[LargeFormat] The Lost (Photo) Weekend more

[rstein]

Dear Nephew Philip,

     Your odometer is obviously wrong - there isn't enough space in Great
Britain to go 1020 miles even if you do turn the steering wheel.

    Apart from this I think you could have a lot more fun with the Sinar
than just boring old churches. I am currently making a bracket to attach my
Metz flash to my Kardan E, making it look remarkably like a Mutinova speed
recording camera. I'm going to go set up in the bushes just outside the
police school in Maylands and trigger the flash every time a senior officer
drives by, no matter what speed. As far as I can tell, as long as I do not
wear a police uniform or actually send out traffic infringement notices and
as long as I am doing it on public land I am still legal. I might even put a
double dark in the back and get a few 4 x 5's of startled coppers.

    I think the go for the big heavy outfits is to return to the days of the
travelling wet plate photographer who trudged around the goldfields with the
whole show on a low wheelbarrow. We wouldn't have to carry the whole tent
and water supply, but the average barrow could carry a big camera, big
tripod, several lenses, darkcloth, plenty of filmholders in an esky, and a
selection of sandwiches and dirty novels to while away the time until the
light is right. I am thinking of getting a custom-made job that will fold up
into the back of the ute to carry a whole mini-studio round to balls and
weddings. No more multi-trips back and forth to fetch light stands or
autopoles - the whole shooting match on one cart. Idea is not mine - I have
been studying an old copy of the Linhof magazine detailing how to be a works
photographer in a factory.

    Uncle Dick