The host of Photography 101 chronicles how he created an 11x14 view camera from scratch and uses it to photograph black and white images with X-ray film. An illustrated account of the design and construction of his fully functional large format camera using only standard carpentry tools is presented in detail. What follows is the teacher's quest to fine-tune his creation while taking studio portraits of his photo students over a three-year period. Throughout this process he shares critiques of his un-retouched darkroom photos, tips on X-ray film processing, creative lighting techniques, alternative processes and much more.