[rollei_list] Re: Press Cameras
- From: Newhouse230@xxxxxxx
- To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2012 22:29:17 -0400 (EDT)
Eric,
Yes...I did see something a year or so ago about Elsa Dorfman's work with
an oversized Polaroid camera.
The robotic-controlled view camera sounds fascinating. That was definitely
NOT there in the late 60's!
My cousin was one of the (or perhaps 'the' ) top chemists at Polaroid. It
was he who got me the interview that led to my summer work. Being in
Cambridge, Polaroid hired the best and brightest of MIT PHD chemists . The
atmosphere in the 60's was a mix of wildly 'quirky' personalities. It was a
very
interesting place to work, even as a low level summer employee..
I got to take home the camera of my choice every weekend and as much film
as I could reasonably shoot. It was hard to imagine a better job!
Charlie
In a message dated 3/24/2012 10:07:59 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
egoldste@xxxxxxxxx writes:
Charlie -
As an ex-Cambridge and Polaroid shooter, you might be interested in
knowing that Elsa Dorfman still uses a Polaroid 20 x 24 monster for
her famous portraits... I believe she bought all of Polaroids
remaining stock of the film...
25+ years ago I had the chance to take an insider's tour of a special
room at Polaroid in Cambridge... one with a motorized view camera
built into the wall. I do not remember how large the format was but we
are talking many feet by many feet with motorized/robotic film
handling and camera controls. I believe this set up was used for then
state of the art miniaturization of electronic components, and the
scale of it was humbling. I remember the lens was a custom one-off
from Zeiss which cost over six figures in 1980s dollars.
Eric Goldstein
--
On Sat, Mar 24, 2012 at 9:22 PM, <Newhouse230@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> I had two experiences with 4x5 'press cameras'
> . The first was in the 1950's I worked a summer or two at a camera store
in
> Brookline, MA. They had a contract with the Post Office to develop and
> print 4x5 negatives sent to them each week. The subject'; Post Office
trucks
> that had been in traffic accidents. Each week we got a packet with 4 x 5
> film still in their holders. We developed them and made an 8"x10" of each
> one and returned everything to the local Post Office. The quality of the
> shots was usually terrible. Large negatives don't guarantee quality if
the
> photographer can't manage to focus well. The relatively shallow DOF
seemed
> to be a problem for the photographers as rarely were all the important
areas
> of vehicle damage in focus.
>
> The second experience was in college. I worked two summers at
> Polaroid's home office in Cambridge, MA. I was a quality control test
> photographer. We subjected the Polaroid films to extreme heat and cold
and
> made note of the color shifts etc. One of the films we enjoyed
working
> with on our own time was the 4 x 5 black and white film that yielded an
> instant positive print as well as producing a negative. The negative
> required a water wash if I recall, but could then be printed in the
> conventional fashion.
> It was 'that' film which made me crave a 4 x 5 camera. They detail was
> excellent and we had 16 x 20 prints from that film to prove it. There
were
> also some 'mural size' prints made from them which held up to the
> enlargement fairly well.
> That 'positive-negative' film, among others, was given to various
> famous photographers who had relationships with Polaroid and agreed to
> create photographs using the instant film. Ansel Adams was one of those
> photographers. Marie Cosindas was another. She had an amazing eye for
color
> and somehow created a palette that few others could, even using the same
> films.
> Using the Speed Graphics in the test studio and getting instant results
> was a great experience. I was using a Rolleicord VB at the time, and
the
> larger 4 x 5 format of the 'press camera' was another 'step up' in image
> quality from the 35mm format that had taken hold, almost completely in
the
> 60's.
>
> Charlie Silverman
---
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