I sent my speed graphic to jo lommen in the netherlands for a shutter service… I have been trying to make a decent post about the speed graphic for a long time – I never managed it because I always wanted to take some good clean backstage photos of a shoot and I never did invest the time in it, since I much preferred trying to get a good photograph with the speed graphic, instead of getting a good photograph of it. so, I will have to make a post about my favourite large format camera using a picture of my previous speed graphic, the anniversary model, and hoping to update the post when my current pacemaker model comes back.

the lens fitted on the anniversary is the leitz hektor 150mm/f2.5, a projection lens meant to be used with the leitz pradovit medium format projectors. its image circle barely covers 4×5, but I like the vignetting and the really soft corners it produces. you could actually say that I choose to destroy all the potential of the large format film surface by using such a low resolution funky lens, and you would be right. however, it’s the final image that matters, not its resolution or its sharpness. I consider technical perfection the most boring aspect of photography, if it can’t capture atmosphere.

and boy, can it capture atmosphere… this camera/lens combination is ideal for open space full body portraits (it is considered wide-angle in large format, after all), which I tend to do a lot, always using horizontal framing (photojournalistic habits die hard)…

…it can also do tighter frames, where it still retains the vignetting/soft corners combo. it’s easier to focus properly when moving closer because you get to see a bigger image of your subject – proper ground glass focusing needs a dark-cloth, a loupe and patience and I only have two out of three…

…and then you have other barrel lenses, then ones considered “short portrait lenses”, in the >200mm range, losing a bit of light due to smaller apertures but gaining in sharpness and resolution. my most used ones are the leitz diaron 250mm/f4 and the industar-51 210mm/f4.5 (this one actually has a aperture diaphragm, as opposed to the leitz lenses which you can only use at their maximum aperture). they are both great performers for close-ups and, since they have a much bigger image circle than the hektor, you also lose the vignetting and the soft corners…

enter the fuji gw690iii – a 6×9 rangefinder camera with a fixed 90mm/f3.5 lens (considered normal to roughly wide-angle for 6×9), nicknamed “texas leica” because it looks like a leica rangefinder’s big brother, with cowboy hat and boots on, something the stranger from big lebowski would carry.

it’s a big beast (has to be, what with the 6×9 negative it’s producing) but still fits easily in my messenger bag, and it’s less cumbersome and heavy than my 6×6 SLRs. its leaf shutter and the absence of a mirror box means that I can get my shutter speeds as low as 1/15 without breaking a sweat. moreover, 6×9 means I get the same 3:2 image ratio I’ve been using on my 35mm cameras, and only 8 frames on a roll of 120 film.

but how does it perform, portrait-wise? well, I loaded it up with an expired roll of kodak portra 400nc and went out for a windy seaside walk with the dear sisters, miss d. and miss m. – the wind battled us in every step we made and I learned a valuable lesson: your camera, your clothes and your car can get really salty after a couple of hours walking next to the breaking waves, even if you don’t get a single drop of water on you.

this camera is definitely a different experience than SLR/TLR 6×6. the four-years-past-the-expiry-date film riddled the photos with streaks of discoloration, but I couldn’t care less. miss d. is starring in all of the following photographs.

rolleicord v, photographed by anniversary speed graphic & leitz hektor 150mm/f2.5 on shanghai gp3 film

Bought this camera on the 29th of December, 2009. It was my Xmas present. The craftmanship of such a camera is amazing – it dates from ~1960 but you could easily name it “ageless” – with a full metal body and magnificent mechanics all over, this camera reeks of style and class.

It can do front tilt, front rise, front fall and back tilt/swing… it can be fitted with a 120 roll film back or cut film (6.5×9) holders. You can also use a polaroid back on it, although they’re a bit rare and their price is nothing to sneeze at.

This is not an easy camera to use, especially with the 120 6×7 roll film holder. You have to use a tripod and spend lot of time adjusting your image (we’re obviously discussing tilt/shift here), then your model has to stay still until you close the shutter, adjust the diaphragm, remove the ground glass back and fit the 6×7 film back. With a bit of practice you can do this quite fast, but you still need 30-60 seconds. You also need a very sturdy tripod, because changing backs will definitely rock your camera around – not much, but enough to make you anxious about the final result.

I’m beginning to fall seriously in love this camera – photos soon to come.