It had been my intention to explore large format photography in 2020, but it all started happening faster than I expected. First, the perfect Graflex Pacemaker 45 Crown Graphic materialized out of nowhere. Then I started meeting people on Instagram who encouraged me to just jump-in. Next thing you know, I’m getting what I needed to do just that. Now I understand why people the people who shoot it are so passionate about it.
I stumbled accidentally upon the camera at National Camera Exchange in Minneapolis, and both its price and its condition were too hard to ignore. (I’ve prepared a full review of this camera since this article was originally posted.)
It felt like I was rushing myself a bit, however; as I said in the opening, I wanted to get into large format, just not this soon. So I found on eBay a near-mint 6×9 Horseman film back for 4×5 cameras for just US$99, and bought it, convinced that I’d learn to use the camera with 120 film, and jump to 4×5 when I was good and ready.
I found the correct viewfinder mask on eBay as well so I could see the framing of the 6×9 form factor in the camera’s viewfinder.
I meticulously calibrated the rangefinder (follow the link to read the full article on that); the rangefinder was pretty far out of adjustment when I got the camera. Once that was done, off I went.
But exploring Instagram for 4×5 imagery and Graflex users was a (good) mistake I should have seen coming. The amazing posts, images and comments from large format shooters were inspirational. And striking-up conversations with Shawn Augustson, among others, started nudging me along.
I poked around eBay for some film holders; ended-up winning an auction for four holders for just US$15 (which ended-up in disappointing condition, really). One of the holders’ two dark slides is very clearly the wrong one (they don’t match), and the holder itself has some rust; it was quickly put aside. For the other three, I cleaned them up, replaced the label strips, repainted the black on the “exposed” side of the top strips, did some repairs (glue job required; more details on that below), and they were ready to go.
I researched film choices for affordable options (like CatLABS X FILM 80, which I already love in 120 format). I explored the options for developing the sheets, and settled on a choice for “when the time comes.”
Slowly, it came together. From CatLABS, I bought a box of X FILM 80 — 25 sheets for about US$25. Along with that, I got a couple of their “excellent condition” used film holders — film-tested as light-tight — for $25 a piece, just to make sure I had decent ones to use, “when the time comes.”
I ordered the unique processing reel for 4×5 from 20th Century Camera.
And from Freestyle, I picked-up the Paterson PTP-116 “Multi Reel 3” tank it required.
Well, by yesterday (as I write this), I had everything I needed both to shoot, and develop, 4×5 sheet film — so what was I waiting for? Well, nothing.
Loading Film
Step one was loading film into the film holders for the first time. The 20th Century reel processes up to six sheets, so it seemed obvious that I should load-up three holders. The process is intuitive, I knew where the notch was supposed to be, etc. The only open item is how the film was packaged, and despite knowing how it’s usually packaged, of course, the CatLABS film didn’t follow the script. See the special note at the end.
Getting the film loaded into the holders in the dark wasn’t difficult. The main thing was to keep the right dark slides with the right holders, since I was loading three different brands at the same time. And, of course, remembering that the white (unexposed) side of the slides has a tactile device of some sort on it; either Braille-like dots, or a cut-out in the case of the Graflex Riteway slides.
How the film holders manage to be light tight is beyond me, even in ideal conditions, but I wasn’t actually certain that the Fidelity Deluxe and Graflex Riteway holders — from the eBay purchase — were light tight. They were rougher, physically, than I wanted them to be, and the two Fidelity Deluxe holders I got both had their folding bottom pieces fully detached from the holder itself, and had to be glued back together. I wasn’t confident, but there was only one way to find out.
Shooting
The next step was finding something to shoot, and with Colorado’s beautiful scenery, I decided to venture out with photography partner-in-crime Rob King and see what we could find on a route he chose that took us to Monument, Colorado and across Mount Herman Road. It turned out to be a rather treacherous, and honestly scary drive that I would not have agreed to had I known what condition it was in. Thank goodness for SUVs; we could have used one with greater ground clearance and more appropriate tires, however.
Shooting the Graflex is easy, and I just tried to make sure I was following the steps, and there are many. I’m including them all just to make the point:
- Setup the tripod.
- Mount the camera.
- Open the camera to the infinity stops.
- Remove the lens cap.
- Rough-in your composition with the viewfinder.
- Make adjustments as needed, including moving your position.
- Meter the scene.
- Adjust the lens accordingly.
- Make sure no film holder is inserted.
- Open the shutter.
- Put the focusing cloth on.
- Focus the shot and adjust composition.
- Take the focusing cloth off.
- Close the shutter.
- Insert the film holder.
- Verify with the viewfinder you didn’t move the camera in the process.
- Remove the dark slide.
- Take the shot.
- Put the dark slide back in — black side out to show “exposed.”
- Remove the holder.
- Close the camera up.
- Put the lens cap back on.
- Take it off the tripod.
- Fold the tripod.
- Put everything away until the next shot.
- Log the shot so you know what, where and when later on.
They say that shooting film forces you to go slower and take your time. Shooting large format forces you to have little choice in the matter.
Processing
Having survived the treacherous drive intact and with (surprisingly) no damage to the SUV, it was time to process the first six sheets of 4×5 of my large format photography experience. 20th Century provides full instructions and a practice sheet for loading their reel. The patent pending design is clever, functional, and easy to execute. I studied and practiced in the light, and in the darkroom, it was pretty easy to do. Getting the edge of the film sheet aligned with the top and bottom slots and the correct middle spoke was sometimes hard, but it was easy to sort-out, even in the dark.
With all six sheets loaded, everything proceeded as usual for CatLABS X FILM 80 — it’s just a bigger tank, with more chemistry: 950 ml required, vs. 500 ml for a 120 roll.
After the Photo-Flo step, I pulled the reel, and shook-off the excess fluid. It’s always hard to tell if you got anything when the film’s still on the reel, but I popped the first sheet off — success! Second — success! And so it went, all six sheets, from all three film holders, returned great results. My composition wasn’t necessarily the best, but this was a test, not a photography competition, and at least I proved that all the film holders are light tight.
Outcome
Here are a couple of my favorite shots from these first six.
Now, it’s time to load more film, and keep the large format journey and process of discovery going.
Special Note: CatLABS X FILM 80 4×5 Packaging
Everything I’ve heard about how 4×5 sheet film is packaged apparently didn’t hold quite true for the CatLABS X FILM 80 I ordered. I don’t have photos — yet, anyway, since I haven’t used the package up — but will add them later once I can open everything up in daylight. But it’s basically like this:
- The outer box it comes in is literally just the outer box, as you would likely expect.
- There is no smaller lid inside; the next package you’ll encounter is a sealed envelope, double-layered, with paper on the outside, and a plastic liner. It is extremely difficult to open without scissors, but I didn’t have them handy, and wouldn’t want to risk using them blindly in the dark anyhow. Do your best to open carefully so you can at least partly reuse it for storage. (I wish this envelope had a resealable zipper closure; it’s be ideal!)
- Inside the sealed envelope is a plastic envelope that contains the film sheets. There’s ample “over-fold” here to keep it light tight (or I’m hoping, as I write this).
- Closing the package seems dubious; obviously I folded-over the inner plastic envelope, which I’m presuming is black plastic. I put that inside the open outer envelope, despite that outer envelope’s condition after struggling to open it.
- Everything was folded as it came, put back in the box, and the box is in a dark location.
It sure seems like there ought to be better packaging, or a better way to handle all this, but such as it is, and I hope the film itself is safe. I’ll update this again with whatever I learn from using-up the rest of the package, and will photograph the packaging at that point as well.
Happy shooting.
