Space Invader

Bom. Bom. Bom. Bom. Bom...

Well it's not that bad. I came upon this Pelican case in the shop today. It is the 1690 case and it is the biggest thing you have ever seen that was never a Queensland road minister. It is so big that there are expensive Parisian apartments in a good arrondissement that have less interior space. It is so big that you need council permission to keep it on the front lawn.

In short, it holds a lot of gear.

The actual interior capacity is quoted as .191 cu metre or 6.73 cu ft. It has enough capacity to take far too much gear. If you are addicted to loading everything you own into one box, this is the box.

It has all the usual Pelican waterproof construction - O rings and latches and well-spaced hinges. The length of the box is such that Pelican have included a supplementary tongue and socket to prevent the case wall and channel from moving sideways.

The carriage side is also extremely strong - note the cast polypropylene feet to keep the retractable handle mechanism out of the dirt. Also please note that the end handles are made with recognition that this will be a four-handed lift once full.

You may be forgiven for thinking that it looks a little like the black monolith in " 2001 - A Space Odyssey "...

And finally the interior contents. That is a great deal of Pick and Pack cubed foam - configuring this one will take a couple of days of planning before you start digging out the space for your gear. It pays to make paper templates and to think in 3D like a Tetris game before you start. You can get replacement panels for the three foam levels but if you plan ahead you will be happier.

Pelicans can withstand the toughest treatment while protecting the equipment entrusted to them. What is really needed with this one is a Model A luggage rack to strap it to - ask the staff to order one for you. The 1929 sedan model is very popular in Chicago. Doesn't show bullet holes...

www.cameraelectronic.com.au 

Thank G_d It's Fridays

You could be forgiven for missing the place at twilight - we were in search of Fridays Studio for the launch of the Hasselblad H6D camera…the ironic thing was it was on a Monday.

No matter, the Fridays Studio is the newest venture of Ian and Erick Regnard, the two brothers famed for their underwater work with large format cameras. I think that the fact that they used large format cameras is diagnostic - there was a definite sees of space and magnitude about the studio.

It is a work in progress - at present there is one wall completed of what ultimately will be a three-dimensional infinity cyclorama. The fact that the building that houses the studio was an industrial warehouse and garage before means that there is a very large open interior with a very high ceiling. They have taken full advantage of this to make an infinity scoop that can accomodate a great deal of vertical activity - the tallest samba headdress will still not break the background. Impressive!

The studio also uses a central divider to create a natural light studio behind the main floor, and again it is larger than many other full studios combined. There is a dressing and facilities room under construction as well.

But the thing that impressed me was a full-sized sea container parked at the side of the wall. It’s a 20 footer, and what is really impressive is that it is NEW - not some old rusty bucket. It provides the lock-up security for studio gear. I was envious of the infinity wall at the start but I got even more jealous when I saw that container. At least I think it is a container…it might be their camera case for when they travel. I must look again and see if it has a shoulder strap.

I did suggest that they paint their front window up as a Bayer-pattern sensor…or at least use the squares to make a giant McBeth colour card but they started to get nervous and edge for the door so I left it. Another time, perhaps…

I wonder if there is a cure for studio envy?

Arca Swiss - This Is One Big Cheese!

And no holes in it, either!

The Arca Swiss company is famous for letting it all hang out - in this case in about 4 directions at the same time*. Studio photographers will immediately recognise the way this Arca Swiss C1 cube has been set up - the fore and aft Sheimpflug modulated tilt/shift toggle beam position. As used to render advertising images for sock manufacturers...

Precision is a hard thing to come by in some areas of photography - pet photography  and wedding shooters will know what we mean if they reflect on it while hosing out their studios. They are more or less shooting it on the wing and the best chance they have of success is to lead the target and trust to proximity fuses. Studio product and scientific shooting is another story.

If the object that you are picturing does not breathe it can generally be persuaded not to move. And then you can position yourself and your camera in such a way as to show all the salient features of it in the best light. Whether it is the aforementioned socks, or cans of corn, or Mercedes cars, the light is controllable and the angle of the lens is too. In some cases the movement of the camera needs to be very small to produce a great difference in the optical rendering.

Arca Swiss do make that precision possible, for all I make fun of them. The heading image is taken in the tradition of all large-format manufacturers - the extremes of each movement are shown, with the tacit understanding that you never actually do that. You move little bits very precisely - and sometimes you need to move a couple of them at the same time. That's where the micro-drive geared adjustments, the friction gripper, and the scales come in.

It's all metal in there, folks, and it costs a lot, and if you are a studio that deals in science or advertising art, this is a device well worth considering. They're hand made in Switzerland and well worth the wait.

* The Swiss are well-known comedy scamps...

Let Us Intrude In Your Train Of Thought

Don't get steamed if we derail your train of thought. Make a bridge - or a trestle - and get over it. This is no time to be a sleeper. Switch to large format.

Aren't you sorry you started reading this?

Okay, enough of the train jokes. We are in a bind down here. We have had what appears to be a large amount of fresh large format film arrive and the fridge is getting crowded out.

Ilford HP5 - 400 ISO. Great 4 x 5 film and we've gotta lotta it.

Come down now for a bargain on this  - it is totally fresh.

Make tracks for the shop...

Hop In For Your 4 x 5 Chop

Users of 4 x 5 large format film will be rewarded by an oversight here at Camera Electronic.

We got in a little too much of the excellent Ilford Delta 100 sheet film in this format...and consequently would appreciate shifting it to gain room in the film fridge.

Users will know that it is the Ilford equivalent of the tabular grain Kodak T-Max film and as such gives a grain structure significantly smaller and sharper - the best way to think of it is as if you were using 8 x 10 film of the regular grain type.

Anyway, help us out here and we'll help you out - 16% discount on one box - 20% discount on 3 or more boxes. Offer good until we clear 'em out a little.

Ring Uncle Dick and he'll organise it.

Large Format Workshop for Foto Freo

FotoFreo this year has a special workshop in planning - Alexander Bond and Peter Kovacsy will present a hands-on and eyes-open workshop dealing with using large format cameras in the field. In these days of small digital everything, Alex has pursued a different route - large chemical work - and has garnered awards and sold myriads of postcards and books upon the strength of it.

He'll be presenting the workshop at Point Walter Reserve, Bicton, on Saturday afternoon, the 24th of March. The start time is 1:00 and it will run until 4:30...but I'll bet that is the light stays good there will be a lot of good photo opportunities afterward as well.

Alex and Peter will bring some of their 4 x 5 cameras and there will be some from Camera Electronic as well, but if you have large format gear of your own, bring that too. Expertise in camera operation and optical knowledge is pretty portable - once you see things happen, you will be able to visualize it with your camera. There will be a good chance to find out about film choice, development, and printing methods too, though this is a field demonstration rather than a darkroom one.

To book for this workshop, contact Alex at:

Alex Bond Gallery, PO Box 397, Applecross 6953 or online at alexbond.com.au

If you'd also like to see the " Changing Places" exhibition that Alex and Peter are presenting you can find this at the Barracuda Studio Gallery, Unit 3/4 56 Pakenham St., Fremantle and it is on between March 17-31.

Remember - digital cameras are all very well, but with a big large format camera you can crawl inside the focussing cloth and have a sleep on a warm day....