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  #41  
Old 25th September 2011, 04:39 PM
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I'm potentially interested but have a couple of (EDIT: a few!) questions/points:

1. Is this to be monthly with a time frame of one month? If so I may well never participate. Sometimes it's a few weeks before I get time to print again and that's my own stuff. It's just life. I understand and agree with having a time limit, but given the postal times and time constraints different people will have on their lives, I think the suggestion of a quarterly time frame would be a lot more workable. I'd probably participate if I had three months to receive a negative, get around to making a print from it, and send it back. I might or might not be able to do that in a month so I wouldn't be likely to commit to it. Even two months would be ok, but not one month.

2. "Maximum size you can print" doesn't ensure you can print the other person's negative. I thought of this when someone mentioned they could print up to 6x9 cm. I can print up to 4x5", but I can't print 6x9. I have the enlarger, I have a suitable enlarging lens; what I don't have is a 6x9 negative carrier since I don't shoot that size at this time. I have 35mm, 35mm mounted slide (used to print a lot of type R and Ilfochrome years ago) 6x6 for my Yashicamat, 6x7 for my rollfilm back on the view camera, and 4x5 (or 5x4 *g*) ...but no 6x9 carrier. And this brings to my mind a third point I hadn't even considered when I started typing this post:

3. I could of course accommodate 6x4.5 by just using my 6x6 carrier, provided the person sent me a strip containing more than one negative. I presume people aren't going to snip single negatives out of 35mm or 120 strips but instead send a strip with an indication of which frame they want printed. Handling 35mm individual negatives is annoyingly fiddly at best, and not the best way for the owner of the negative to file and store them when returned. 120 individual frames are less annoying but still not the best practice, in my view.

Last edited by Roger Cole; 25th September 2011 at 04:44 PM.
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  #42  
Old 25th September 2011, 05:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Cole View Post

1. Is this to be monthly with a time frame of one month? If so I may well never participate. Sometimes it's a few weeks before I get time to print again and that's my own stuff. It's just life. I understand and agree with having a time limit, but given the postal times and time constraints different people will have on their lives, I think the suggestion of a quarterly time frame would be a lot more workable. I'd probably participate if I had three months to receive a negative, get around to making a print from it, and send it back. I might or might not be able to do that in a month so I wouldn't be likely to commit to it. Even two months would be ok, but not one month.
I agree Roger, a monthly time limit would be impractical and the trial run will start at the end of October and run until the end of the year. Depending on how it works we could then schedule a repeat and set out a schedule but personally I can never see this being monthly.

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Originally Posted by Roger Cole View Post
2. "Maximum size you can print" doesn't ensure you can print the other person's negative. I thought of this when someone mentioned they could print up to 6x9 cm. I can print up to 4x5", but I can't print 6x9. I have the enlarger, I have a suitable enlarging lens; what I don't have is a 6x9 negative carrier since I don't shoot that size at this time. I have 35mm, 35mm mounted slide (used to print a lot of type R and Ilfochrome years ago) 6x6 for my Yashicamat, 6x7 for my rollfilm back on the view camera, and 4x5 (or 5x4 *g*) ...but no 6x9 carrier. And this brings to my mind a third point I hadn't even considered when I started typing this post:
It would be tricky to match everyone if they had limitations on the format sizes below their stated maximum. I'd suggest knocking up a cardboard carrier for smaller negs such as 6x9 or 645.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Cole View Post
3. I could of course accommodate 6x4.5 by just using my 6x6 carrier, provided the person sent me a strip containing more than one negative. I presume people aren't going to snip single negatives out of 35mm or 120 strips but instead send a strip with an indication of which frame they want printed. Handling 35mm individual negatives is annoyingly fiddly at best, and not the best way for the owner of the negative to file and store them when returned. 120 individual frames are less annoying but still not the best practice, in my view.
Indeed, it would not be fair to send a single cut negative, as Dave mentioned earlier in the thread the negative should have either a blank frame either side or be in a strip of 3 with the selected neg in the centre.

These are all good points Roger and thanks for bringing them up, this sort of feedback will help ensure the exchange is a success.


Steve
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  #43  
Old 25th September 2011, 06:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve O View Post
I agree Roger, a monthly time limit would be impractical and the trial run will start at the end of October and run until the end of the year. Depending on how it works we could then schedule a repeat and set out a schedule but personally I can never see this being monthly.
...
It would be tricky to match everyone if they had limitations on the format sizes below their stated maximum. I'd suggest knocking up a cardboard carrier for smaller negs such as 6x9 or 645.
...
Indeed, it would not be fair to send a single cut negative, as Dave mentioned earlier in the thread the negative should have either a blank frame either side or be in a strip of 3 with the selected neg in the centre.

These are all good points Roger and thanks for bringing them up, this sort of feedback will help ensure the exchange is a success.


Steve
I thought I'd read but seems I missed some. Apologies if a lot of my points had already been addressed. I saw references to quarterly and monthly, and thought the trial run would be a longer period but wasn't sure.

I'm not at all sure about "knocking up a cardboard carrier" for some sizes. Cardboard sheds dust, for one thing. I could probably make something but given the price of used negative carriers I'd be more likely to just go cruising eBay and/or post a WTB ad on APUG for a 6x9 carrier. I could probably use it at some point in the future anyway. It would add some time, though.

Now wait until someone sends a Minox or 110 negative... Unlikely, maybe, but I'm not sure that just sending a list of the negative sizes you can print and making sure they are compatible between pairings would be significantly more difficult than a "maximum size you can print" listing. But you're the one doing it so you probably see that differently.

I don't think that would stop me, considering I have carriers and lenses for pretty much all common sizes from 35mm up to 4x5 with the single exception of 6x9, given with a blank frame I could use my 6x6 for 6x4.5. (Uncommon sizes are a different matter: I can't do 6x12 either nor now-odd sheet sizes like QP/3.25x4.25, 2.25x3.25... there are quite a few uncommon but not completely obsolete sizes out there.) How about a list of sizes that are acceptable? It needn't be too limiting, but again, maybe no sub-miniature, 6x12, quarter plate etc.

But this wasn't true until recently. When I was doing a lot of photography in the 90s I had only 35mm, 35mm mounted slide, and 4x5, skipping MF entirely as I had no MF camera but did have my Technika. I only acquired those recently as I bought the Yashica and the rollfilm back, so it may not be that uncommon to find someone who can handle 4x5 but not some of the medium formats. As you say a negative carrier CAN be improvised, but not an enlarging lens. I also bought 80mm and 100mm lenses this year with the move into MF. I could have made small prints from MF using my 135mm but that would have been limiting. But since print size is up to the printer I suppose getting a 5x7 back from your 6x9 negative, while potentially underwhelming, would have fit the rules.
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  #44  
Old 25th September 2011, 06:39 PM
BobRob BobRob is offline
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Default negative exchange

As Bill has already said, we have been doing this for quite some time & it works well for us. We have both learnt a great deal from working with the others negatives.

I would definatly take part having read the thought
on the risk negative loss being overcome by shooting morre than one frame for an intended ''exchange negative'' but yet again having said that I have never lost a negative or print in the post so the risk is extremly small.

of all the options offered the paring up one feels the most comfortable
as Dave puts it a taker and a printer, maybe both of the paired members could send a negative to each other.

On the matter of timing if I worked from ''stock'' negatives a monthly
exchange would be OK but if we agreed a shoot for the exchange programe then a bi- monthly arragement be less of a rush.

One final thought [ obvios I guess ] the printers would need to let the takers know what size of negatives he / she can accept.

an excellent idea


Bob Robertson.
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  #45  
Old 26th September 2011, 06:28 AM
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I fall into the school who thinks that the negative only should be sent so that the original interpretation does not affect how you print the received negative. I would also envisage the negative recipient's print being sent to the owner of the negative so they can see the print rather than a scan. The negative can then be returned with the print. Once the print has been received then the negative's owner can send their interpretation. It would mean making 2 prints as near to identical as you can so that each party has the comparative prints.

Bill
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  #46  
Old 26th September 2011, 07:20 AM
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You can't make rules to suit everyone. Just make the negative size unto 6x7, it all sounds far to complicated for me.
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  #47  
Old 26th September 2011, 08:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Butler View Post
You can't make rules to suit everyone. Just make the negative size unto 6x7, it all sounds far to complicated for me.
J.
It suits me as is. I won't turn it down based on that. I'll trust to good faith that people won't send too unusual sizes, and if I get a 6x9 I'll just buy a carrier, then I'll have it.

I was being a little flippant with some of those sizes of course. Not likely anyone would send in a 110 negative even if they have some, or a Minox. The others are pretty unlikely too. My point was just that "up to X" size doesn't automatically equate to "every size up to X.'

I'd hate to exclude 4x5 for those of us who shoot and print it.

Last edited by Roger Cole; 26th September 2011 at 09:05 AM.
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  #48  
Old 26th September 2011, 09:29 AM
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If everyone has stated the formats they prefer to print, or can manage in their darkroom, it shouldn't be too hard to pair up.

A thought or two...

I think only the negatives should be sent out at the start.
I also think all the resulting prints should be sent at the same time at the end of the two/three month period - if that's what it's going to be - so that the results will be more of an event rather than a series of pairs as and when they're done.
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  #49  
Old 26th September 2011, 10:55 AM
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We appear to be arriving at a consensus thanks to everyones input, many thanks for this.

I'm logging everyone who wants to participate along with their maximum negative size and will make sure everyone is paired up appropriately.

Sending off your negative without an accompanying print seems to be the favoured approach as it will avoid the receiver being influenced or intimmidated, we want to keep this fun and encourage participation after all.

The frequency of rounds has come up in a lot of posts and realistically we're probably best off running them quarterly to give everyone plenty of time. From personal experience I know I spend longer printing other people negatives than I do my own!

There has been a good response to the exchange so far and Les McLean has kindly offered to participate which I'm sure you'll agree is a real boost. Keep the ideas coming in and towards the end of October I'll send out a draft set of rules for comment before setting up the first round.

Steve.
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  #50  
Old 26th September 2011, 07:52 PM
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Steve after 5 pages I can't be bothered to go back through it all again but has anyone mentioned cropping and rules on said action? Is the recipient free to crop then print or is it full neg only?

Just a thought

Mike
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