Work Continues on the Crown Graphic Refurbishment

While it has been intentionally slow going the refurbishment of the Crown Graphic continues. I did not want to set any deadlines for this project as I have plenty of other things to do and to be stressed over. This has allowed me to do one or two small things a night and allow plenty of time in between for things to dry. The leather is all stripped and the wood has been, cleaned, sanded and refinished. Considering everything this camera has been through the wood that makes up the main box was in great shape. All the joints were tight and sturdy. No re-gluing required. The last week has included the patching of the bellows. The leaking bellows was what started this whole process in the first place. Bellows repair has actually gone better than I originally expected. If it holds I will be quite glad that I did not pay for a new bellows. If it doesn't that always remains an option and iI now know what would be required to remove the bellows from the rear box/standard. I have placed black fabric sports tape on the inside at the bellows points where light could be seen coming through. It seems to adhear well, is flexible, flat black so it should not cause light bounce and seems to work fine when the bellows is openned and closed. The pleats still seem to fold properly. Then I used high flex black silicone caulking to seal the rubberized coating on the bellows exterior. The result seems to be a good seal, light tight and first impressions are that it should be pretty durable. The caulking seem to be appropriately pliable. The rest of the rubber on the bellows seems to be in pretty good shape.

The more I work with the camera the more I am convinced it was underwater for a time. I have been reluctant to take it completely apart. Instead I have chosen to stay focused on fixing the parts to get them functional with a little less emphisis on appearance. I decided last night to reinstall the range finder. It does not fully function as far as I can tell but since I have the parts it went back on. It is brighter now that it was cleaned inside. Should I decide that this camera is for carting out to the field and that I want it to be as light as possible it might get taken back off.

I am now in the process of putting it all back together. After I put the front standard back together i will start testing how well it opens closes. One of my next big steps will be to craft a replacement leather strap for the handle. I am also thinking about ideas for a button/cap for the case opening mechanism. Right now it is just a wire coming through the hole. I assume there must have been a metal part that is missing. Time to get creative.

Photos to follow shortly.  

Graflex Crown Graphic Rehabilitation Project Starts

New Years day project starts

It is really silly that someone who takes as many photos as I do started a project without photos of the original condition. I can't believe that I did not take pictures before I started, I thought I had but cannot find them now. Oh well! Back in September of 2013, in a quest to find a light camera to replace my Sinar F for shooting 4x5 film outdoors, I purchased an old Graflex Crown Graphic, early 50's from the serial number list on Graflex.org. It was in really quite rugged shape but did not cost much $123 plus $12 in shipping at auction on Ebay. The lens has fungus and many cleaning scratches, the shutter sticks on slow speeds, the bellows leaks, looks like 5 holes in all at the corners and the leather the leather covering was shot. From what I can tell this camera was likely in a flood. As it came from down south it might have been a hurricane. Regardless this camera has been badly abused. The leather and paint was cracked and pealing especially on the front bed but really on the wood parts as well. But she is complete with all her parts and the working mechanisms seem to function fine. When I realized she was going to take a fair amount of work to make into a working camera again I decided to put her aside and I purchased a bargain price Graflex Super Graphic which is now all set up as a working camera with my glass from the Sinar.

So over the New Years holiday I started the job of figuring out what to do with her. I had come to the conclusion that I was not going to try to restore her. I just wasn't in the mood to buy leather and do the whole recovering thing and have seen some nice looking Graflex cameras with the leather removed. Since the leather on mine was in such bad shape I have decided to go that direction. Hard decision but I plan on exposing and refinishing her mahogany wood box. I plan on stripping the old paint off of the painted graphlock back and other metal parts and repainting them. Still not determined if I am going to paint or leave bare the drop bed. I have seen them both ways.  I may put the view finder that mounts on top back on but may leave the rangefinder off for weight savings. Since I would likely use her as a handheld so I might be looking for a replacement lens and shutter that works. Plenty seem to exist and if I am patient I hope to not pay too much for. I can always use the 135mm I have on my Super Graphic Lens board. I think they are interchangeable.

The leather seems to be glued on with some kind of water soluble glue. so I have been soaking it and gently removing it with a sharp paint scraper being careful not to dig into the wood.  It is coming off fairly easily. The glue on the metal parts is a bit tougher. More photos to follow.



Side view with leather coming off. Bellows has 5 holes at pointed corners, very common!  




Front View

Side view - Leather handle brackets have been removed. Missing bed drop "button".

View of Front Standard, Bellows on this side seems free of holes.

Film Processing and Printing Resource - Ilford Lab Direct

Ilford Lab Direct









As you know I have an interest in film photography. I have for some time been trying to learn what resources are available to the film photographer especially those working in large format. While I am not going to pine on about the demise of analog photography I have noticed that resources, services and products are still becoming harder to access. The local film lab in my city while still developing C41, E6 and Black and White is doing so on a much less frequent basis causing me some concern about the freshness of chemistry when they do actually do a run. C41 seems to still be getting run more frequently than E6 which is now less than one time a week.

As such I am posting this link to a resource I recently came across. I also put a link in the Information and Inspiration section of this blog which will take you to  to the Ilford Lab Direct. They provide film development and film printing and scanning. As best I can tell while they develop, print and scan roll film sizes, they only develop/process large format film 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10. It does not appear they will scan or print those sizes. They do however process both C41 and E6 along with Black and White using Ilford chemistry. I would assume that anyone going into this business linked to a manufacturer would have reasonable quality standards but I have not yet used them myself. I don't have a dark room and at this time don't have the time or desire to set one up. My work flow is to shoot film, wet scan it with the Epson V700 Pro flat bed scanner and then print photos using various ink jet or laser printers I have at my disposal.

If anyone has used this service please leave comments for me and others.

Chipperfield Wing in Snow- St. Louis Art Museum

Overhang and Railing

Trees and Door

Anotherone Bites the Dust - Servco Warehouse fire South of the Gateway Arch

If you look back through this blog you will see another short series of photos form a fire not very long ago. That fire was only two blocks away. It was in the Western Building of the Crundon Martin complex. This building, I will call the Servco Warehouse, burnt on Monday, December 16, 2013. Again another dramatic fire that will decimate yet one more piece of the historic riverfront fabric. Likely caused by some accident, carelessness or stupidity as the cause is  yet to be determined when I am taking these images.

Fox News Story with Photos of the Servco Building Fire in St. Louis

Servco Burning-Flames



Servco Burning- Smoke



Servco Burning - Far Away



Interesting Photographers Work

Blog Site for Mikko Lagerstedt

So in my relentless searching to see what others have done and what they are currently doing I came across this site. This is a young photographer completely embracing the capabilities of digital with a great sensibility for composition and emotional connection. Enjoy!

Vivian Maier - An urban street photography addiction

Photograph by Vivian Maier

For many photogrphy is about capturing "pretty" images. I certainly have not issue with landscape photography, the capturing of natural beauty or at times even the sentimental beauty that one sees in a lot of photographic work. The capturing of every day and urban images however is not so easily understood and I have come across several historical photographers that did so with excessive compulsion. They pursued the capture of these images with seemingly little or no outlet or expecation that someone would ever see their work. Like many of us the capture and production of the images was far more important or compelling than the promotion or marketing of these images.

I recently came upon a photographer Vivian Maier,who seems to be quite the unusual example. For starters she is a woman. Aspinsterish woman who supported herself primarily as a nanny who also photographed her world with excessive compulsion. The fact that she was a woman, this single fact may have meant that she did not stand a chance of ever being noticed by an art culture that focused predominantly on men with a few notable exceptions.  As someone who has an affinity for photographing architecture, the urban environment and the more familiar things of may daily world, things not always thought of a "pretty" her work is extrordinary. What an unusual combination this quiet care giver living much of her life in upscale suburbia making these amazing images of the urban, the poor and the ordinary or our world.  These images have a quality to them that are quite compelling. Clearly she worked at her craft as these are not just snapshots. They come out of a deep knowledge and familarity with her subject, tireless compostion and timing and a relentless pursuit that borders on excessive compulsion. She had caputured thousands of images when she died many of which were on rolls of film which had not been developed as she had become destitute and homeless losing access to her darkroom. Take a look at these amazing images and remember that these images were caught on film when you had to calculate your exposure, depth of field in your head and when there were no autofocus or exposure computers. You could not just shoot 40 frames at rapid fire to get it just right.
http://www.vivianmaier.com

Lunchtime In the Rain

Today's post includes  photos from Carondolet Park in South St. Louis and images from a classical public library in South St. Louis the Carondolet Branch of the St. Louis Public Library at 6800 Michigan Ave. Hope you enjoy. Please leave me comments if you like or dislike my work. I am working on slowing things down an making compositions. These images have had minimum post shoot processing. I willl adjust the contrast, crop, do some aligment. I have recently been removing the camera distortion much the way you might with a large format view camera that has shift and tile. I am planning on working with the Graflex Super Graphic that I have now very soon. I am interseted to see how I can manipulate selective focus with the view/press camera. Thanks!

Footbridge

Tall Pine

Footbridge and Ducks

Classical

Public Cornice Black and White

Public Cornice Color

Column Capital

Some New Urban Industrial Images

These images from East St. Louis and Granite City were shot at dusk under clear sky. The weather had cleared from a number of mid-day thunderstorms which produced tornado's across much of the Midwest. No trace of that hours later.

Elevator and Highway Sign

Merchant of Venice - Eppilogue

Steel Mill

Steel Color

Muted Colors

Near the River

Today's post is a series of new images from areas just South and North of the arch. It is a gritty industrial  area that is somewhat of a no man's land  but very near my office so I spend time here. I have photographed this area a lot and you will see many of the subjects already on the blog. The St. Louis flood wall separates the workings of the river, with its giant barges for moving heavy raw materials such as coal, grain and petroleum from the city. The area is laced with both highways and heavy rail lines. Roads and train trestles transition onto Bridges that cross the mighty river. Here in St. Louis the edge of the city along the Mississippi has very often been left to industry. Heavy smoke stack industry, warehouses and many types of things that have long since become obsolete in the American economy. Yet the river remains an ever active place. All manner of work seems to always be going on along the banks as she remains ever powerful. Vast amounts of materials being made loaded or processed along it. Certainly it is still shaping this landscape.

Images from a lunchtime photography! If you like or dislike these images please comment! Thanks!

New Bridge and Barge Conveyor

Arch and Sign

1970

 

Tracks and Shed

 

Tankers and Tracks

Crane Gears II After High Water

Barge Crane II

 

Trestles Black and White

Suck This Cold Mother!

As it used to be

These shoes were made for walking