New York February NYC Meet-Up/ Ninth Annual Camera Beauty Contest

Note that there is a serious error at the end of that article. The last shot is not of one of my Baby Linhof's (I own two), but is of Christian's home-brew camera.

As you can see it looks like a Linhof in quality, but is a hand built camera that is a one-off.

Christian surely is a a bit crazy, don't you think?

Cal
 
592K followers.

I'm kinda excited to watch the Superbowl this year on Sunday February 3rd.

I just bought another humidifier to stabilize my apartment between 50-60% humidity. I will likely load up my Jersey Barrier this weekend.

I'll be printing on rolls of rag paper limited editions. A new book will be started to make a "Book of Proofs."

Shortly I expect to be putting my work out there.

Cal
 
So now we have more cameras to award as prizes. One is a boxed subminiture spy camera boxed. Another is a bakelite 120 twin relex 120 camera boxed with papers.

Everyone thank Chris.

In the January Meet-Up I toted a large blue IKEA bag with some of the prizes and extra stuff as a free grab-bag.

I snarfed all the repo stuff, so I'm the repo man. This new Wetzlar lamp-house looks like a thermo-nuclear weapon with a black krinkle finish. "Pure evil," I say. It has a M-mount and the camera is on a slide. I also have the optical viewer. Seems like I could use or it was made for or can be used with a MD-2. It has possibilities for use with my Monochrom.

Cal
 
596K followers.

Also the Tech commercial will air on Sunday February 10th the Sunday after the Superbowl.

Cal
 
Monday I loaded "the Jersey Barrier" (Epson 7800) with my K7-HD inkset to expend this ink. Next will be expending the stockpile of Piezography Pro inks that blend a split tone in the print head.

I have one 17 inch roll of Canson Platine Fibre Rag, 3 17 inch rolls of Jon Cone Type 5, and 4 24 inch rolls of Jon Cone Type 5 to get me started in printing out some limited editions.

The big step forward is that Jon Cone released in December a K7 inkset (seven shades of black) that utilizes the new black from Piezography Pro that is a one-pass glossy system.

An evolution is that I toned down the warmth by further blending of shades 2 and 3 making them close to neutral so that any warmth in the shadows is mostly due to the interant warmth of the paper. My splitone is really a tritone with neutral black, warm shadows and cool highlights. It creates a lot of depth.

The work I did getting organized making my "Monster Workbook" is paying dividends and compounds speed and efficiency.

I increased the page size, but the image size for the small prints remains 12x18 to utilize stock frames. for a larger book and bigger borders.

Small prints will be an edition of only 6 with an artist proof. My bigger prints (20x30 on 24x36 sheet) will be an edition of only 4, but with two artist proofs.

The cart hold about 350 ml, and so far in a day with the initial loading and a day of printing the ink levels dropped an inch. The 7800 is a thirsty printer.

Glad I'm running two humidifiers. The heat and air is particularly dry this year. Climate change is real.

Cal
 
The world is not that big. I ran into Brian today and told him to come and bring his entire crew to the February Meet-Up and ninth annual Camera Beauty Contest.

Row-me-G-O I was told would kill for the PEN F. He is a film CL lover.

Remember the only rule strictly enforced: "No biting."

Cal
 
Some data mining suggests that the Leica VSPOO might work with the head from my 50 Rigid.

Looks like I have all the goods to have a M-Body version of the "FocoSlide."

The lamp house is pure evil. "I love it."

Cal
 
I made the executive decision and increased my small print size from 12x18 image size to 13.31x20. Not that much bigger but the prints open up a lot, have better pop, and have more depth.

I'm using the "Jersey Barrier" with roll paper so adding length to maintain 2 inch borders is no longer a constraint. With the 3880 I was limited to 17x22 cut sheets.

I also tweaked the file a bit and added a tiny amount more contrast via the tone curve that helps with the opening up of the image. So far I have invested mucho time in working out maximizing my capabilities, and I am pleased with the results.

I discovered that with K7 I need about 2 inches border on the leading edge that is fed into the printer for the second pass printing of "Gloss Overcoat," otherwise I get a paper feed error. Oh-well.

I also learned that the leading and trailing edges are about a half inch longer than the sheet size I selected and that my prints made from rolls require trimming. Oh-well again.

So far two days of printing has yielded a work flow that is now streamlined. Some of my clever ideas were just a waste of paper and ink.
I figured out how I can recycle these experiments into the 1 1/2 inch strips I will basically use as the spine of my "Book of Proofs." Page size will be 17 x 24 with the 13.31 x 20 image centered.

I have to take a day off and head to Talas to buy some 20x24 archival print storage boxes, and some Soltander Museum Cases. They have the best prices.

Joe and I talked at the January Meet-Up about how print size can reveal and open up an image. The slight increase in size makes a huge difference in impact and depth, but also the tonality really opens up. I also put a lot of thought into size to be able to exploit "stock framing" to avoid the expense of custom framing.

I will require custom mats because I will be listing edition number and signature in the window opening.

I would say that these new prints dramatically crush the very same files presented in my "Monster Workbook." I can see that a "Book of Proofs" will vastly out do the "Monster Workbook" which I now look upon as a prototype, proof of principle, and as an editing tool and organizer. The Book of Proofs is much more refined.

The 7800: "I love it." The paper transport and feed is so much better than the 3880, and the use of roll papers allows for cost savings.

Our friend Klaus wishes everyone well from Germany.

Cal
 
I have a setback and will be reloading Piezoflush back into my "Jersey Barrier (Epson 7800). Last night I got bad banding on a print, and a power clean did not help at all.

This printer is likely at least 13 years old and it still has the original dampers that are like filters right before the print head. Piezoflush resolulizes dried ink and removes clogs, but Jon Cone suggests that dampers and capping stations should be replaced every two years as part of a maintenance routine.

I looked at the 428 page 7800 service manual I downloaded and printed out last night. I believe I can replace the dampers myself as phase one, and as part "B" I'll next change out the capping station.

This kinda reminds me of when I pulled a head off a 1960 Ford Falcon that I only paid $300.00 for, back when I was perhaps 23. I bought it as a disposable car, and then a cylinder died due to a cracked valve. The cost of getting the head rebuilt was about $250.00. I had taken apart motorcycle engines and lawn mowers before, but never a car engine.

Being a poor dirtbag, making the decision to repair the motor was a huge decision for me. I learned a lot about myself and my abilities back then. I definitely have a certain gift or aptitude for spacial and mechanical reasoning, as well as abstract thinking.

So here I am again, decades later in the same sich-E-A-tion.

Kinda funny is yesterday I intuitively went to the Piezography site. I was sent a newsletter about a new one-pass K7 system coming out in December of last year, but I see no availability yet. What gives?

Also I know at Piezo Press they have a Piezography Pro with an added light-light cool ans light-light warm that is utilized on a Epson 7900. Seems like this extra set of shades has not been fully developed/intergrated yet, even thought they have the inks available. Perhaps using tech support this system is running; I know and have seen prints from Piezo Press (20x30 on 24x36 sheet) made with these extra shades; and the results are luminous/airy highlights like on analog wet prints.

Seems like my 7800 remains the greatest printer for K7 inks though and is good to keep around. Ideally it would be great to have a new P7000 and be able to have Piezography Pro with the added shades also. The two systems are both worth having.

It seems that with K7 you can go cooler and warmer than what is possible with Piezography Pro. What interests me in this regard is the Selenium coolness which I love in the highlights. I have grown to like only a trace of warmth in the shadows to add some depth, and I think this exploits the rick shadow detail and blackest blacks that are possible with Piezography.

Pretty much I have the ultimate printer for K7, but if I could sell some prints looks like I will get a P7000 to run Piezography Pro and digital negatives. Currently I made space where I could fit a P7000 that weighs 235 pounds, a hundred pounds more than my "Jersey Barrier," into my studio. Don't tell "Maggie."

The Piezography Pro with the Light-Light shades has the smooth rolloff in the highlights just like in film. So the real difference/advantage here is one system s for expanded tonality in the highlights (K7); and the other has this smoothness in the rolloff in the highlights (Piezopgraphy Pro).

I want both eventually. Notice how this all leads to Digital Negatives and contact printing. Over five years ago I first saw the digital negatives in the Jon Cone portfolio and knew I wanted in.

A check is clearing so Maggie will be paying me shortly. The money is good, but it is not a steady income. Maggie's agent had to get tough with the client to get paid.

Cal
 
That's one of the reason's I went for another Canon Printer no clogging, but I have
to say your results with your Epson's do come out great. So I guess to keep them
running you have to do that cleaning Cal and plus like me we have the talent and
no fear of going into these things to fix them.
 
Range-rover said:
That's one of the reason's I went for another Canon Printer no clogging, but I have
to say your results with your Epson's do come out great. So I guess to keep them
running you have to do that cleaning Cal and plus like me we have the talent and
no fear of going into these things to fix them.
Click to expand...

Bob,

Truth be told is that stuff like this causes anxiety, and it would be better if It didn't have to be done, but that is not the real world.

I do know that being good for two years will be a great thing, and that this will help IQ. I do take it as a setback though. Oh-well.

Seems like changing out a print head is just a little more work. The print head replacement part is about $1K, but I feel that this old printer in many ways is best for what I do.

Cal
 
607K followers as of last night, and likely higher this morning. "Maggie" got the bump by this post she did on "Manrepeller's" site that involves a week of spending.

Also some new video came out.

There seems to be a rather big U-Tuber utilized one of my shots of Maggie sitting on a stoop in jeans as the cover on a video on "How to have men remember you."

Maggie PM'ed the pirate to either take down the video, or contact her agent to negociate a fee. Let's see how this turns out. More stealing and violation of copyright again. Really great having Maggie's Agent as a Pit Bull to basically be an enforcer. According to Maggie this is a big time U-Tube celeb doing the stealing who makes mucho money.

On the printing front, on EBAY are these Chinese dampers that sell for no money, but OEM Epson dampers from Compass Micro cost $41.40 each and I require a set of eight ($331.20 total). Understand the cost of a Chinese set is way less than even the cost of a single damper.

My data mining revealed that leaks are an issue/difficulty. The task is not difficult, but some precision is required. If you have "sausage fingers" perhaps changing dampers is not for you.

My printer is 13-14 years old. The carriage motor, pumps, and print head are still 4 stars or better out of a 5 star service life, so coughing up the added dough for OEM parts is no problem, although the capping station small OEM parts are no longer available, and as a result I will have to buy Chinese clones for the capping station.

I'll be ordering the OEM dampers today.

Cal
 
Range-rover said:
Good luck with that Cal, maybe the ones Epson gets are the ones from china
anyway, good luck with them.
Click to expand...

Bob,

On EBAY the dampers being sold all look different. Looks kinda risky to me.

I have a Juki commercial sewing machine I bought new. It is one of the last Juki's made in Japan. All the others it seems are now made in China. I'm ethnically Chinese, but I can say this: I think the Japanese made Juki is of higher quality.

As far as the dampers go, the OEM dampers could actually be made in China, or likely are, but they I trust more because they are OEM Epson instead of a clone.

Cal
 
It was 607K followers two nights ago; 613K last night; and 619K this morning.

Kinda interesting that I see a similar pattern I learned from day-trading: a cup with a handle (ladle like), followed by a steep "breakout."

Maggie's number of followers hovered just under 600K for a long period and was stagnant and flat for a while, then she tipped over 600K and now there is this breakout that goes vertical.

"Manrepeller" seems to be where a spillover occurred.

No response from the "Pirate" who is using one of my shots as the cover for his U-Tube video. Looks like we have to sic "Max the Pit Pull" onto this Pirate who is stealing my image. "Crush his femur," I say.

One thing I learned from Iron Mike's father inlaw who is a real estate titan, in business don't be a nice guy when you should be evil because then nice guys then become losers. Mike's father inlaw had no problem using the full extent of the law to have cars repo'ed, property confiscated, assets frozen or garnished and a bag of making sure people either paid up or got punished with some form of payback.

Cal
 
Earlier today I ended up reading how many industries basically rely on very few manufacturers and aside of design differences, many are just the almost same product slapped a different badge.

Yeah Cal it was about Carbon bikes. If the day is slow here's the link: http://inrng.com/2012/02/who-made-your-bike/


Some comment talks about how Giant was just a supplier and they realised that by making their own brand they'd capture much more. I think it was the same for a Chinese fashion brand that became huge, MLA fashion or something like that.
And given some loose IP setting, they could grab on the western designs and even improve it themselves.



Seemingly some luxury products are about the same. I recall seeing a short documentary of a sunglasses factory that basically made most of the famous brand products.


I find it particularly ironical how in outsourcing the western production was dismantled and so, good luck setting it now in a competitive manner.


On business I try to be diplomatic, but haven't had the case of needing to unleash the dogs.
 
Prest_400 said:
Earlier today I ended up reading how many industries basically rely on very few manufacturers and aside of design differences, many are just the almost same product slapped a different badge.

Yeah Cal it was about Carbon bikes. If the day is slow here's the link: http://inrng.com/2012/02/who-made-your-bike/


Some comment talks about how Giant was just a supplier and they realised that by making their own brand they'd capture much more. I think it was the same for a Chinese fashion brand that became huge, MLA fashion or something like that.
And given some loose IP setting, they could grab on the western designs and even improve it themselves.



Seemingly some luxury products are about the same. I recall seeing a short documentary of a sunglasses factory that basically made most of the famous brand products.


I find it particularly ironical how in outsourcing the western production was dismantled and so, good luck setting it now in a competitive manner.


On business I try to be diplomatic, but haven't had the case of needing to unleash the dogs.
Click to expand...

Jorde,

Being diplomatic only goes so far. In my early 20's I once bought a used car. Back then they started using titles to transfer ownership, and I foolishly trusted this seller of a Datsun B210.

The car had been sitting in a yard for a while; it needed tires; but I learned the hard way that without the title I could not register the car. I was diplomatic, but got no positive response from the seller. Weeks passed...

Back then I felt that the seller was not earnest, so I went to the Nassau County D.A. and asked if he could assist in any way. I would later learn this seller sold me a car he did not have the title for. Evidently the D.A. had a detective knock on his door. Pretty much I belive the detective explained how that selling a car without a title could be construed as fraud and that there might be criminal charges.

Pronto this seller contacted me wanting to give me a full refund. When I mentioned the cost of the new tires he said he would reimburse me for that expense also.

On a different event I walked home from work to see my Volvo 122s pushed up over the curb. It had snowed slightly and someone evidently could not negociate the bend in the road and had rammed into the rear of my parked car. No note, so I knocked on my neighbors house to see if there were any witnesses.

The tenant of my neighbor saw what happened. He knew the person and also the driver and gave me the address of where the guy lived because at one time he also rented and lived there. I was just 19 or 20 at the time, so again I was a bit naive. I wondered if I should just call the police and report a hit and run, but instead I decided to be a "nice guy" and knocked on the door.

I looked at the Chevy Nova that had hit my car and saw no damage. The woman I knew as a customer at the grocery store where I was a produce clerk. They called down the son who I accused of hitting my car. It was a pretty emotional scene with everyone in the room upset. The guy in his early twenties was crying.

When I asked the parents what do they want to do to make this right, they said they did not have the money in the bank and that they would have to go through insurance. I had a $700.00 written estimate to repair the damage, but in the end I only collected $450.00 from their insurance company. The way insurance works that I was partially at fault for parking my car on the street. Also my insurance rate went up for three years because I was in an "accident."

So by knocking on that door, not only was I being a "nice guy" I ended up being a looser. I basically cashed the insurance check and lived with a creased bumper and dented trunk. The guy who committed a crime basically got away with it. He did not really get punished.

The driver of the Nova was the older brother of the other Produce Clerk I worked with who was my age. If I had to do it all over again I should have called the Police, and even though it would be extortion I think I would have gotten the $700.00 damages recovered fully, with the consulation of dropping the charges.

Moral of the stories are: nice guys often can be loosers; and when you have a nuclear weapon and your opponent does not, vaporize them.

Just keep in mind when I asked about doing harm to people or destroying them that Iron Mike's father inlaw said, "Its just business." and that at night, "I sleep good,"he said.

Cal
 
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