Using the camera

Using the camera

This camera was a type of camera i have never used or had experience with before mainly due to me not having the funds of facilities in college to be able to. I was nervous at first whilst getting a demonstration on how to use it as it looked very complicated but once i got hands on and used it, it seemed to get easier and naturally does get easier the more times i use it.

The first image i took using the large format camera was a picture of courtney outside the college building. We did not know how it came out until the developing process was completed just like 35mm. 

Developing process

As it was our first time using the camera Steven decided he would develop all of our images the first time around, i got everything right with my first image and it did come out okay. When it came time to develop our own images i realised the process was similar to that of the 35mm films apart from it was all done in complete darkness not in a light tight container. 

In the dark room there are three square tanks, the first containing the developer the second containing the stop and the third containing the fixer. 

You had to clip the large format film to metal frames that then goes into a metal cage that you can place in the chemicals. Unfortunately you can only develop 12 at a time in these cages.

Depending on the temperature of the developer, the time you process them for cam vary from 7 minutes to 20+. So before you place the cage in the developer you must first check the temperature. 

Once you have you and you've placed the cage into the chemicals. You must agitate the cage for 10 second every minute. Once the negatives have been in the developer for long enough you must then place it into the next chemical. The stop. Similar to the 35mm chemical process you agitate for a fill minute then place it into the next chemical, the fixer. Like the developer you must agitate for 10 seconds every minute for around 5 minutes.

Once the chemical process is complete you cant then take the negatives into the light and rinse them with water for 5-10 minutes and then hang them up to dry.