Second picture in the park

After I saw how that first picture looked, I moved the tripod closer to the sculpture and Kellee to get a bigger image of her. I saw that the chemicals weren't spreading all the way across the film, so I composed with them in the right side of the frame and got lucky.

This picture wrapped up my first outing with the Speed Graphic.

Taken on more than 20 year old Polacolor matte 4x5 Polaroid film.

My First Real Picture

For my first time taking the Speed Graphic out to make a real photo, we went to Forest Park to find a good location. There was a traveling sculpture exhibit installed, and they looked neat.

Since I was still learning how to use the camera, I used a tripod and the ground glass to compose the shot. I knew how to do that from watching dad use his view camera when I was a teenager.

You can see Kellee there in those crazy coils, and if you look closely you might be able to see the dachshunds.

This was made on that super-old 4x5 Polaroid film and naturally made a cool look that people pay extra to do with Photoshop.

The First Picture

I found two packs of ancient 4x5 Polaroid film in dad’s studio. Having no idea what it would do, I tried one out. I assumed it was 100 speed, used the sunny 16 rule to set my exposure, and set the focusing scale to infinity. I stepped out the dock door at work and wished for the best.

When I say ancient, I mean my dad thinks he abandoned that pack in the early ‘80s, so it’s probably been sitting for 25 years. So I was quite surprised to get an image at all. The chemicals didn’t spread all the way, and the color balance is way off. But the smell! There’s nothing quite like a Polaroid’s smell. And the look is pretty cool too. People pay good money for software to make those edge effects.

With this photo, I knew I had a working camera, and I was looking forward to making more pictures.

Next, using up this old film while researching what to use next.

Introduction

In 2006, my friend Dave showed me some Polaroids that a former co-worker of his was making in California with his 4x5 Speed Graphic. We were thinking about how cool that must be, and I remembered that my dad had one. He had it on display in his studio for a few years, and never used it. A fellow photographer had retired and dad bought some of his gear, including this camera.

So, I asked my dad if he had a Polaroid back for the camera, which he didn’t. But he offered me the camera and gave it to me around thanksgiving 2006. I’ve been making large format pictures with it ever since. I’ll be posting pictures and stories as much as I can.