John W Sheldon
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johnwsheldon.bsky.social
John W Sheldon
@johnwsheldon.bsky.social
360 followers 230 following 240 posts
Designer, Artist, etc.

Wear a mask in public.

He/Him/His, agender
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johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Evening blacksmith demonstration at Old Sturbridge Village back in October.

Pentax K-1ii, FA 50mm lens.
A blacksmith lit by the forge and the red hot work he hammers. Sparks fly all around it as he strikes.
December 13, 2025 at 4:29 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Some lovely photos by @thoughty.bsky.social taken with a 1950 Welmy 6X6 from Japan. Bright colors on the Portra 160 with lively scans by @thedarkroomlab.bsky.social

Not great cosmetically, but this 75 year old camera still works!

#mediumFormat #filmPhotography #antiquePhotography #6X6
The lighthouse at Bass Head Harbor lit yellow by the sunset. In the darkening sky behind it, a rainbow is just visible. The bright blue water of the Atlantic laps up between Stony cliffs topped with pines.
November 20, 2025 at 12:54 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
I do enjoy a good rocky shore. Great way to twist an ankle, but at least there's no sand in your shoes.

Pentax K-1000, 24mm lens, Ilford FP4 film developed in df96 monobath.

#pentax #35mm #filmPhotography #landscape #maine
A rocky shoreline curving to a small peninsula on a hazy morning. The ocean horizon fades into the hazy sky.
November 18, 2025 at 4:06 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
My new DSLR scanning process is pretty quick and easy. Now I've got to go back and scan a ton of old color negatives to see how well the Cinestill CS+ plugin works for me.

#35mm #filmPhotography
A black and white photo of white blossoms in a dark forest.
November 14, 2025 at 6:03 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
A trail bridge on Schoodic Point in Acadia National Park

Pentax K-1000, SMC-A 24mm f2.8 lens, Ilford FP4 film developed in df96 monobath, scanned via DSLR.

#filmPhotography #ilford #pentax #blackAndWhite #landscape #nationalParks #acadia
A wooden trail bridge over damp ground in a pine forest.
November 10, 2025 at 1:52 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Seen on the Strip in Pittsburgh.

#graffiti #pittsburgh
The word "ITCH" affixed to a concrete column in some kind of construction foam or concrete. A sticker on a junction box says "when is my fear and rage not mine?"
November 7, 2025 at 11:47 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Another light extinguished...

Glad to hear you had a good time!
A graphic drawing of a clawed hand and dripping blood rising above a twisted and broken light cage whose flame is sputtering out.
October 30, 2025 at 2:49 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
A seagull resting on the rocky shore at Acadia National Park. Since this is 4x5, the bird is big enough on the negative to nearly fill the frame on 35mm. Shot with the 1850 Petzval lens on a Speed Graphic.

#largeFormat #filmPhotography #antiquePhotography #graflex #petzval
Seagull roosting on a rocky cliff in a black and white photo.
October 26, 2025 at 1:11 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
A photo of Raven's Nest on Schoodic Point in Acadia National Park, taken with a good bit of front tilt on the 1850 Petzval lens and Speed Graphic 4x5.

#antiquePhotography #largeFormat #4x5 #filmPhotography #nationalParks
A very high contrast black and white photo with a uniquely old look. The ocean laps at Stony cliffs and shores topped with narrow trees.
October 23, 2025 at 5:12 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Fire performers from Cyrus Vampyr at Old Sturbridge Village last week. Their show was amazing!
Two performers in 18th century dress perform a fire show. One poses with her hands raised holding a fire baton. The other lunges forward with flames leaping high from her hand.
October 16, 2025 at 4:06 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Sunrise at Acadia National Park last week. I was there to shoot film, but still took some pictures with the DSLR. Looking forward to developing these rolls a lot!

Shot it on 35mm in the K1000 and 120 in the 6x7.

#pentax #film #dawn #acadia #nationalParks #sunrise
Two film cameras on tripods face a peninsula in the moments before sunrise. The sun rising over the water beyond a peninsula, lighting the sky in orange and reflecting on the bottom of the clouds.
October 15, 2025 at 3:36 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Back from a week in New England, and really looking forward to developing the film I shot. These are my phone pictures, but mostly I shot with DSLR, medium format, and large format.
Rocky cliffs looking over the sea toward islands and mountains on the other side. A selfie of John at lunch, with a wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun out of his eyes. His beard is gray. The sun about to rise over the ocean on a rocky coast.
October 14, 2025 at 12:38 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Red Barn on orthochromatic film.

Voigtlander Petzval from 1850 mounted via 3d print to 4x5 Speed Graphic.

190mm f3.7, 1/30 second, Ortho Litho film. Developed in df96 monobath.

#largeFormat #filmPhotography #antiquePhotography
A black and white photo of bales of hay stacked in the open doors of a barn with peeling paint.
October 3, 2025 at 1:32 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
The most surprising photo from a week in upstate New York. An antique sleigh in an old barn, lit by gaps in the barn walls.

Shot with my Petzval from 1850 on a 4x5 Speed Graphic camera.

190mm f3.7, 3 seconds, Ortho Litho film. Df96 monobath.

#antiquePhotography #largeFormat #FilmPhotography
A black and white photo of an antique sleigh sitting atop hay and signage in a barn. Daylight peeks between the boards of the barn wall.
October 1, 2025 at 11:05 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
My favorite shot from the recent trip to upstate New York. A successful outdoor photo with the Voigtlander Petzval lens from 1850, mounted to a Speed Graphic for the focal plane shutter.

190mm, F3.7, 1/50, Ortho Litho film

#antiquePhotography #largeFormat #filmPhotography #blackAndWhite
A black and white photo of an old farm tractor with a trailer.
September 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Antique cameras and photo gear to take pictures with.
The old film cameras: a Leica IIIb, a Pentax 6x7, and a Mamiya RB67. A 4x5 large format studio camera with a large brass lens and Packard style shutter mounted. A black and white film photo of a blacksmith, taken with a Leica IIIb. A black and white photo of a stripey kitten with dark eyes, taken with the Mamiya RB67.
September 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Birds seen from the surface of the lake, on kayak.

Pentax K-1ii, DA300/4.

#pentax #birds #wildlife
A mallard stands in shallow water. A cormorant perches on a tree branch against the bright morning sky. A blue heron perches in a gap in the trees. A rose breasted grosbeak leaps into flight.
September 25, 2025 at 1:37 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Getting away from most of the light pollution turns out to be pretty good for astrophotography.

#MilkyWay #astrophotography
September 19, 2025 at 10:14 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
An upstate moonrise.

Pentax K-1ii, DA 300/4

#pentax #photography #night
A photo of a roofline and white siding, with a simple light fixture dimly illuminating it. Behind it in the darkened sky, an orange moon rises out of focus.
September 18, 2025 at 5:47 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
The skies of upstate New York are so pretty at night. This was early in the evening on the night of a full moon.

Pentax K-1ii, Rokinon 14/2.8
Night sky over farm fields and barns. Colorful streaks of cloud illuminate the left side of the sky while stars populate the rest.
September 17, 2025 at 8:39 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
My first exposures using the portrait lens from 1850 mounted on a Speed Graphic. This is a phone picture of the negative hastily inverted, so I should be able to get much more detail from a proper DSLR scan.

#antiquePhotography #largeFormat #blackAndWhite #filmPhotography
Large brass Voigtlander Petzval lens from 1850 mounted to a Graflex Speed Graphic camera with a 3d printed plate. An underexposed photo of a performer on a light colored horse.
September 15, 2025 at 5:16 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
A fresh abomination!

My 3d-printed lens board fits very securely, and holds the very antique lens. I might need longer brass bolts so I can add back the washers, but this works!

Finally, fast enough shutter speeds to shoot in daylight!

#antiquePhotography #largeFormatFilm #filmPhotography
A Voigtlander Petzval portrait lens mounted to a Graflex Speed Graphic camera with a custom 3d-printed lens board.
August 31, 2025 at 10:22 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Up to 35 cameras cataloged, with the oldest so far being 1918.

I've listed all the true TLRs, the box and cartridge cameras, and the novelty or weird format cameras (e.g. disc film and aps).

Still to go: more faux TLRs, folding cameras, 135 cameras, pro 120 cameras, and large format cameras.
Dark green brownie-style box camera that looks almost black. A brownie flash six-20 camera with the absurd flash apparatus mounted. A Bell & Howell Electric Eye 127 camera, which has an early auto-exposure mechanism.
August 28, 2025 at 12:08 AM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Another great shot from that roll taken by @thoughty.bsky.social
A bearded white person stands amid tree branches in a black and white photo.
August 19, 2025 at 11:06 PM
johnwsheldon.bsky.social
Test shots from the "well-loved" Pentax 6X7 in my care.

Kentmere 100 developed in df96.

The frame counter doesn't work on this camera, so frame spacing is a mess and I get fewer than expected exposures. Otherwise this camera is great!

Picture of me taken by the excellent @thoughty.bsky.social
A street scene, with a popcorn and flavored I've vendor selling on a street in a park. Black and white portrait of the poster. Direct sunlight leads to harsh shadows concealing the eyes and much of the face. White hair in the beard glows hot in the sun.
August 19, 2025 at 2:41 PM