Busy doesn't even begin to cover it. As gordy's camera straps has grown my need for a workbench has grown. I attempted to make one but it was just not strong enough. My friend Doug came over Sunday and built a proper workbench.

I have to rearrange everything but now I have a workbench that will accommodate some of the power tools I need for my strap making. And it provides room for my camera projects.

This is my newest camera project. It's an 8x10 Eastman View No. 2. It was given to me by my retired photographer friend Don. It had been his dad's. (More of his story and more pictures: 8x10 Eastman View No. 2).

It came with an extension rail, two 8x10 film holders and two blank lens boards. The camera was made between 1914 and 1920. Don's dad used it for two years right after WWII and it's been dragged around ever since. 8x10 is a format that I've wanted to explore for many years. So many of my favorite photograpers used 8x10: Atget, Walker Evans, Joel Meyerwitz, Stephen Shore. Not to mention the Playboy centerfolds. That is one big piece of film! I've started pulling it apart. The Packard shutter is out and I'm working on removing the bellows frames. It will need a new bellows. I'm seeing som cracks in the wood that will need to be repaired. Then it will be cleaning and refinishing the wood, cleaning up the brass, and replacing some missing brass. The No. 2 will make a good field camera. It also came with a Century studio stand for portrait work. That's another project.

The camera came with a 12" Wollensak Velostigmat II f4.5 with a soft focus ring. It needs cleaning and will need to be sent off for some repair work. It's a great lens.

Then there is a Panosaurus spherical panoramic head for my Panasonic G1 and the new SX-70 film on it's way from The Impossible Project. I'm having way to much fun.