Iceland in 2010

I am organising a trip to Iceland for a group of photographers from the UK Large Format Photography Group (UKLFPG) in June/July 2010. Having been fortunate enough to visit Iceland twice before (thanks to Carrie & Blossom) I have equipment lists that some may find useful?

Airline luggage allowances vary; Icelandair allows 20kgs of checked luggage (in the hold) per person plus carry-on hand luggage of 1 item no larger than 55x35x25cms (with a max weight of 6kgs) plus a "handbag" (this is the clever bit... more later!). The cost for excess luggage is £8.00 per kilo and this is for hold luggage - they don't allow excess hand luggage*

The secret to flying (cheaply) with Large Format camera equipment is as follows:

• wear as many clothes as you can on the flight! Sounds daft but Iceland in June/July has similar weather conditions to the UK in March/April as far as temperature and rainfall is concerned so walking boots, fleece jacket should be worn on the plane thus increasing available weight in checked luggage.
• stuff all available pockets with film! Never pack it in checked-luggage or it will get zapped by X-rays!
• be realistic in what camera equipment you pack.

From previous experiences this is how I plan on travelling to Iceland next year:

On the flight I wear-

• Pair of cargo pants (big pockets for film!)
• T-shirt
• Fleece Jacket
• Walking boots
• Photo vest* (yeah I know it looks geeky and I do feel a complete idiot BUT the amount of film you can get in those big pockets is awesome and it keeps the weight of your hand-luggage down too! If I find I need more room for film than I have in my hand luggage then on comes the Photo Vest)
• small document wallet on lanyard around my neck for passport, credit cards, healthcare card, phone, cash, travel docs.
  

My checked luggage is carried in a Jansport Cargo Hold wheeled holdall - it's massive! This contains the following:

• 5 x T-shirts
• 5 x undies!
• 4 pairs thick socks
• Ron Hill Trackster leggings
• Buff Head scarf - protect the bald "nogging" from the sun!
• Karrimor Lightweight waterproof jacket
• Crocs
• First Aid kit
• micro towel - super quick drying and packs small
  
• phone charger for car
  
• pacsafe for camera bag
• maps
• Gitzo CF 3541XLS tripod - dismantled to reduce chance of damage
• Arca Swiss B2 monoball head
  
• Peli 1400 case - holds sheet film holders, cable releases, light meter and other photographic bits and pieces that need protecting like filters etc!
• camera cleaning kit (Iceland is wet and dusty and a basic kit of cleaning fluid, lenspens, microfibre cloths and blowers is essential)
• darkcloth - a 10x8 Blackjacket.
• Harrison Changing Tent
  

My hand luggage contains all my photo gear as I don't trust baggage handlers! I pack everything in a Tamrac Adventure 10 rucksack* - within carry-on size (just) and although the entire pack and contents is over the 6kg limit I've never had it checked so fingers crossed! It will hold:

• Walker 5x7 camera
• Canham 6x17 film back
• Schneider 110mm XL in Photobackpacker lens case
• Schneider 150mm f5.6 in Pb case
• Fuji 250mm f6.3 in Pb case
• boxes of 120 roll film are used to fill any available gaps!

That's it! All the sheet film will be carried in the Photo Vest and sheet film holders in checked holdall. I will probably sneek a couple of 5x7 sheet film holders in the handluggage as insurance!

Ladies and Gents can also employ the additional "handbag" option if you need to carry more kit! Icelandair don't specify what is meant by a "handbag" and as long as it's not much bigger than a laptop bag then all seems well. If you need to carry boxes of sheet film then the "laptop bag" is a good bet as they can be picked up cheaply for a few quid and will hold a surprising amount of film.
Happy Days!

My current kit!

The last few months have seen a flurry of activity in buying/selling/culling of equipment!

My current kit is as follows:

• Walker 5x7 Titan XL with standard and wide angle bellows;
  
• Walker 5x7 to 5x4 reducing back;
• Walker Recessed Lens Panel (to allow use of the 75mm);
• Canham motorised 6x17 roll film back;
• Nikon 75mm f4.5;
• Schneider 110mm XL;
• Schneider 150mm Apo-Symmar;
• Fuji 250mm f6.3;

I've still got loads of bits and pieces that are now surplus to requirements - it's amazing what you accumulate over the years; at the time they were "must have's" but most are just proof of good marketing!

I've abandoned my beloved Ebony!

I've been a staunch supporter and user of Ebony View Cameras - my first LF camera in 1999 was an Ebony SW45; a superb camera with all the movements I needed and superlight to carry! I then got seduced by the outstanding 45SU ... marketed as "the ultimate wooden camera". In my opinion and experience this is still without doubt the "best" 5x4 available and despite many challenges to the usefullness of the asymmetric movements it proved to be my ideal camera ... for a while ...

The big problem was the value of the thing! It was a wooden camera with a price tag in excess of £4400 and if I'm honest I would get palpitations whenever it left the house. Plus, it was so pretty! It didn't look like a camera; Hiromi truly created works of art in his designs and so I tended to leave it "safe" in its box and it didn't get anywhere near the use it deserved.

My other major issue was also a gradual change in film format!

Over the years I'd tried both 5x4 and 10x8 sheet film formats as well as 6x17 (both in a roll film back and in a Fuji GX617) and found that 10x8 was too heavy/cumbersome in the field - needed a pack-horse to cart the stuff around! So I'd stayed with 5x4 and 6x17.

Recently I've been using the 6x17 in preference to the 5x4 as I found the square format difficult to compose with - I've always had a thing about panoramas! As you probably know, a frame of 6x17 is about half the size of a sheet of 5x7 and the more I used the 6x17 it became obvious that 5x7 was my "ideal" format?

Checked the price on an Ebony 5x7.

When I'd recovered from the shock the hunt was on for an alternative and I realised that my loyalty to the Ebony brand was waning.

How do you find a camera that can match the quality of construction of an Ebony? With great difficulty! However my worries were short-lived, I found a worthy alternative in the shape of Mike Walker's "Titan 5x7 XL".

I sold the Ebony - I made sure it went to a good home with someone with previous experience of looking after an Ebony! I'm still adamant that they are the ultimate in wooden cameras ... even if they do cost the earth!

Developing large format sheet film in a Paterson Orbital Processor

Having recently moved to the 5x7 inch format and not having access to a darkroom, I found myself needing a way of processing these larger negatives. I'd used a Combiplan Tank for my 5x4 negs and I needed a alternative approach as there were no commercially available daylight tanks available for anything larger than 5x4 sheet film.

Enter the Paterson Orbital Processor! Originally designed for processing sheets of colour paper of various sizes it is also the ideal way of processing sheets of film - up to 10x8 inches! The design is nothing more than a glorified tray with a light-tight lid; with a slightly curved base that once loaded in the dark allows processing in daylight. The standard version comes with a dome-like base that allows manual (continuous) agitation. The Orbital also has a real plus point in that it uses far less chemistry than conventional tanks! More on this later!!

However, the Orbital requires slight modification to ensure smooth, hassle free results. The first image shows the processor fully assembled with one difference; I've replaced the original red seperator pegs with longer, white, plastic screws (these prevent sheets of film floating over the small pegs and impeding on the development process).

The second image shows the modification made to the internal lid; the pair of plastic fins that help keep the paper flat have been removed. They were removed with a hacksaw and the rough edges will be filed down - when I get 5 minutes! Without removing these fins you run the risk of uneven development as the chemistry creates flow patterns on the neg where it swirls around the fins - they might work for paper processing but are a real hindrance to film!


The original Orbital used small red pegs to separate the sheets of paper/film and work fine with the colour process for paper as the fins (now removed) prevented the sheets from floating over the pegs in the chemistry; the amount of chemical required to cover a sheet of 10x8 paper is a measley 60ml so nowhere near deep enough to alow the paper to float. However, I have run tests and have found that the optimum amount of chemistry needed for film processing is between 180 and 200ml. This is still a great deal less than most tanks use - the Combiplan used over a litre of each chemical to process 6 sheets of 5x4. However, this increased amount of chemistry means that the sheets of film can now float! The red pegs suppled are simply too short to stop the sheet film floating up and over the peg, out of its compartment and coming to rest on a neighbouring sheet and causing uneven development. An alternative was needed; plastic M3 screws are ideal and were found cheaply on Ebay for a few quid for 20! They simply push into the holes in the base and are cut in 2 lengths; the screws in the base of the tray are longer than those that fit into the "slopes". If the screws were all of equal length then the lid would not close! Those in the base are approximately 5cms long whilst the shorter ones are about 3cms in length.


The image opposite shows two of these screws in place to allow 2 sheets of 5x7 inch film to be processed.

The other modification is also shown in this image. The base of the tray is smooth and as such film has a tendency to stick to it and this interferes with removal of the anti-halation layer and also prevents even flow of chemistry. The solution often used is to roughly score the base with a "Dremmel-type" rotary tool to create a rough surface; other users simply use a sharp blade to score deep cuts - again to create a rough surface. I wanted something a bit easier/cleaner and so found a pack of clear, self-adhesive, rubber "half-domes"; I think they're intended use is underneath sheets of glass to raise it above a wooden surface (such as a worktop or desk) - again a cheap buy from Ebay! Although self-adhesive I used a small drop of Superglue Gel to make sure they stayed put. The chemicals used have no affect on them and they were positioned in a grid-layout to ensure the edges of every format of film I use was covered.

The final image shows the processor set up for 1 sheet of 5x7 inch and 2 sheets of 5x4 inch film. It is important that film is placed in the tray with the emulsion side upwards; this ensures that the chemistry covers the film evenly.

The Orbital will process up to 4 sheets of 5x4; 2 sheets of 5x7 and 1 sheet of 10x8 inch film.

I use two of these modified processors and both are fitted onto the optional motorised base - lazy I know. But the principle behind this system requires that the tray is agitated continuously and without the motorised base you are literally chained to it; manually twisting and turning the tray! It requies constant agitation due to the small amount of chemistry used - even 200ml is enough to slosh out of the pouring funnel but not enough to cover the film completely when the processor is not being agitated. The motorised base ensures even agitation and allows you to do other things whilst the film is developing!
Chemistry is simply poured out of the edge of the processor marked with the arrow and fills through the vent on top of the lid.

A few users adjust the processing time due to the fact that the film is being constantly agitated - I've tried lessening the development time and have come to the conclusion that the continuous agitation has little impact on development time.

Virgin blogger

Well, thought it about time I got myself blogged up ... so here goes!