Re: [Cameramakers] camera making research
I'm a little behind in my reading of this string but I suggest that one of those right brain lobe/left brain lobe things is operating here. There are interviews with photographers that say that they pay no attention to the technical when they are creating and there are builders/collectors/Zone freaks (forgive me but you know who you are!) that never manage to take a picture except when testing a new gadget or film. The skills that make one a good creator are not the same skills that make a good builder, blessed be the individual that can do both. I wish you much luck with this. I build gadgets all the time--especially stuff I could not otherwise afford, and make minor repairs to my equipment but I'm going out to shoot this afternoon. I claim to be neither a great photographer or a great mechanic but necessity has made me a bit of both. Mike I've seen some good points made on this topic (I've been lurking on this board awhile), but I wanted to throw more sand in the gears, as it were. 1) I haven't checked Ansel Adams: The Print, lately, but my memory is that he recommends hiring a cabinet maker, didn't really sound like a do it yourself advocate. 2) Peter Gowland (petergowland.com) Okay he's not real well known as a photographer (lot better known than myself), but he sure designed some interesting stuff! Really, check it out! 3)Finally I don't think that acquiring the design engineering skills necessary to make a really useful camera makes anyone a better photographer; but an extensive knowledge of the working syntax of photography, based on the nature of sensitive materials engineering possibilities of these materials may make a better photographer. Also that syntactical information is something concrete to teach. Good luck, John ___ Cameramakers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rmp.opusis.com/mailman/listinfo/cameramakers _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ___ Cameramakers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rmp.opusis.com/mailman/listinfo/cameramakers
Re: [Cameramakers] camera making research
Two names come to mind: Hulcher and Peter Gowland. I'm thinking of applying for a fellowship of which I would research camera making and its role in the education of photography. Maybe you guys can help me out by answering a few questions that will help me jump into the subject so I can see if my proposal would be worth while. What are the names of famous photographers who made their own cameras and used them on a somewhat daily basis? I know Ansel Adams made a camera/enlarger. What book has information on this? Do you know of any photography institutions who teach camera making in their curriculum besides pinholes? Do you think that students are missing out by not building their own cameras? Additional comments would be helpful. The end product would hopefully demonstrate the need for institutions to teach the subject matter and to present a design of a simple monorail camera that anyone can make, use, and learn basic LF principles. Thanks Jake Boen ___ Cameramakers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rmp.opusis.com/mailman/listinfo/cameramakers _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ___ Cameramakers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rmp.opusis.com/mailman/listinfo/cameramakers
Re: [Cameramakers] camera making research
On Sun, 30 Sep 2001, Jake S. Boen wrote: I'm thinking of applying for a fellowship of which I would research camera making and its role in the education of photography. I don't know enough about formal photography education to help much here. My gut feeling is that camera making isn't something that is often taught in a photography school. Most people just buy a commercial camera. I guess I'd say that camera making is kind of an art in itself, and is closer in many respects to engineering. For example, I know of engineers who are not photographers who have worked on designing cameras. (Companies hire engineers for this kind of thing, and there are a number of specialized scientific designs not generally used for artistic or commercial photography.) The number of photographers who build their own equipment seems to be quite a bit less. What are the names of famous photographers who made their own cameras and used them on a somewhat daily basis? This seems kind of a tough question. Are you talking about people who designed and built their own cameras completely from scratch, or do you include in this those who simply modify existing equipment to meet some need? If you mean the first of these, I'd hazard to guess that the numbers are small. If you really mean the later, then in some respects almost all photographers are involved to some degree. Especially if you allow for equipment other than specifically cameras. Do you know of any photography institutions who teach camera making in their curriculum besides pinholes? You might check the following: http://www.rit.edu/~661www/departments/imaging_photo.html http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/ipt.html Do you think that students are missing out by not building their own cameras? Depends on the student and his/her goals I'd guess. Probably also depends on what you mean by missing out. The end product would hopefully demonstrate the need for institutions to teach the subject matter and to present a design of a simple monorail camera that anyone can make, use, and learn basic LF principles. I guess I'd argue that the skills and knowledge are already available, and taught. What may obscure this is that we live in a society that tends to honor specialization rather than generalization. Camera making is a fairly general topic that spans at the very least the following specialized disciplines: - Mechanical Engineering - Materials Engineering - Optical Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Computer and Software Engineering - Machining and tool making - Wood Working - Mold making - Chemistry and Chemical Engineering - Ergonomics and human use engineering This could be expanded further into sub-disciplines of each of these, and/or consolidated into the broader overview sciences such as Physics. This list focuses more on the applied sciences as used for manufacturing. Basically, if you were a camera making company such as Nikon these would be the kinds of people you would probably hire, along with some photographers and marketing people to help direct the design in a direction that makes sense artistically. I guess the question I'd have to ask is whether or not you think that the artist who makes his or her own camera can somehow create better art than the person without this experience? I'm not too sure that there is, or even should be, an answer? Seems like kind of a personal issue to me. - Wayde ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ___ Cameramakers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rmp.opusis.com/mailman/listinfo/cameramakers
Re: [Cameramakers] camera making research
An interesting idea. I understand that in the beginning years of photography, if one could find a lens, building ones own camera was a reasonable possibility. Jacob Olie (1834-1905) who photographed Amsterdam around the turn of the century, at an exhibition of his photographs, I saw the two cameras that he made and used. He first got the lens and then made the camera. The lens was apparently expensive and not one of the best. Later he could afford a better lense and made a second camera for that. They were of the sliding box in box type. Not too hard to make and maybe not so an unusual idea for some photographers in those days. julian http://job.webstar.nl/ - Original Message - From: Jake S. Boen [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2001 11:59 PM Subject: [Cameramakers] camera making research I'm thinking of applying for a fellowship of which I would research camera making and its role in the education of photography. Maybe you guys can help me out by answering a few questions that will help me jump into the subject so I can see if my proposal would be worth while. What are the names of famous photographers who made their own cameras and used them on a somewhat daily basis? I know Ansel Adams made a camera/enlarger. What book has information on this? Do you know of any photography institutions who teach camera making in their curriculum besides pinholes? Do you think that students are missing out by not building their own cameras? Additional comments would be helpful. The end product would hopefully demonstrate the need for institutions to teach the subject matter and to present a design of a simple monorail camera that anyone can make, use, and learn basic LF principles. Thanks Jake Boen ___ Cameramakers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rmp.opusis.com/mailman/listinfo/cameramakers ___ Cameramakers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rmp.opusis.com/mailman/listinfo/cameramakers
Re: [Cameramakers] camera making research
On Mon, 1 Oct 2001, julian wrote: An interesting idea. I understand that in the beginning years of photography, if one could find a lens, building ones own camera was a reasonable possibility. At the beginning of every technological change the researchers and hobbyist's must naturally construct their own equipment. It takes time for the economics of the new technology to become known and for the infrastructure to evolve. Until that happens, the experimentalists, researchers, and hobbyists are the ones who must build the equipment. I think the story goes that it was the optician that Niepce' had asked about lenses for a home built camera who ultimately introduced Niepce' and Dagguerre. Of course the camera obscura as an art tool existed prior to this time, but I don't know if these were sold commercially or always constructed by the user. - Wayde ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ___ Cameramakers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rmp.opusis.com/mailman/listinfo/cameramakers
[Cameramakers] camera making research
I'm thinking of applying for a fellowship of which I would research camera making and its role in the education of photography. Maybe you guys can help me out by answering a few questions that will help me jump into the subject so I can see if my proposal would be worth while. What are the names of famous photographers who made their own cameras and used them on a somewhat daily basis? I know Ansel Adams made a camera/enlarger. What book has information on this? Do you know of any photography institutions who teach camera making in their curriculum besides pinholes? Do you think that students are missing out by not building their own cameras? Additional comments would be helpful. The end product would hopefully demonstrate the need for institutions to teach the subject matter and to present a design of a simple monorail camera that anyone can make, use, and learn basic LF principles. Thanks Jake Boen ___ Cameramakers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rmp.opusis.com/mailman/listinfo/cameramakers
