This past weekend I had the opportunity to shoot at an event using flash bulbs. It was a wedding reception (I wasn't the wedding photographer) and it was held outdoors at night. The tables were lit with candles and there were a few strands of small, white, Christmas style lights strung throughout the area. With only a small cresent moon out that night, it was quite dark. I used my Graflex 3 cell flash gun and #5 bulbs with a 1.5 - 2 stop diffuser. I shot at 1/60th at f/13 on Polaroid Type 54 and Fuji Acros B&W film. I was very pleased with the results, but only ended up shooting about six sheets of film. Not because my arms were getting tired from shooting handheld 4x5, but because even with the diffuser in place, I felt like I was blinding the guests. With the somewhat shorter focal length lens (135mm), I had to get pretty close to get the composion I wanted which I guess I didn't help either. Those bulbs are bright!

One nice thing that I did come across while prepping for this shoot was a LowePro film pouch that can be worn on your belt. It's designed so that you can easily put your exposed rolls of 35mm film into from the top, but because the top automatically closes, you don't have to worry about you film falling out. Of course I had no need for a 35mm film depository, but I found that this was just the right size to put my used flash bulbs in while out shooting. Now I just need to come up with a system for holding the unused bulbs so they can be easily accessed.

Sounds like you are starting to have some fun with your bulbs. I'm sure you are aware of this but it bears repeating: NEVER carry loose bulbs in your pocket. Static electricity can set them off, resulting in burns, possibly very severe.

Want to know from experience? Ask Les about his polyester adventure involving flashbulbs. =P

I want one of those pouches that will allow me to put spent bulbs in the top and give me good bulbs out the bottom!

And yes I still have the scars. But I've learned my lesson. NEVER WEAR POLYESTER!

Want to feel like you are blinding the guests? Carry around one of these.

<center><a href="http://zeropoint.six-something.org/v04/unsorted/b-c_flash.jpg"><b>187Kb Image</b></a></center>

Now that IS for jacking deer!
Top

...or soft-shell crabs!

It is an interesting apparatus, ideal for the photographer who likes using slow film and small apertures, and who is VERY confident of getting the picture on the first attempt. It would take about ten minutes to eject and replace all the flashbulbs.

That thing borders on the ridiculous!

The guy who made that thing, Joseph Costa, used it to shoot rodeos in Madison Square Garden. Quoting Costa, "We worked as about 25-35 feet, 1/400th second at f/4.7, with daylight Kodachrome."

That is *too* funny! I just purchased a three head flash gun, but really have no idea when I would even use that. Can you imagine what it must have been like when that thing went off? The heat it produced must have been pretty intense.

Rachel

Actually, what brand is your 3-head flashgun? I've been looking for one to purchase.

Actually, what brand is your 3-head flashgun? I've been looking for one to purchase.

Wow!

Looks like something O. Winston Link would've used...

--Micah in NC

The three head flash gun I just bought seems to be somewhat of a brand X. The only name I can find on it is "Bond", along with "Made in the USA". It also says to use "No. 102 Super-Power Cells". The unit itself is sort of marginal quality, with the body being similar to a cheap 60's flashlight body and the head being cast aluminum(?). It accepts three mazda type screw bulbs, but the threads weren't quite cut right so I had sand them down a little so the bulbs would screw in. There is no sync input, just a power switch and a fire button, so unless I can figure out a way to install a sync port, I'll have to use open flash.

Rachel

I suppose the logic of the three-bulb design is that adding one bulb halves the necessary exposure (or gives you one stop), then adding two to double the pair halves it again (giving you two stops). I see that Cress sells these flashguns; he doesn't say whether they can be synchronized with the shutter, but that would be a good thing to ask before buying one!

I wonder whether some sort of cruciform socket arrangement for miniature bulbs (M3, M5) designed to work with a 7-in. reflector might not offer some advantages, such as less complex, more natural shadows.

The difficulty of carrying large numbers of flashbulbs in a manner that allows easy access no doubt contributed to the swift triumph of electronic flash, once size and weight and price had been brought into line with market demands, and fast films had improved sufficiently. As I recall, we were sent out to get photos of very specific events, the idea being to come back with four, or six, sheets of exposed film that would yield three, or two, prints suitable for publication. It's not difficult to carry six flashbulbs in a small shoulder bag, along with three cutfilm holders or a "Grafmatic" back (Accura made a $9 vinyl one, c. 1959, that would do all you wanted of it, until the strap broke in eight months or a year). There's a much greater variety of much higher quality pouches and bags out there now, and styles in clothing make it more acceptable to wear them.

We used to speculate on the possible advantages of using a military surplus bandolier to hold flashbulbs and other stuff, and the relative weight of these advantages against the objection of looking like a dweeb.

The belt pouch issued by the U.S. Army to hold two 20-round magazines for the now-defunct M14 rifle would be ideal for carrying a couple of sleeves of flashbulbs conveniently and safely -- but you have to wear a grommeted pistol belt to support the pouch, or pouches. In the late '60s, that might have been a fashion statement (as, for that matter, might wearing a bandolier). Nowadays, I suspect that one again would risk looking like a dweeb.

Another good convenient carrying choice would be the bag for the M9A1 gas mask, which can be strapped on in two ways, for quick access at your hip or at your thigh. This would look even sillier than a web belt with pouches for 7.62mm. magazines, but one must make some sacrifices for Art!