fun with flashbulbs

["Patrick G. Sobalvarro" <pgs@sobalvarro.org>]

I sent a message to the list some time back about using a flashbulb with my
M2.  Perhaps because of the big reflector, it provided very even, pleasant
light -- much less harsh than an electronic flash.  The lighting was
particularly good for photographing people.  But, I had thought, this is
archaeology.  Flashbulbs were however dwindling in number, and soon there
wouldn't be any more.

So, turns out I was wrong.  There's a company in Ireland that still
manufactures flashbulbs, and I don't mean those little peanut bulbs,
either.  My friend Leigh Klotz, Jr., who runs the Graflex web site
(<http://www.graflex.org>), told me yesterday he'd gotten some flashbulbs
in the mail from the "Meggaflash" Company in Ireland, and they were very
damned big.  They'd sent him a dozen samples, half of which had a guide
number of 1100 at ISO 100.

Some of the bulbs this company makes are for use with focal plane shutters.
 They start producing their peak quantity of light after about half a
second, and keep on producing it for one second.  No worries about flash
sync speed there -- as long as you can fire the bulb about half a second
before you start moving the curtains, you can shoot at whatever damned
speed you want.

The flashbulbs we used tonight are a little bigger than a normal 100-watt
light bulb.  With a guide number of 1100, well, we figured we'd go out and
do some architectural photography at night.  There's a little water tower a
couple of blocks from my house.  So once it was quite dark out, we headed
over to photograph it.  I paced the distance off from the corner to the
base of the tower -- about 75 feet.  The top was about 100 feet from us, so
we figured, let's see, f/11, maybe 11 1/2.

Screwing the bulbs into the flashgun was a little exciting.  A bit of
static discharge can set them off, and I figured my hand would probably be
cooked if one went off in it.  So for each exposure we removed the
batteries from the gun, pointed the reflector away, held it way the hell
away, and very carefully screwed the bulb in.  Then loaded the batteries,
and still holding the thing way the hell away, screwed in the base.

I had the job of setting off the flash.  Leigh would open the shutter on
the Speed Graphic, say, "Okay!" and I would hold the flashgun up, pointed
at the water tower, look away from it, and set off the bulb.

It was like the sun coming up.  Each time the bulb went off, even though I
was looking away from it, I was left with bright orange afterimages in both
eyes.  The bulb would gutter and spark and glow for a couple of seconds
afterwards -- very impressive.  The plastic covering on the outside was
burned black in places afterwards.

Leigh had been worried about going out to do photography at night in the
neighborhood because there have been some violent incidents lately.
Everytime I loaded a bulb into the gun, I knew we were safe for a while,
because I could sure as hell blind anyone who might try to attack us.

So, if you want to add a little excitement to your photography, this is for
you.  Get yourself one of them there Leica CHICO fan flash attachments,
call up these guys in Ireland, and order some of these bulbs.  But remember
to look away when you try to capture the decisive moment, or risk permanent
retinal damage.

- -Patrick