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

[Ole Tjugen]

Dear Uncle, as well as all other various relatives,

There are a few items in this lates missive from our Uncle which I would like 
to draw your attention to:

>===== Original Message From "rstein" <rstein@bigpond.net.au> =====
>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.

I'm at work and sober, so my brain doesn't work in the humorous mode yet. I'll 
give it a try (and a large glass of falling-down water) in a few days.


>
>    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.
>

Sounds like a good idea, I think I may even have a spare lensboard...

>     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 use Technikas and behemoths. They are made for each other. That the front 
mount of a Technika might be strained by the weight of a mere lens is - 
preposterous. It would take at least another Technika.


>     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 believe the corrrect term for that is "easily repaired with common household 
supplies", NOT "falls apart regularly".

>    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.
>

This may indeed be systemic - I wonder how many other list members are waiting 
for their new lens? There's one on the way to me at this very moment. With any 
luck I'll get it this year...


>    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.
>

Large format should not be called a "medium", in my opinion. Why not "large"? 
the phrase "Our chosen photographic large..." has a certain - something. I 
don't really know what, but definitely something.


>    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

Will do - I drive a SAAB. Everybody else stays out of my way ;)

Cousin
           Ole Tjugen
      Photographer-at-large
Behemoths and Leviathans our speciality.