Thursday, May 28, 2015

Starting To Get Excited About The Graflex

It is strange but the camera that was an Oops is starting to get me excited. The more I read about this tool online, the more making pictures with it seems feasible. I am reading the 190mm Ektar lens is sharp and is coated producing decent contrast. The camera is supposed to be slow but efficient and very reliable to use (using the handle is like carrying a toolbox). Many great images have been made with Graflex's, and the RB 4x5 Super D is supposed to be the best Graflex ever made. This last Graflex has many features the earlier ones did not have like the ability to compose and focus your picture and the widest aperture before automatically stopping down to the selected f-stop at exposure.

If others created strong photos with their Graflex why can't I make good or even great photos with mine? Anything is possible! I would be shooting at wide apertures (f5.6?) with very limited depth of field, creating strong bokeh and a unique look. Maybe this camera will become a top tool in my repertory of cameras. I have many many cameras to choose from but maybe this one will be a top 5 choice. It should certainly create a very unique negative. A hand held 4x5 shot with strong bokeh, sounds wonderful for portraiture. Maybe I can even make some tintypes of the images in my darkroom later on.

There is also something really beautiful in using a camera that many of my idols used and loved. It is like a I am continuing to carry the torch that they held up so proudly, following a wonderful tradition.

Can't wait to get the camera and start shooting, anything is possible!

"Ain't Photography Grand!"