I can't say that I've caught up but at least I'm moving in the right direction. We will be visiting Zoe's mom Gerry this afternoon at Western State Hospital. They are starting to mention the possibility of discharge. She has been there for over 2 years. Her behavior has been better but it seems to have been at the price of losing some of what makes Gerry Gerry. It's hard to say whether that change is the progression of her Alzheimer's or her medication. We would like to get her into a facility here on Whidbey Island. Getting her discharged is dependent on a facility being willing to take her. If she is discharged, and that's a big if, it won't be any time soon. It's a long process. We hope.

I couldn't get the chrome and leather SX-70 working but the black one has worked out fine. The leather on it was rough so I sent off to Aki-Asahi Custom Camera Coverings for the Blue Green Snake Emboss cover. It's actually dead cow. Sure looks nice.

I've been shooting the Hasselbladski and enjoying it. I've got several backs so I can switch between color and several speeds of black and white. I've been trying out some Ilford Delta 3200 with the super-wide 30mm Arsat. It's great for interiors. I've been shooting Tri-X for medium speed black and white but I'm switching over to Ilford films for all my Black and White. Tri-X is a classic but I don't think Kodak is in film for the long run and Ilford film seems to be. That and David Plowden hasn't liked how the Kodak films have deteriorated and switched to Ilford. He did all the testing I don't have the time to do. (I will be recommending some of his books.) My other square camera has been gathering dust. It's a Ricoh Diacord. It doesn't have the versatility of the Hasselbladski with its interchangeable backs, lenses, and finders but it sure is lighter. The problem was that I had a hard time focusing on the ground glass. My old eyes need a split-image finder. Then I ran across Rick Oleson's TLR focusing screens with a split-image spot. And grids! $30 later and I can focus and keep things from tilting to one side. It brings new life to the Diacord. He also offered to install it if I had a problem but it was an easy change. But, since he offered, I asked if he would install one of his screens on my Meopta Flexaret Va. The ground glass was dim and dirty. I tried to remove the top but I couldn't figure it out and it's been sitting. Rick Oleson also does Tech Notes on a variety of cameras. He likes taking them apart and has welcomed the challenge to remove the top. I just pay for the screen and postage. I actually like the ergonomics of the Flexaret a little better than the Diacord. But wait! There's more. The leather on the Flexaret is not so good. Aki Asahi just bought a laser cutter to cut out his leather camera coverings. Send him a 2D CAD drawing in DFX format and he will cut it. I've pulled off the leather on the Flexaret before sending it to Rick and will measure it for a new covering. Aki Asahi charges $34 for a custom TLR covering and will send a test covering cut out in heavy paper to check it out before cutting the final covering. If that works out I will do the same to the Diacord.

My first 4x5 view camera, back in the 1970s, was like this one. I sold it to get a lightweight 4x5 Nagaoka for backpacking. The Nagaoka went when my kids arrived in the early 1980s. This one is the long railed version. My old one was a standard with 16" of bellows and this is the CC-401 with 22" of bellows which will let me focus my 21 1/4" Kodak Anastigmat. My old one was the traditional silver. It was originally sold by Kodak in 1947. Calumet took over production in 1955 and made them until the the late 1980s. The black ones were the last ones. It needs just a little adjustment to make it like new again. The great thing about it is that it will take the same lens boards I made for my Burke & James Press. They just need a little more sanding to fit. Someone on Large Format Photography Forum wanted to find a good home for it and let it go for less than half what they usually go for. I picked it up for $50.