure
I'm going to incorporate in my design, but since I would like to be able to
move and setup my camera by myself, i'd say that the huge bellows (20x24 by
six feet long) is probably the only thing i'm going to salvage for my camera.
Now, these cameras usually have lighting gear incorporated that i'll probably
salvage also and they have a vaccum back to hold the film that i'm going to
try salvaging for darkroom use (borderless easel, anyone ?). I haven't even
seen the camera yet, so I don't have a clear idea of how much of it I can
use. Hopefully I'm going to get at least one lens with it, so I can use it
without having to look around for a lens that can cover a negative of that
size, and of course save a few bucks to buy me some film ! Now, film that
size is nothing but cheap, Bergger's offering 25 sheets for around 300 $,
so 10$ a shot is a lot for experimentation.... I thought about shooting paper
negatives, but from what I read, they are too contrasty to be really usable.
Direct positives on Ilfochrome paper is another solution that I consider,
since Ilfochrome paper is relatively cheap and easily processed, and as a
bonus it is very forgiving, having a very wide exposure latitude. Another
solution that I could use, and I think it is both the cheapest and most interesting
solution, is to shoot lith film and process it in paper chemistry, giving
a continuous tone negative that can be handeled with safelights (plus I have
a thing for orthochromatic film, don't ask why, but they seem to be very "retro-chic"...)
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