Since we're talking about photographing kids

I've had an interesting revelation in the last few days. I always have a loaded camera set up on a tripod in the house, and since we have an almost one-year old baby, he's usually my favorite photographic subject.

For much of September the camera was a 5x7" Press Graflex--a large SLR made in the 1920s--with a 210/3.5 Xenar. This was standard press gear during the McKinley administration. Paul Strand used a camera not unlike this (a Home Portrait Graflex), but his had a rotating back, which made it easier to shoot verticals. He also masked the frame to something more like the golden mean, if I remember correctly. I made about a dozen 5x7" exposures over the course of a month, including the one above.

There is a photograph of the camera (taken by the person who sold it to me) as well as some discussion of it in this thread on photo.net--

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=009Ktz

Then I decided it would probably be easier to use my 6x6cm Bronica S2a with my usual portrait setup--a 135/3.5 with a short extension tube. It uses rollfilm and there is more inherent DOF, so it should be easier, right? Toward the end of the month, I was getting a bit frustrated with the fact that Melchi, our son, was moving in and out of the focus zone with the extension tube, so I switched the normal focusing helical for the Bronica's tilt-shift bellows, which covers the whole range from infinity to macro, and as long as I was reconfiguring, I changed the waist-level finder for a chimney finder--which is to say, I was unconsciously turning it into a 6x6 version of the Graflex. I made about 50 shots in the course of October.

We moved to a new apartment a few months ago, so it's been slow getting the darkroom up and running, but I can load and process film, so last night I made a dent into the last few month's processing backlog, including all the abovementioned film, and I made some quick scans this morning. I got some good shots with both cameras, but definitely a greater percentage of keepers with the Graflex, and I like what I did with the Graflex way better than my best medium format shots. I think I'll finish off the roll of Tri-X in the Bronica and go back to the Graflex.

Are you moving film from one camera to the other or cutting from a large roll? Also what's your chemistry and try/tube or other setup and what for scanning?

I havr a Bronica SQ but didn't know about the tilt shift bellows. That sounds interesting! Like an fancy lensbaby™! I don't have a 135mm but I do have a nice 150mm. Am plannijng to put it back to serivce once I get my developing system set up again after many years. I have to buy new (used) stuff as I gave everything away long ago!

I like the picture of Melchi. how old is he? You are lucky he stayed put for the shot.

So I gather the picture shown is from the 5x7 camera?

Asher

Melchi will be one year old on December 2.

The photograph shown is from the 5x7".

The Bronica Tilt-Shift bellows was made for the S, S2, S2a, EC, and EC-TL. I don't think they made one for the later SQ series.

The Bronica uses 120 and 220 rollfilm, and the Graflex uses 5x7" sheet film, so there's no sharing film between cameras. In the Graflex I usually use "bag mags"--magazines that hold 12 sheets of film at a time. With this system, I can take a photograph every 10 seconds or so or maybe a little faster.

I develop film by various methods, but these were processed in deep tanks with hangers for sheet film, reels on lift rods for rollfilm. For a few sheets or formats 8x10" and larger I use trays. I also have a Nikor stainless steel daylight tank for 4x5" and 2x3" sheets and various stainless steel tanks and reels for rollfilm.

I don't print B&W digitally and only scan for the web, so I have an Agfa Duoscan for medium and large format and a Minolta Scan Dual (I) for 35mm. Maybe I'll upgrade when the new Microtek M1 comes out, just so this stuff doesn't all become suddenly incompatible next time I have to upgrade the computer. I occasionally have LightJet or Chromira prints made from color transparencies, but then I get a drum scan and usually ask the lab to match the slide, maybe with slight color correction.

The 5x7" negs look like they should print well to grade 3 Azo.

One of the reasons to have the camera ready to shoot at all times is that I can usually photograph Melchi for a few minutes before he becomes curious about daddy's strange machine and starts climbing up the tripod leg.