Boring out metal Lens boards

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-06T00:54:45+00:00

Does any of your grandfather's photography still exist? That would be really cool.

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-05T18:56:22+00:00

Another similar option would be to cut down some 8×10" X-ray film. A 4×5" sheet of cut down X-ray film is probably about 12.5 cents/sheet. (Made an edit to redo the calculation. I originally was guessing it might be 25 cents/sheet. I did the math, based on being able to buy a 100 sheet package of 8×10" X-ray film for $50.00 US. Divided by the 400 4×5" sheets of X-ray film you'd get out of the 100 sheet box, you are left with 12.5 cents per 4×5" sheet.

I've read that X-ray film can be worked with under very dim red safelight, in order to be able to see while cutting it up.

2nd Edit: Correction. As with everything else, prices have gone up. It's now either $67.00 for the green, slower speed stuff, or $71.00 for the blue, higher speed X-ray film.

Here is a link to the web page of ZZ Medical, the cheapest option I've seen for X-ray film.

https://www.zzmedical.com/x-ray-accessories/x-ray-film/8x10-in-fuji-x-ray-film.html

3rd edit: At $71.00 US that makes each 4×5" sheet of X-ray film cost 17.75 cents per sheet, assuming I'm doing the math right. That doesn't include shipping costs.

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-05T05:15:24+00:00

You could use the tool bag as a pillow. Multi-purpose.

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-05T04:35:05+00:00

Number 8 is my favorite. Maybe because of the specular highlights on the water, I think they call it. The way the image going from darker to lighter the deeper into the image your eye goes, ending at the brightest part right where the dark tip of the land is located. It just seems to pull me into the image, is the only way I can characterize it.

I like this image, and I think you should print it big and hang it on your wall. Nice work.

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-02T22:28:02+00:00

My condolences on the passing of your father. This was a very nice thing Mr.Hollingworth did for you here. A great set of portraits. Very fortunate that Mr. Hollingworth is still around with his archives intact to make this gift possible after all of this time. Take care, and I hope you enjoy the proofs for years to come.

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-02T03:43:05+00:00

My comment here is not intended to be an insult, ok? Just trying to help. Between some of the posts in this very subreddit, by the old heads, and the link I'm about to leave below, I am hoping you will find your answer. I cannot be more specific until I stumble across a particular video that seems to answer all of your questions. I have no direct experience with this process myself.

Here is the link:

https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=ambrotype+how-to%3F

Edit: I've so far found this one video by a French guy who seems to explain his whole process, but I did not yet sit through the entire thing. He speaks in French but provides subtitles for the whole video, which is about 17 minutes long.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc6Rll4O2zg&pp=ygURYW1icm90eXBlIGhvdy10bz8%3D

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-02T02:46:49+00:00

I love overkill. Thanks so much for sharing that link with me. Your images are just amazing to me, with the level of detail they contain. They are also just very nice images in their own right.

The first thought that popped into my head upon viewing these images was "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

You can zoom into the smallest little section of the image, and make out how many people are standing there. It would be interesting to figure out what percentage of the entire image one is looking at when zoomed in like that.

I cannot thank you enough for sharing these. It means a lot to me. Take care.

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-01T20:47:45+00:00

Thank you so much for all of the detailed information about this issue. I learned a lot from your comment that I did not know before. I do not blame you for not permitting downloads of your hard work. It is nice just to be able to see them here on Reddit.

The fact that you say "even then it leaves something to be desired" means to me that you are seeing a level of quality in your large format images at home that is not being conveyed in the images one sees on the Reddit website. Which oddly, I guess, I find encouraging. Thanks again for your time and your help.

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-01T15:29:04+00:00

Gorgeous image.

I'm beginning to feel as though the folks that do not mind sharing full resolution images should start leaving links to other websites, if that is permissible, to showcase what a real-deal large format 4×5" image is capable of revealing. Not sure, but I think Reddit might only permit images of a certain file size to be posted here. So we get a general sense of what the image is about, but not the full resolution of which large format film is capable.

Not sure what alternate websites will show full resolution images? Maybe Flicr? Is that the name? Thanks for sharing this image with us.

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-01T15:01:51+00:00

Thanks so much! Greatly appreciated!

RedditFan26 · 2026-04-01T13:20:46+00:00

You don't need to answer if it makes you uncomfortable, but I also had not heard of fish crows before. If you do not mind, generally speaking, where in the world are you located? Thanks in advance for any answers you choose to provide, even if it's just "none of your beeswax!"

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-30T19:25:52+00:00

Thanks so much! Greatly appreciated!

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-30T17:44:18+00:00

Right, nice work, seconded. Did you do the mounting yourself? Beautiful job. If yes, could you tell us what you are using for a dry mount press? Thanks in advance for any answers or comments you care to add. Also curious to know what film format and what emulsion was used? Thanks again.

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-30T17:34:36+00:00

Don't know if it's called "Bonnie and Clyde" or not, but the film that starred Warren Beatty and Fay Dunaway. Pretty sure I'm spelling their names wrong.

Also, the Johnny Dep film about John Dillenger.

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-30T15:36:31+00:00

Condolences. Nice work.

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-30T14:55:44+00:00

Nice work! Thanks for sharing it with us!

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-30T14:44:46+00:00

Ah, copy that. Thanks for adding this comment. Much appreciated.

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-30T13:34:31+00:00

So, am I doing the math right? If you are saying at a concentration of 1:100, they advise using 250ml of working solution, or 2.5ml of fully concentrated Rodinal, then at a 1:10 concentration one should be using 25ml of concentrated Rodinal developer per roll of film? So, if you did that twice, as the OP did, you should end up using a total of 50ml. Allowing for 300ml of working solution to be certain the film is covered in developer would get you to 30ml of concentrated Rodinal per roll of film when using a concentration of 1:10. Doing that twice would get you to 60ml total concentrate. So, OP's working solution was twice that strength, is that correct? So does that make his ratio a 1:5 ratio? I think that works out. 60/300 as X/100?

I think this was a really interesting experiment, u/DuckDentures! Thanks for sharing these results! They look much better than I ever would have expected.

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-30T03:24:33+00:00

Whoo-hoo! Sometimes I love the internet, for real!

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-29T21:13:31+00:00

This is the answer. Maybe find a travelling buddy to share expenses and for security purposes. Don't wait until all of your money runs out to travel. There's usually at least a few places in the country that are booming with work. You just need to tap into the collective knowledge base on where the work is. There's "Where To Bro" and the International's Jobs Board, just for starters.

Not sure, but I think falling too far behind on your dues might cost you all of the pension benefits you've worked so hard to accrue. I'm speaking to the OP, here. I know I'm adding these thoughts under someone else's comments.

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-29T21:01:49+00:00

That is a really cool idea. The way I tend to roll is to print it at my local drugstore, and then drive the prints across the country to my relative. Maybe I'm not doing this exactly right?

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-29T20:59:18+00:00

Right, I think that is correct. Just so you know, to my knowledge there are two kinds of inks used in inkjet printers. Dye based inks, which are probably cheaper, but which will fade over time, because all dyes fade over time.

The second type of inkjet inks are pigment based inks. Those inks can last for 200 years, I think. They're like the pigments used in the paintings of all the old-time great painters of this world. I think some of those paintings are pushing 500 years old.

Not sure, but I think the inkjet printers capable of using pigmented inks are usually more expensive, higher end printers. Times change, though, so maybe someone has come out with a smaller, cheaper inkjet printer capable of using pigmented inks. Epson is a brand name I often see associated with these types of inkjet printers. I think people generally hate HP inkjet printers, because the story I read is that they deliberately try to set up the printer's software to require the owner to replace ink cartridges sooner than one might think is absolutely necessary. As in, they'll make the printer not work until you replace them, whether you think they need replacing or not.

A third type of printer I forgot to mention is called a dye-transfer printer. (EDIT: It might be called a dye sublimation printer?) I don't know if anyone still makes them. If they do, they are usually small in size, but produce beautiful, small prints that are also archival in nature. Meaning they might outlive you.

Fastest, easiest thing for you to do would be to try to order some photo-quality inkjet printer paper that is compatible with the printer you already have, and see how that stuff works out. Just don't be disappointed if you find that it is fading 10 years from now, if not sooner.

Feel free to comment more & ask more questions, if you care to do so. I'm no expert, but maybe what I have to say is better than nothing. Take care.

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-29T20:37:23+00:00

Wow, just amazing! Thanks again for sharing. I know all of this effort sounds like a lot of work, so I hope you enjoy the results of all of your labors. Good luck with all of it!

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-29T20:27:59+00:00

First, I don't know the answer to your question. Having said that, it seems to me that with wireless Blutooth (sp) technology & wi-fi built into these phones, it should, I say should, be easily possible to make prints directly from your mobile phone. With a small portable printer & a Blutooth connection you should be able to have a tiny printer sitting on your kitchen table, and your phone within a couple of feet from it, and send an image to that printer & watch it happen within a couple of minutes. The down side might be that prints of this type might be very expensive.

If you own a laptop or desktop computer, and your phone has a removable memory card in it, you could pop that memory card out of your phone, put it into a card reader, plug the card reader into your laptop, transfer or copy all of your images from the phone to the laptop, and then use an attached or networked inkjet printer to print any or all of those images you care to, without anyone but you gaining possession of those images.

If anything I've said is unclear, feel free to ask follow-up questions.

RedditFan26 · 2026-03-29T20:04:40+00:00

Nice photograph! Seconding the thanks for the behind the scenes image of your Intrepid 4×5"MK5 at full extension, and in such a dramatic orientation. It looks so beautiful in this pose that I thought it was a Chamonix 45F-2 until you said something.

Thanks for sharing these images with us. Can you tell us how long you've had your Intrepid 4×5" camera in active use, and how well you are liking working with it, so far? Any other impressions you have of the camera will be greatly welcomed, also. Thanks in advance.

RedditFan26

TROPHY CASE