Reflecting April 16

Well, I think that pinhole reflection problem is solved. It was not the logo on the lens holder, but on the bed!

One down, one to go: the shadow on my mother's back... (HB Sonnar 150mm)

Pinhole Mondrian

Piet Mondriaan did like the Dutch mills, so I thought, today, a "homage"...
Well, in fact I forgot to turn over the sheet holder, of course.
But I like it, and more Dutch than this you can't get.

With the pinhole-Linhof (see below). And have a peek at the gallery of pinhole day, (you have to google that, my blog doesn't do links...) pinpics from over the whole world. (Hole world?)

This is the "Old Mill" in Wijchen.

Pinhole !

This time no error: pinhole. And again (why didn't I see that in the picture post Kern Aarau below? ) the "Linhof" logo clearly visible. I used my hand as shutter, this will be the reflection of that logo, very strange but possible. But if anyone has a better explanation I'm very interested!



PS  This mill is called "SeldomRest".
(And look at flickr photostream erwinruys for the better, right explanation...)

Kern Aarau

I almost couldn't believe it: was this my pinhole? Soo sharp, and it would be even better when I wouldn't overexpose 8 times and kept on moving in the decades old Ansco Vividol developer. 
How come? I didn't make a sloppy hole as usual: carefully, with a hot needle in nice black paper and some finishing. Wow. Worked, I thought.
BUT THEN I SAW THE DATE: FRIDAY, THE THIRTEENTH. I KNÈW: THIS CANNOT BE TRUE. AND IT WASN'T. LOOK ABOVE, MONDAY 16 APRIL. FOR SOME STRANGE FACTS.
What happened: I had taken two pictures, and misjudged. The very overexposed was 1/25 at F8, the 5 secs pinhole was correct! Look at the small picture.

PS Yes, I'm Dutch, windmills all over the place. The one below ("another time machine") is the Anna, this one is called Johannus.
My grandfather was miller; my father's name was Johannes, my mother's Anna. Well well well...

29 April...

And do not forget this:
 APRIL 29 IS PINHOLE DAY.

Don't plan it, don't promise, just do it.
This year mine will be "a big one" of course (seen the "easter lecture" below?) but a box, a lenscap, whatever, will do.

Easter Lecture 2012 "the BIG ONES"

These are the real "camerae obscurae". Nothing automatic, you take every step yourself, you can see what's happening. Ansel Adams in 2012 (well, more or less...)

 I cannot show you a wooden one, but let's see what happened in the last century.


When I got the Bob O, long ago, a gift from my Canon dealer, I didn't take it very seriously. Nice for the book-shelf. I didn't have sheet-filmholders. But a few years ago I put some 120 through, and they were remarkable. The lens holder has become wobbly, so I put a strut on to keep it firm; I can't focus anymore, but at infinite it's usable. The 125mm Ernemann Detektiv (how romantic) Aplanat is rather soft at 6.8 but not bad at all for this 95+ lady! The oil-valve shutter works fine in springtime, of course it's too fast in the summer heat, and slow in winter cold.


I also got a Kern Aarau from that dealer and took it apart, little did I know. All that's left is a picture from a ± 1971 garden-exhibition, and:
I kept the lens, made it fit to my Linhof and that does work! 150mm Swiss quality from around 1926. Very soft at 4.5 as you can see below but at F 8 it's more than okay.

The 135mm Ортагоз on my ± 1940 Фотокор on the other hand is razor sharp at F 4.5 and it has to be because the diaphragm is stuck. Otherwise no problems with this wartime-hero, and look at that cute original bakelite filter (and I have the also bakelite box)!
Nice, small, fast camera. The sheet holders a bit rusty, but so am I.

And last but very professional the ± 1960 Linhof Technika. Big and heavy, but so easy to handle and fast. And the 90mm Schneider so unbelievably good. Only the shutter has aged. (I developed the sheet very badly, look at my flickr photostream erwinruys for that.) Nice double sheet holders too.

Working with those 9x12 cameras is very slow, of course, but that means: concentrated. You don't push the button without thinking when you only have four negatives with you! And the choise of film is very limited: I use Foma, or older stuff when I can get it. But how nice is it, really composing a picture on that 9x12 finder, and, if you wish, developing individually one negative at the time.

They are not only big, they are great.

(For other "tutorials" click on the label below.)

1927 Kern 150mm

Once upon a time I owned a Kern 9x12 camera. But, I took it apart; I was young, what did I know. For some reason I kept the lens. Yesterday I made a lensboard and put it on my Linhof. And look how sharp this 1927 lens is! A bit dirty, the high contrast is probably the Fomapan100 film and my scanner has also some problems, unlike the Compur that fires like a young god. Thank heaven for little girls and big shutters!

1927 Kern Aarau (number 3192) 150mm anastigmat at F12,5 on the 1960 Linhof Technika IV, Fomapan 100 sheet 9x12.

# Thank Heaven... 1957 Lerner/Loewe; 1958 Gigi