Difference between revisions of "User:Dustin McAmera"

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==About me==
 
Hello!  
 
Hello!  
  
My real name is Pete; on here and on Flickr I'm Dustin McAmera. I live in Leeds, in England.
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My real name is Pete; on here and [https://www.flickr.com/photos/century_graphic/ on Flickr] I'm Dustin McAmera. I live in Leeds, in England.
  
I was promoted to be one of the [[Camera-wiki.org:About#Active admins|admins]] here. If you're here in search of an admin, to ask something about CW, or complain about something, feel free to do that (best to do it next door on [[User_talk:Dustin McAmera|my Talk page]]).
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I have more cameras than I can do justice to as a user (a few dozen), but I resist the idea that I'm a collector. That said, the pleasure of using my cameras is sometimes just as important to me as the photographs. My oldest cameras are from the 1920s, but I like to try to write about earlier stuff, just because it's under-represented here.
  
I have more cameras than I can do justice to as a user (a few dozen), but I resist the idea that I'm a collector. That said, the pleasure of using the cameras is sometimes just as important to me as the photographs. My oldest cameras are from the 1920s, but I like to try to write about earlier stuff, just because it's under-represented here.
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My own cameras include several that I feel guilty for owning, because they're so good, and I use them so little: in particular my [[Graflex_Speed_Graphic|Century Graphic]], my [[M645 Pro|Mamiya 645 Pro]] and my [[Ensign Reflex]]. I notice that since I started writing for the wiki, that problem has got worse. Recent new purchases are an [[Agfa Standard]] 208 (9x12 cm), a [[Calumet CC-401]] 4x5-inch monorail, and a quarter-plate [[Ensign Carbine]]. Another one is a Canon EOS M50; I find my life nowadays gets in the way of doing much with film, and I got this to keep a toe-hold on some photography. It's not the same; but it's a lot better than nothing.
  
My own cameras include several that I feel guilty for owning, because I use them so little: in particular my [[Graflex_Speed_Graphic|Century Graphic]], my [[M645 Pro|Mamiya 645 Pro]] and my [[Ensign Reflex]]. I notice that since I started editing on here, that problem is worse.
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On the other hand, the community of old-camera-owners on the web sometimes generates occasions for using them. Quite a few of my cameras are for [[127 film]], and I try to do something for '''127 Days (12 July and 27 January)'''. 2012 was the centenary year of Kodak's introduction of the 127 film size, and I think I did quite a good effort for the summer day that year. Although I've taken pictures for 127 Day since about 2005, I didn't know until 2012 that Summer 127 Day is also [[George Eastman]]'s birthday; I'm glad we mark that. We owe him a lot.
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I try to observe '''Take Your Box Camera to Work Day'''. I first spotted this at Flickr.  Taking my box camera ''to work'' isn't strictly possible since I changed my job (or it was changed for me) to one which doesn't tolerate such eccentricities. Instead, I take my cameras around town outside of work. On Flickr, I see there are people doing 'Take Your Box Camera to Play Day' instead, and there isn't great concensus as to when the right day is. I usually go out for Pinhole Day ('''Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day''': look for pinholeday.org) a little later in the spring, and try to do something with Light Night in the autumn.
  
On the other hand, the community of old camera-owners on the web generates excuses for using them. Quite a few of my cameras are for [[127 film]], and I usually do something for 127 Days (12 July and 27 January). Last year (2012) was the centenary year of Kodak's introduction of the 127 film size, and I think I did quite a good effort for the summer day. I didn't know until ''this'' summer that Summer 127 Day is also [[George Eastman]]'s birthday; I'm glad we mark it.
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==Being an admin==
 +
I was promoted to be one of the [[Camera-wiki.org:About#Active admins|admins]] for the wiki There are something like six of us: I'm first in that list on alphabetical grounds only). If you're here in search of an admin, to ask something about CW, or complain about something, feel free to talk to me about it. If you're a registered wiki user, and logged in, then you can either write me a note here in the wiki (do it next door on [[User_talk:Dustin McAmera|my Talk page]]) or you can send a message using the 'Email this user' link at the bottom of the links on the left of the page. If you're not yet a registered wiki user you can still contact me at my Flickr account, linked above. In particular, we switched off the facility for people to register new user accounts for themselves, because we got large numbers of spammers; so if you want to register, you need to get an admin to do that for you.
  
I usually observe '''Take Your Box Camera to Work Day''' in February and Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day in April, too. Taking my box camera to work wasn't strictly possible this year - I've changed my job (reluctantly) to one which doesn't really tolerate such eccentricities. Instead, I took my cameras around town after work, and again the following day to get some proper daylight. A good session, but I made pictures of street corners, not of a workplace. Pinhole Day this year was a good one, too. I used two cameras in several locations.
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Although a wiki is a kind of collective, it still has some rules (rules of conduct, rules of style, rules about copyright), and it's the job of the admins to enforce them when necessary. Please try not to take it personally if one of us changed what you wrote; but of course, feel free to ask for an explanation.
  
I've had a bit of a lull in my own photography recently. These are the latest uploads to my Flickr account:
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==Camera-related websites I use==
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For all its faults, I don't know anything else as good as '''Flickr''' for hosting your pictures. It's where the wiki gets all its pictures. I have stayed there through several big changes. Nice little groups have formed (and disbanded). I'm still happy with what I get for what I pay. I've had a bit of a lull in my own photography, but these are the latest uploads to my Flickr account. The first pageful will all be digital stuff:
  
 
{{#widget:FlickrUserH|user=54337958@N00}}
 
{{#widget:FlickrUserH|user=54337958@N00}}
  
 
Other camera-related sites I go to include these:
 
Other camera-related sites I go to include these:
* [http://photographytoday.net/forums/index.php PhotographyToday.net]; set up recently, as a replacement for the NelsonFoto forum after Craig Nelson died, and the future of that site looked uncertain.  
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* [http://photographytoday.net/forums/index.php PhotographyToday.net]; set up as a replacement for the NelsonFoto forum after Craig Nelson died, and the future of that site looked uncertain (it's gone now). NelsonFoto itself had its origins in Craig's dissatisfaction with photo.net. It's a discussion forum with a few dozen, mostly American, photographers. Having not-too-many contributors gives it a strong personality and the feel of a club.
* The [http://nelsonfoto.com/SMF/index.php NelsonFoto] forum; the forerunner of the PhotographyToday.net site. Still going at the time of writing, but not so active since Mr Nelson died. It has a mostly-American membership. It has boards for discussion of various aspects of photography, including tech stuff about the cameras, but is mostly a forum for people to show their pictures. I think it had its origins in a walkout-in-disgust from photo.net. Having not-too-many contributors gave it a strong personality and the feel of a club.
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* ... and there is still [http://photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/ Photo.net]. It's a huge forum site, and you can upload pictures, though that side of the site is a lot more clunky than (say) Flickr. It's been sold, and moved to new software, and the amount and quality of new activity has been affected. It's still a good place to search for old posts about your own current difficulty, or see who else had posted about a camera you'd just bought. I usually search it with google (add "site:photo.net" to your search terms). Like Flickr, you can sign up without paying. I have never felt the need to pay subs, because I don't use the gallery side, only the fora.
* [http://photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/ Photo.net], especially the 'classic manual cameras' board, but I also check the medium format board and a couple more. The site as a whole is dominated by digital users, some areas of it are very argumentative and snobbish, and my ad-blocker has to work overtime. Nevertheless, it's a useful source of information.
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* I registered at the [http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/index.php Large Format Photography] forum. It's quite big and active; more than 30,000 registered users; which isn't always a good sign, but I found some useful and interesting stuff posted. Until you register, the site is a bit awkward, and my registration hung up for several days (perhaps waiting to be signed off by a human admin). There are For Sale and Wanted boards, and fora for not-large format stuff too.
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* There's a [http://www.5x4.co.uk/index.php UK Large Format Forum] too; not very active though.
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* The listings for [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?id=62&L=1 past auctions at Westlicht] in Vienna: a good place to see good pictures of some cameras that you may never see anywhere else. I have often used these pictures to check details of cameras for articles in the wiki. You can't use these pictures in the wiki, but I cite them in references. New auctions happen twice every year. I was tickled one time, to find a line of text from the wiki used in one of the auction's descriptions! Yeah - we made the big time!
  
 
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==An old to-do list==
 
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''There is an old list of jobs that were never done, commented out here''.
==Vague to-do list==
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<!-- commenting out old to-do list, replacing it with new jobs
These are things I hope to do some work on soon-ish. Feel free to comment on these, especially if you think any of them is a really bad idea. (This isn't an invitation for anyone to insert jobs for me to do: I hate that! .. If you know enough to write one of these ideas up before I get to it, go ahead, of course.)
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(realistically, this list hasn't changed in at least a year: if you feel like relieving me of one of these guilty burdens, please do!)
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* I gave up on blocking Silent Users, now we don't allow people to register by themselves anymore. Also, the wiki no longer has the MergeUser extension installed, which we used to merge blocked people into the Spammer username, so I can't do that either.
  
 
* Write the Century Graphic its own page (perhaps the Crown should also be separated from the Speed too: a focal plane shutter is quite a big deal, and the lens usage of the two is different too). The CG isn't a small Speed, it's more like a small Crown; and what the hell is a ''flexible wire viewfinder''?  ('''Ross: if you want to do this, go ahead. I know you have one of these too! :) ''')
 
* Write the Century Graphic its own page (perhaps the Crown should also be separated from the Speed too: a focal plane shutter is quite a big deal, and the lens usage of the two is different too). The CG isn't a small Speed, it's more like a small Crown; and what the hell is a ''flexible wire viewfinder''?  ('''Ross: if you want to do this, go ahead. I know you have one of these too! :) ''')
  
* Check all members of [[:Category:4x5]] and its subcats: 4x5 is  for 4x5 ''centimeter'' format (perhaps stupidly, since inch cameras are surely much more common); correct the cat to 4x5in where required.
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* Check all members of [[:Category:4x5]] and its subcats: 4x5 is  for 4x5 ''centimetre'' format (perhaps stupidly, since inch cameras are surely much more common); correct the cat to 4x5in where required.
  
 
*While we're doing format categories, look up some of the stereo cameras; there are already cats for 6x13 and 47x105 I think. Check, and see if there should also be 9x18
 
*While we're doing format categories, look up some of the stereo cameras; there are already cats for 6x13 and 47x105 I think. Check, and see if there should also be 9x18
  
 
*Look at the Canon A-series SLRs: I think the AE1 page needs rewriting, and the AE1 Prog page actually says very little about the camera.  
 
*Look at the Canon A-series SLRs: I think the AE1 page needs rewriting, and the AE1 Prog page actually says very little about the camera.  
 
* I have added links to related patents to some articles, especially ones on early and innnovative cameras. Patents may be available as PDF at Google Patents or [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/?locale=en_EP Espacenet]. Here's stuff to do: find out how we stand on using the diagrams from Patents. Some of these would be excellent illustrations.
 
  
 
* Search the wiki for any existing page referring to the origins of automatic exposure. There are already [[aperture priority]], [[shutter priority]] and [[exposure]]; of these, only aperture priority comes close to what I'm thinking of. Useful links include [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=190305608A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=19040204&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com&locale=en_EP British Patent 5608] of 1903 which describes an invention by a Max J Richter (not Max A Richter of Ernemann). It comprises a mechanical shutter, with electrical timing (the mechanical system is restrained by an electromagnet) and depending on the variable resistance of a selenium crystal to affect the time of exposure. Need to do a bit more searching to see if this patent was ever exploited, and look for other early designs. The first commercial one I know of is patented by [[Durst]] and used fairly soon after by [[Agfa]], using Durst's mechanism.
 
* Search the wiki for any existing page referring to the origins of automatic exposure. There are already [[aperture priority]], [[shutter priority]] and [[exposure]]; of these, only aperture priority comes close to what I'm thinking of. Useful links include [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=190305608A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=19040204&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com&locale=en_EP British Patent 5608] of 1903 which describes an invention by a Max J Richter (not Max A Richter of Ernemann). It comprises a mechanical shutter, with electrical timing (the mechanical system is restrained by an electromagnet) and depending on the variable resistance of a selenium crystal to affect the time of exposure. Need to do a bit more searching to see if this patent was ever exploited, and look for other early designs. The first commercial one I know of is patented by [[Durst]] and used fairly soon after by [[Agfa]], using Durst's mechanism.
 
Another relevant patent: [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=190504020A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=19051214&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com&locale=en_EP British Pat 4020] of 1905 describes a selenium-resistance circuit as part of a photometer (they don't mention photography as an application). Here, they note that the resistance of the selenium upon a change from dark to light starts fairly linear, then flattens out. They base the reading on the short-term change in resistance, to avoid the complication of a non-linear relationship, so they use the reaction of the selenium to operate a blind shading the cell after a short exposure. It's not much like Richter's design, but shows that more than one set of people thought the selenium cell was a workable idea at about this time. Search for selenium next.
 
Another relevant patent: [http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=190504020A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=19051214&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com&locale=en_EP British Pat 4020] of 1905 describes a selenium-resistance circuit as part of a photometer (they don't mention photography as an application). Here, they note that the resistance of the selenium upon a change from dark to light starts fairly linear, then flattens out. They base the reading on the short-term change in resistance, to avoid the complication of a non-linear relationship, so they use the reaction of the selenium to operate a blind shading the cell after a short exposure. It's not much like Richter's design, but shows that more than one set of people thought the selenium cell was a workable idea at about this time. Search for selenium next.
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-->

Revision as of 14:56, 21 June 2019

About me

Hello!

My real name is Pete; on here and on Flickr I'm Dustin McAmera. I live in Leeds, in England.

I have more cameras than I can do justice to as a user (a few dozen), but I resist the idea that I'm a collector. That said, the pleasure of using my cameras is sometimes just as important to me as the photographs. My oldest cameras are from the 1920s, but I like to try to write about earlier stuff, just because it's under-represented here.

My own cameras include several that I feel guilty for owning, because they're so good, and I use them so little: in particular my Century Graphic, my Mamiya 645 Pro and my Ensign Reflex. I notice that since I started writing for the wiki, that problem has got worse. Recent new purchases are an Agfa Standard 208 (9x12 cm), a Calumet CC-401 4x5-inch monorail, and a quarter-plate Ensign Carbine. Another one is a Canon EOS M50; I find my life nowadays gets in the way of doing much with film, and I got this to keep a toe-hold on some photography. It's not the same; but it's a lot better than nothing.

On the other hand, the community of old-camera-owners on the web sometimes generates occasions for using them. Quite a few of my cameras are for 127 film, and I try to do something for 127 Days (12 July and 27 January). 2012 was the centenary year of Kodak's introduction of the 127 film size, and I think I did quite a good effort for the summer day that year. Although I've taken pictures for 127 Day since about 2005, I didn't know until 2012 that Summer 127 Day is also George Eastman's birthday; I'm glad we mark that. We owe him a lot. I try to observe Take Your Box Camera to Work Day. I first spotted this at Flickr. Taking my box camera to work isn't strictly possible since I changed my job (or it was changed for me) to one which doesn't tolerate such eccentricities. Instead, I take my cameras around town outside of work. On Flickr, I see there are people doing 'Take Your Box Camera to Play Day' instead, and there isn't great concensus as to when the right day is. I usually go out for Pinhole Day (Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day: look for pinholeday.org) a little later in the spring, and try to do something with Light Night in the autumn.

Being an admin

I was promoted to be one of the admins for the wiki There are something like six of us: I'm first in that list on alphabetical grounds only). If you're here in search of an admin, to ask something about CW, or complain about something, feel free to talk to me about it. If you're a registered wiki user, and logged in, then you can either write me a note here in the wiki (do it next door on my Talk page) or you can send a message using the 'Email this user' link at the bottom of the links on the left of the page. If you're not yet a registered wiki user you can still contact me at my Flickr account, linked above. In particular, we switched off the facility for people to register new user accounts for themselves, because we got large numbers of spammers; so if you want to register, you need to get an admin to do that for you.

Although a wiki is a kind of collective, it still has some rules (rules of conduct, rules of style, rules about copyright), and it's the job of the admins to enforce them when necessary. Please try not to take it personally if one of us changed what you wrote; but of course, feel free to ask for an explanation.

Camera-related websites I use

For all its faults, I don't know anything else as good as Flickr for hosting your pictures. It's where the wiki gets all its pictures. I have stayed there through several big changes. Nice little groups have formed (and disbanded). I'm still happy with what I get for what I pay. I've had a bit of a lull in my own photography, but these are the latest uploads to my Flickr account. The first pageful will all be digital stuff:

Other camera-related sites I go to include these:

  • PhotographyToday.net; set up as a replacement for the NelsonFoto forum after Craig Nelson died, and the future of that site looked uncertain (it's gone now). NelsonFoto itself had its origins in Craig's dissatisfaction with photo.net. It's a discussion forum with a few dozen, mostly American, photographers. Having not-too-many contributors gives it a strong personality and the feel of a club.
  • ... and there is still Photo.net. It's a huge forum site, and you can upload pictures, though that side of the site is a lot more clunky than (say) Flickr. It's been sold, and moved to new software, and the amount and quality of new activity has been affected. It's still a good place to search for old posts about your own current difficulty, or see who else had posted about a camera you'd just bought. I usually search it with google (add "site:photo.net" to your search terms). Like Flickr, you can sign up without paying. I have never felt the need to pay subs, because I don't use the gallery side, only the fora.
  • I registered at the Large Format Photography forum. It's quite big and active; more than 30,000 registered users; which isn't always a good sign, but I found some useful and interesting stuff posted. Until you register, the site is a bit awkward, and my registration hung up for several days (perhaps waiting to be signed off by a human admin). There are For Sale and Wanted boards, and fora for not-large format stuff too.
  • There's a UK Large Format Forum too; not very active though.
  • The listings for past auctions at Westlicht in Vienna: a good place to see good pictures of some cameras that you may never see anywhere else. I have often used these pictures to check details of cameras for articles in the wiki. You can't use these pictures in the wiki, but I cite them in references. New auctions happen twice every year. I was tickled one time, to find a line of text from the wiki used in one of the auction's descriptions! Yeah - we made the big time!

An old to-do list

There is an old list of jobs that were never done, commented out here.