Photography can be very complicated

[todd allen]

What with all the attachments, filters, settings, and film types.
Parker Photography.jpg

[OH Osthaus]

if you want it to be

where is the soft box?

i had my 4x5 Graflex out doing a portrait of the Ithaca Super 10 the other day

digital is good, but i still like film - just too many cameras too little time

please tell me about the camera/lens set up

[Richard Flanders]

I know/knew an oldster, now deceased, who carried one of those to the top of Mt. St. Elias here in Alaska, on the first ascent with the Harvard mountaineering club in 1958. His pictures and especially his 16mm movies of the trip are stunning classics and his best work. I'm not sure where his 30,000ft of movie film is stored these days. The resolution those cameras produce in skilled hands is incredible. He had graduated to Nikons by the time he went on the first US ascent of Everest in '63 as the team glaciologist.

[Phil Yearout]

I love(d) film too, but it's kind of embarrassing to admit that I've taken better photos with my phone than most any I ever took with a film camera

[todd allen]

This was my Dad's camera, left to me with all the accessories, and invoices still intact, just how he left them.
My Dad was a freelance photographer, as well as a pilot, small businessman, farmer, and part time cop. I miss him, and get a little sentimental when I get his camera out.
BTW, he could have bought nice used a Parker, for the $97.00 he paid for that camera, in 1949.

[todd allen]

Originally Posted by Rick Losey

if you want it to be

where is the soft box?

i had my 4x5 Graflex out doing a portrait of the Ithaca Super 10 the other day

digital is good, but i still like film - just too many cameras too little time

please tell me about the camera/lens set up

The camera is a B & J Watson, I believe a 4x5.
I am so un-knowledgeble about cameras, especially the vintage ones, that I don't know how to determine the lens type.
There is no soft box, which may have gotten separated at the estate reconciliation, or some time before.
Fortunately, I have (I think) all of the paperwork from the purchase, and service, and my Dad's field notes on settings, etc.

[OH Osthaus]

i was just kidding about the set up, it likely never had a soft box with the camera - that is a light diffusion device used for portraits

the lens will be mounted on a removable board, the size will be on the front ring

looks a little small for 4x5-as does the tripod- those film boxes should show the film size - Burke & James made a 2x3 (or 6x9 cm) baby press camera- that might be one, if so the film back in the lower right of the picture maybe for 120 or 620 roll film. that would be more useful as 2x3 sheet film is no longer common

as i say film is a lot of fun- two big camera bags ride in my truck- one for the digital equipment

and one is for film - that always has a Nikon F3 and a Mamiya 645 in it with an assortment of lenses for each - and a rangefinder of some make is usually handy between the seats for quick snaps-

[todd allen]

You're right. The film pack lists the size as 2 1/4 x 3 1/4. I would be very surprised if the film was still good.

[todd allen]

I found this amongst the accessories. I'm guessing this might be a Polaroid adapter.
Film Pack Adapter.jpg

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by todd allen

I found this amongst the accessories. I'm guessing this might be a Polaroid adapter.
Attachment 66558

yes

there was a small Graflex of the same size, so the back may have been interchangeable. They were very popular at one time, but i know the instant film for the 4x5 is no longer available - and i would expect the 2x3 disappeared even earlier

what a great camera to have passed down, I have never played with a baby press camera and i really couldn't resist taking pictures with it, but i might be a glutton for punishment when it comes to this part of history. Our club had its annual clam bake/gun show a few weeks ago, instead of displaying my modest field grade guns, i put out a history of cameras in the outdoors with vintage cameras and old advertisements. It was fun to do, just imagine a camera company these days advertising their product directly to hunters