MorseBlog

This describes a few days of visits to Monk's Wood over a week.   Post Title Image Day 1 I have been neglecting Monk's Wood this last month or so. I have become enthralled with Holme Fen and the silver birches and deep fern undergrowth. This past morning I broke that fast drove out before sunrise.  I loaded up my pack and setup my tripod and changed shoes before heading into the mud tracks. Monk's Wood has a very heavy clay soil and is well trodden by walkers of all varieties even in the winter. The consequence is that by mid-winter some tracks can be almost paralyzingly slippery with mud. The mud one gets used to, but the inability to make progress in some places or the sense one will end on your arse in an unexpected moment can add a level of frustration to an otherwise wonderful outing.  Fortunately while it is muddy, it isn't at 'peak mud' yet. In the pre-dawn gray darkness I walk the farm track to the entrance gate and head up

I have been considering Integrity recently in the artistic sense and my thinking has evolved. And yes my thinking is probably quite slow in this regard.  Definitions When I think about the word integrity comes the simple answer related to honesty or truth. Further thought goes to the root of the word implying integral or integrated. And this brings to mind ideas more like consistency and the parts making a sensible whole. This of course circles back to the idea of honesty and truth when applied personally to oneself. In any case I started out with the simpler early definition. My understanding as it related to my photography evolved towards the later meaning.  I fully expect that readers may think this is obvious but for me it was not.  I do not claim to plow fresh ground, merely to say how I have covered this ground that is no doubt well travelled. Starting Points When I started on a more serious pursuit of photography and before it had crystallized, much of the time I had this rigid

 I returned a couple days later from my earlier visit for another early morning. I went back to a section I think of as special where I photographed the fallen tree earlier.  I had seen a path on this earlier visit I wanted to explore however on my way there I was exploring a clearing and accidently found the other end of the trail I was looking for! It was one that went to a deer stand. There are many dead-end trails that lead to deer stands here.  I explored the local clearings and assessed some potential images when the rain started up. Much like the last trip it was a light rain and seemed not intent on hanging around. So again I sheltered, this time under a silver birch and brought out coffee and a granola bar and soaked in the surroundings (as the surroundings soaked me!), enjoying the peace and rich smells of this peaty forest. When the rain let up I walked over towards the fallen tree and found a brown fern I liked the look of. I took one 4x5 photo with Astia using the 150mm l

It is early about 5:45 am. The sun will be up around 7:15. I drive down to Holme Fen; the roads dark and nearly abandoned but for some early commuters. Narrow curving country roads, a familiar route now. It doesn’t seem that long ago I was consulting a map to remind myself how to get there. Through the villages still asleep Kings Ripton, Little Raveley, Upton, Ramsey Heights, Ramsey St Mary’s then towards Holme before turning off to the farm road with little pullouts for parking.  I get out of the car and it is very dark. Nobody here. The hushed swish of the mainline trains and occasional car on the road to Holme. In the distance the traffic on the A1. It seems one is never far from road noise in England. The air is cold but not anything like a frosty morning I anticipate in another few weeks. In fact we have not had a freeze yet and the trees have kept most of their green leaves. The air is heavy with moisture, at dew point. I can count on wet toes as I walk through grass and undergro

Amongst the seemingly endless list of skills and tasks I need to understand and master is the subject of bellows extension compensation. This subject is covered in many places but I can summarize here.  On a camera with any kind of bellows one has to compensate for the extension of the bellows as one gets very close to the subject. Recall that the distance from the lens to the film plane is defined by its focal length when focused on a subject at infinity. (This gets more complicated with the compact retrofocus optical designs of 35mm lenses.) As the subject gets closer to the lens then the lens needs to move farther from the film plane. On large format cameras and many medium format cameras (like the Mamiya C220/330 TLRs) it is possible to extend the bellows very far to get very close to the subject. As the lens moves further from the film plane more of the light falls outside of the film plane. This means a correction of more exposure is required. (A readable paper on the subject is

The Intrepid large format camera is a capable but basic camera. As I have used it the low cost and basic build has encouraged me to make modifications. This started when I got my SINAR Zoom 6x12 film holder. It did not fit well so I made some modifications to make the fit much better. (These modifications are detailed at the end of the post linked above.)  Recently I bought a 'proper' darkcloth' having gotten by with bulldog clips and a microfiber towel. I wanted something waterproof and with some elastic. I had balked before at the cost but found one online for about £15.  Turns out this was a little too good to be true. First the Velcro closure was the wrong way around and so wouldn't hold the ends together. Second the elastic was too tight for my Intrepid.  I solved the first problem with some iron-on Velcro strips I attached to the ends of the dark cloth. I still however struggled with how tight the elastic section was around my camera, the Velcro often could not h

Two years ago I bought an Intrepid MKIII 4x5 large format camera . I got into large format with an MPP Technical 4x5. I was great for learning but very heavy. I was convinced by the lightweight of the Intrepid and celebrity endorsements. (I have since noticed the Intrepid doesn’t figure much in Ben Horne’s videos anymore.) I like the camera but it’s quality is commensurate with the price. A little rough in places, it is practical but not a precision instrument. For the price I am comfortable making small modifications ; it helps it is made mostly of Baltic birch plywood.  Intrepid Mk4 (from Intrepid website) Recently Intrepid introduced their Mk4. While I was not interested in buying a new one I was intrigued that they offered the base as an upgrade. I was interested because I don’t like the focus mechanism on the MK3. It is a rack and pinion mechanism with two knobs on the far end of t