CMPatti@aol.com
Date: 06/19/00-10:19:57 PM Z
A bit more on the Eastman Commercial Metal View: Ansel Adams used one of
these, and he mentions it in Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs in his
discussion of "Early Morning, Merced River, Autumn." He writes: "I was
using my Kodak metal 8x10 view camera, of aluminum construction, designed as
a replica of their standard wooden flatbed camera. . . . I still have this
camera, and it has always worked well for me."
A while back I found and bought one of these that had been modified to permit
front swings (the lack of which is the biggest limitation of the 2D design).
The name plate on mine reads: "Eastman Commercial View, Model B." During a
workshop, I showed the camera to John Sexton, whose jaw dropped when he saw
it. He told me that Adams's camera had been modified in exactly the same way
and that "if I didn't know Ansel's camera was at the Center for Creative
Photography . . . ."
I now prefer to think that my camera is a "twin" of Adams's, perhaps modified
by the same machinist. Anyway, it's a really usable camera, with back tilt
and swing, front shift and geared rise and (as modified) tilt, is light and
compact and, with the rear extension board has something like 36" of
extension.
Chris Patti
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