As the next step in my journey to ultimately use my Graflex RB Series D 4×5 SLR for my Pictorial Whispers project, I need to verify a few more things before heading out into the field to try to find and photograph the wild horses.
I was out scouting in the Ozark Mountains today and I thought it was a good opportunity to expose a few sheets of film to confirm some things that I needed to ensure were in order.
At the bottom of this article is a video you can watch where I share my experience today and discuss my findings.
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First, I needed to verify the Grafmatic film holder did not have any light leaks and operated as expected.
Second, I must be able to confirm the speed rating of the focal plane shutter. The Series D has a range of shutter speeds from 1/10th of a second through 1/1000th as indicated by the badge on the side of the camera. The camera is over 100 years old, and even though it as been serviced in recent years, it does not mean the values on the badge are accurate. Until my focal plane shutter timing device arrives where I can verify each combination, all I can do is conduct some empirical tests and take good notes.
I am using Ilford HP5 rated at EI 250 developed in HC-110 dilution B for my wild horse photography, so that is what I am testing today. At this time, I think I will be using FP4 rated at EI 100 for my Pictorial Whispers project and developed in HC-110 (B) as well.
I developed the film in the SP-645 daylight development tank from Spearman Press. I share my development process with you in the video.
Caney Mountain
I was scouting the Caney Mountain area today and I found an old log cabin from the late 19th century. I thought this was a great subject for my first exposure of the day.
I metered using my Sekonic L-308S meter and at F4.5 using EI-250, I got a suggest shutter speed of 1/250. Using this little meter is fast, simple and it fits in my shirt pocket when I am not using it. Using this little meter in ambient light mode is equivalent to using my spot meter to take several readings across the scene and then averaging them. For my workflow, I have found this to be simple and effective.
As you can see from the shutter speed badge on the side of my Series D camera, the suggested settings for a 1/250 shutter speed are a tension setting of 5 and an aperture curtain of 3/8 for a 1/235 shutter speed.
If you watch the video below, you will see that this exposure looked pretty good and appears to have the proper density and contrast. I need to let the film fully dry and review to confirm, but based on experience, I am confident the focal plane shutter at tension 5 with a 3/8 aperture curtain is accurate and realistic. This is really good news for me.
Hodgson Mill
After leaving Caney Mountain, I stopped by Hodgson Mill. Even though the light was harsh and terrible, I wasn’t too concerned about that because I wanted to confirm my Grafmatic back was operating properly and my shutter is operating as expected.
The light was terrible and harsh, but I pushed forward and I started working on a few compositions. It is good experience to work through the process of metering, setting the tension and aperture curtain on the camera, and developing film. It is even better when everything works as expected and you get quality negatives that print well.
Standing in the open shaded area looking down the creek, I took a meter reading and got a shutter time of 1/180 at f/22.
Since there is no combination on the tension and aperture settings on the Series D for 1/180, I decided to use 1/160 (3 and 3/8). When I developed the negatives, they were a little thin, but not nearly as thin as the next exposures. The lighting was harsh and I would never honestly photograph in this type of light. I got what I needed, which was the Grafmatic holder worked without any issues and the exposure was reasonably close. The first exposure in optimum lighting at Caney Mountain of the log cabin produced a really good negative with proper density, so I know the aperture and shutter speed works well with this combination.
I walked over near the mill on the right side and took a meter reading in the direct sunlight. As you can see below, I got a suggested shutter value of 1/125 at f/22.
The closest that I have on the Series D is 1/135 with a tension of 2 and aperture value of 3/8. These two exposures lacked shadow detail and were thin indicating under exposure.
This is still useful information and something that I need to know. If I were to expose in similar lighting again, I would choose a slower shutter value of 1/110 or even possibly 1/90 with tension and aperture values of 1 and 3/8 or 6 and 3/4 as indicated on the chart. I plan to try 1/110 (tension 1 and aperture curtain of 3/8) the next time I need a 1/125 shutter speed.
While a few of these exposures were not good enough for my workflow, the information is valuable.
I am waiting on a focal plane shutter tester to arrive where I can confirm the actual speed of each tension rod and aperture curtain setting. Once I am able to build a new chart based on my shutters actual performance, I will be in good shape and be able to create quality negatives. I will print out a verified shutter chart with each tension and aperture curtain setting and laminate it for field use. I will be making a video when I get the tester in and verify my shutter speeds.
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