I am working my way through the process of using my Graflex RB Series D 4×5 SLR in the field for my wild horse photography and Pictorial Whispers project.
I am trying to get the camera, lenses, and workflow all dialed in by late summer and be ready to go in the fall season.
When I am out in the field with the wild horses, there is a lot of pressure and things happen very quickly. I have to know my gear inside and out and my muscle memory needs to be on auto-pilot.
In this article today, I share the first tests I ran outside my darkroom to prepare for future fieldwork.
I normally try to find the horses early in the morning, so I have nice, even lighting, and I wanted to replicate that today. Often, I have good luck, so I stay through when the sun comes out and covers the valleys and pastures, and I wanted to understand how that may translate to using the Graflex in the field.
The chart above is a snapshot of the badge on the side of my Series D camera. You will notice the shutter speeds and corresponding settings for the tension and aperture dials. As you can see, I can theoretically get speeds as fast as 1/1000 of a second. Not bad for a one-hundred-year-old camera.
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I say, in theory, because you really need to have the camera serviced and shutter speeds checked to confirm your chart. Oftentimes, they are inaccurate, and you will receive a new verified chart when you get your camera serviced by a professional like Jerry Gordon (Graflex Garage).
As you can see, at f/4 and f/5.6 in the shade, I am getting shutter speeds around 1/250 and 1/125 as shown on my Sekonic L-308 meter.
I should note that I am using Ilford HP5 rated at EI-250. As a side note, I use HP5 because of its lower contrast. This works out perfectly because the wild horses I photograph are mostly white. They reflect light like aluminum foil and blow out the highlights pretty easily. Between HP5, my film development, and contrast management in the printing process, I get beautiful white horses with lots of nice detail.
Referring to the tension and aperture chart on the side of the camera as shown above, I would choose the following for my exposures if there were a real situation:
- Open shade with HP5 rated at EI 250 with lens at f/4 – 1/235 (Tension 5 and Aperture 3/8). This is close enough to my meter reading of 1/250, or at least I think it is.
- Open shade with HP5 rated at EI 250 with lens at f/5,6 – 1/135 (Tension 2 and Aperture 3/8). I think this should be close enough to the meter reading of 1/125, so long as my focal plane shutter is performing as expected.
In fact, this is one of the reasons I am running tests now: if I find the focal plane shutter needs maintenance, I will have time to send it to Jerry for review and certification before I need it in the field.
I have noted these settings, and I will expose some films using these settings, develop them, and make a print. I will measure the DMIN and DMAX, compute the dynamic range of the negative, and record the information.
This approach is simple and confirms whether the shutter is performing as expected or not. If the negative is not exposed correctly, I will choose the next closest settings based on the feedback of the negative (under-exposed or over-exposed).
As you can see from the meter readings above in direct sunlight, the apertures and shutter speeds have changed significantly.
Referring to the tension and aperture chart on the side of the camera as shown above, I would choose the following for my exposures:
- Direct sun with HP5 rated at EI 250 with lens at f/8 – 1/1000 (Tension 6 and Aperture 1/8). This is a direct match, but I am highly suspect of the accuracy of the fastest shutter speed. Between the tension rod and the age of the camera, it is pretty common for the faster speeds to not be what you expect. I will find it now, so I am not surprised later when I am working in production mode.
- Direct sun with HP5 rated at EI 250 with the lens at f/11 – 1/500 (Tension 3 and Aperture 1/8). Assuming I had the time in the field, I would stop down to f/11 because 1/500 is more likely to be accurate.
As noted above, I simply need to make some exposures and verify my settings and workflow. This may be a one and done or it easily could take several days. I won’t know until I expose and develop the first set of film.
I am also verifying my Grafmatic film packs are light-safe and performing as expected. I have serviced them, and they all look good. The light traps are all in place, and so on. But, you never know until you run some film through them. I could use silver gelatin paper as a test to keep my cost exposure to a minimum. However, I typically use cheap Arista EDU film because I can also verify development and my entire workflow.
These cameras are 100+ years old, and we cannot expect them to perform like digital cameras today. All the little quirks and challenges are part of the experience and fun.
One reason you want to get your camera looked serviced is to verify the true shutter speeds, as mentioned a couple of times above.
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The next decision I must make is how I plan to support and handle the camera in the field.
One option is to use one of the authentic early 1900s Folmer & Schwing tripods used by photographers when these cameras were new. This is the smaller one, known as No. 2. They made a larger/taller one, referred to as No. 1, which has four stages. My tripod has a date of 1914 on it.
Since I will be looking down the chimney stack to focus, the tripod will be much lower than it would be if I were using ground glass to focus. The No. 2 tripod is about 5 to 6 pounds, so it is easy to manage.
Today, I put my smaller RRS ball head on the base of the tripod and then mounted my camera to that versus screwing directly to the base. I wanted to see how the head, tripod, and camera would perform. Things went fine, but this is not a realistic test. When working in the field, I often pick up and run full speed to get into position or try to keep up with the horses. These wild horses are in constant motion and I certainly get my exercise in for the day when I am in the field with them.
I have decided not to use the RRS BH-40 ball head in the field. I will either mount the camera directly on the tripod base or use my heavy-duty monopod with an Arca-Swiss receiver.
I was happy with what I accomplished today. Tomorrow, I plan on loading a couple of the Grafmatic film holders and making some exposures.
I hope that you join me on this journey and follow along. The best way to do that is to subscribe to my website here and receive an email when I publish new articles and videos.
Don’t worry, there is no cost, and I am not trying to sell you anything. I have been asked by several of my analog photography friends to share and document this journey because they are interested in supporting me, and also, learning new things as I work my way through each step of the process.
Explore how you can support my Pictorial Whispers Project and become part of a community dedicated to celebrating art and healing. By joining as a member, you will gain exclusive access to several unique benefits, including behind-the-scenes updates, early access to view new works, exclusive access to me, and much more. Your support helps sustain this deeply personal project, allowing me to continue creating meaningful art that resonates with memory, loss, and renewal themes. Join me today and become a part of the journey.