[LargeFormat] Twas The Night Before ......

[rstein]

Dear Nieces and Nephews,

     Please keep the japes and jests rollin' in - I need winners for these
prizes as the weather has turned hot and there is only so much room in the
bait fridge. I need to get this stuff sent off.

    Has everybody been watching their eBay lately? I visit the site
regularly as much for education as for trade. Recently I noticed something
that may still be up there - an adapter made by an enthusiast that clips
into the front of a Linhof Technika mount and just moves the lens out about
10 cm. to allow a long-focus lens to work on a standard bellows.

     It seems to be made with plastic tubing and sheet material and is a
very ingenious dveice. It might not bear the weight of some optical behemoth
but then the front mount of the Technika might be strained by this as well.
For occasional use it looks ideal.

     I am delighted to see the Homemade Optical Company is still alive and
well in other parts of the world. I am an employee of the the firm, as my
many darkroom accessories composed of card mounts held together with gaffer
tape will attest. From a philospohical point of view, the designs engendered
by the Homemade are very good for the workers and the environment - a great
deal gets done with little material and all in a basic frame of mind. Of
course it also falls apart regularly but that is the story of so much of
human endeavour. Sigh....

    I shall pass a happy holiday - happy in contemplation of my new lens. I
do not have it, and I will not receive it until next Monday, but the Fedex
lady says it is in the country and will be delivered. It is a Super Angulon
and I am already making plans for group photos using it. The worrisome
aspect of the deal is the poor chap in Cnada who sent it is still waiting
for Western Union to cough up the cheque - apparently the financial
transactions at this time of year slow down like treacle in July. If you are
trying to do credit business please be patient with the other party - delays
may be systemic rather than deliberate.

    Is there any message from the Hazel Leaf Studio for the list members at
this time of year? Only that our chosen photographic modality (?) or medium,
or whatever the large format is, seems to be flourishing in spite of the
digital revolution. Any day now I expect a new line of glass plates to be
produced with thick emulsion in all popular sizes. I am opting for 10 x 12.
And I have put in my order for M25 bulbs as soon as they start up again.

    Please take care on the roads this time of the year. We prised apart a
tray-top and a 4WD out front of the surgery on Monday afternoon and the
occupants were not happy people. Breathing, but leaking. It can happen out
of the clear blue just like that so stay off the turps until you get home!

     Uncle Dick