Christophe Collette Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Hi everyone, I was wondering if any of you have ever heard of modifying old and moldy uncoated lenses to fit a PL mount camera??? Maybe photo lenses, whatever...I love Sally Mann's photography and that's the look I am after. Vignettes, mold... soft spots... Weird colors... Any leads appreciated! And where would I be able to purchase such lenses??? Thanks a lot!!!! Christophe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Bill Totolo Posted June 28, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted June 28, 2007 Does it resemble the images from a Holga? Does that get you close? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Anthony Vale Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Avoid ones thatat are actually moldy. The mold/fungus can be contagious and spread to other lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Collette Posted June 28, 2007 Author Share Posted June 28, 2007 Yeah, I know, it happened to me before... But stills, I like the mold! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Collette Posted June 28, 2007 Author Share Posted June 28, 2007 It does resemble the image produced by a Holga. There is this guy, www.holgamods.com, who modifies Holgas, he could probably PL mount the lens for me. The thing with Holgas is that they are f5.6 to f8, locked... I want to be able to adjust the aperture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Glenn Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 have you considered getting a clear filter and just putting stuff on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Downes Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 I've modified holgas before to add more f-stop control to them. It's not hard to do once you have them opened up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Salzmann Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 All the Sally Mann photographs that I have seen were done using large format 4x5 or 8x10 cameras. They were quite sharp in a very un-cruel way. Probably Goerz Red Dot Lenses on Deardorff's. I don't think that Holga lenses have anywhere near that level of sharpness and contrast. Robert Glenn's suggestion of experimenting with clear filters is a good and far less costly solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick G Smith Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Hi Christope, There are a lot of old arri standard mount lens around in bad condition - schneiders/ cooke pancros and kinetals/ zeiss standards etc. that you can mount with a PL adaptor. You should be able to pick up the ones in bad condition cheaply and experiment with various acidic substances to take off any coatings - you could smear the lens with agar and grow your own mould (bodily fluids are always a good start). There was a BBC documentary on Sally Mann sometime last year when she was photographing decomposing corpses, I think, onto glass plates. Looking at the reproductions in her recent book I was wondering how much of the abberations were coming from the camera and how much came from the process of the glass plate. I had some glass plates my grandfather took around 1910 which had been attacked by mould as they had been stored in a damp room - I contact printed them all up - they were pictures of patients in a TB sanitorium - faces appearing through streaks of mould - reminded me of a german experimental film I saw about 20 years ago when they buried the neg in the ground for a year, dug it up and contact printed it. Maybe Stan Brackage did the same? Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Collette Posted June 30, 2007 Author Share Posted June 30, 2007 Thanks for the input guys, I think Sally Mann photographs mostly with a 8x10 Deardoff with old brass lenses, the crappiest she could find. The one that she uses most is a Darlot that is over a hundred years of age that she found in an abandoned photo studio... The clear filter is not a bad idea, I actually tested it two months ago, the thing is I want that stuff in the lens itself, not in front of the lens. There is a big difference in look between the two. If you check out my website, in the photo section, the fist portfolio's images were shot with a Pentax 67 II using a clear filter covered in dirt and paint. I tried both, the older lenses on a large format camera, and the clear filter with stuff on, and I can assure from experience that they are two different things. The results of the tests I did were interesting, but let me wondering if the deterioration I want and seek should be on the negative rather than on this non-moving blurry layer of whatever... I don't think my video budget would allow for a print to be trashed though!!! But still, I'd be interested in hearing your experiences with trashing your negatives! I'm thinking color negs here... bleach it, wash it with a mix of dirt and ajax! Whatever you have tried or heard about! Also, where could I buy old beat-up standard mount lenses, non-coated, shitty? Thanks! Christophe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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