Field notes?

Horatio · Apr 27, 2020

Just curious about how others record notes for photos taken in the field, re: exposure, etc. I’m planning a minimalist approach using masking tape on each film holder.

What’s your preferred method?

BrianShaw · Apr 27, 2020

Generally I carry a small, pocket-sized, spiral note pad and a stump of a pencil. But like you plan, I more often jot a note in the little white box on the film holder.

BradS · Apr 27, 2020

I carry a mead "composition book" in the backpack with the large format gear. In addition to holder number, meter readings and camera settings, I'll note lighting conditions and what I metered and where I placed it, write my bellows factor calculations, sometimes sketch a diagram of the setup, note who was with me, location, what time of day it is, weather, cloudy, overcast, all kinds of stuff. Sometimes I even write poetry while waiting for the light. I think masking tape will prove to be much too small an area.

neilt3 · Apr 27, 2020

I have a piece of masking tape on each side of the film holder where I write exposure details , what and where it's off and if I need to give any more or less developing .
Any filters used etc .

When I get home I put the information in a notebook .

Drew B. · Apr 27, 2020

little tape recorder...fits in your pocket. Film holders are labeled for easy ID

DWThomas · Apr 27, 2020

Drew B. said:
little tape recorder...fits in your pocket. Film holders are labeled for easy ID

Yes, these days -- er -- a few years back -- one could get a little "voice recorder" about the size of a candy bar (Sony among them) that can hold a couple of hours of notes in solid state memory. Odds are a lot of "smart" phones have that function also.

Plus at least one APUGer has an app to keep EXIF information. As an Olde Farte, I have to admit I tend to find phone apps more tedious than the stubby pencil and spiral bound (pocket size) notebook, but I do have, and occasionally use, the aforementioned voice recorder.

Doremus Scudder · Apr 27, 2020

CDO Doremus here (it's like OCD, but it's in alphabetical order, like it should be!)

I have a small six-ring notebook that's about the size of a filmholder. I made exposure-record pages for it with the table function in Word. Each is about a third of a regular letter-size page in size.

Each page includes: Title, location, date taken, film, film size, date loaded, holder number, a Zone-System worksheet, places for metered exposure, filter factors, bellows-extension factors and reciprocity failure, given exposure, indicated development, target paper grade and room for notes on cropping, etc.

It seems like a lot, but I don't use all the fields all the time. If I'm using a lot of different films, I'll pre-number the exposure records with film type, holder number and loading date. Otherwise, I just enter this info (minus the loading date) at the time of exposure.

Also in my field notebook are tables with reciprocity adjustments for the films I use, bellows-extension factors and a few other things like compensation factors for metering through filters, etc. A pencil lives in the notebook as well.

The exposure record pages are subsequently filed with the negatives in my negative files.

After the initial design of the form, the whole thing is EZPZ. I just print out a few pages, cut and punch them and put them in the exposure record notebook. When I'm on the road, I take a full letter-size page along that I can just make a few copies of at any copy machine if I run out of records.

Best,

Doremus

BrianShaw · Apr 27, 2020

I couldn’t enjoy photography, or be successful at “visualization” like that. But I can respect folks who are that, ummm... detail oriented.

Luckless · Apr 27, 2020

I only rarely make use of my 4x5 camera, but had the goal of getting it off the shelf more this year. [Which so far has been a bit of a failure. Technically its come off the shelf a lot, but hasn't made it further than the desk...]

I've yet to adopt a consistent system for notes and such, and most of the notes haven't gone further than writing minimal notes for development on masking tape on the film holder. - effective ISO + Film type so I can batch things together in the correct tank. But I'm leaning towards making little heavy paper/cardstock note sheets to go with each sheet of film, and just debating what specific size and whether or not I want a pre-printed 'standard form' on any of the pages.

I figure that should be enough room for fairly advanced detailed notes and small sketches, and then fit nicely in a sleeve page for storage with the negative with less worry about notes going astray over time. On the fence if I want them sized a little smaller such that they fit taped over a darkslide on a film holder without rubbing when I'm putting the other side of a film holder into the camera [and then deal with hanging onto the paper whenever its side of the holder is loaded in the camera], or if I rather not care about that and bundle them all into a little binder or something to pair them up with their films later on.

I have toyed with making a custom app, as much for the resume padding as anything else, but I've gone through a dozen UI prototypes at this point without finding one I like actually using in the field. Sure, the notes are cleaner and far more flexible to copy/export, but swiping on my phone is still kind of annoying if I want to write out any length of details.

MattKing · Apr 27, 2020

A very long time ago I worked in a print shop and designed and made my own note cards.
It really helps to be able to circle or tick things like aperture or shutter speed, rather than having to write them down.

jay moussy · Apr 27, 2020

MattKing said:
A very long time ago I worked in a print shop and designed and made my own note cards.
It really helps to be able to circle or tick things like aperture or shutter speed, rather than having to write them down.

It would interesting to see a model, or a more detailed description.
As someone who has a horrible time taking clear notes on the fly, I could use something like that.

Horatio · Apr 27, 2020

jay moussy said:
It would interesting to see a model, or a more detailed description.
As someone who has a horrible time taking clear notes on the fly, I could use something like that.

Agreed. Any chance you could post a pic of one, @MattKing?

MattKing · Apr 27, 2020

Horatio said:
Agreed. Any chance you could post a pic of one, @MattKing?

If I found one of those, it would be with the rest of the stuff I still have around from when I was in high school!
I am in my 60s now.
It really only recorded exposure information - no meaningful room for notes.
But it did fit perfectly over the snaps on the bottom half of the ever-ready case for my OM-1.
I mentioned it in this thread because, if expanded a bit and put into a notebook, it would have been even more useful for people shooting sheet film.
And to point out that, if your handwriting is like mine, it is far better to be able to mark an alternative than it is to have to write it down.

Vaughn · Apr 28, 2020

Rite-in-the-Rain notebooks.

I believe the image (a pt/pd print) is from holder 5x7 8b on the sample notebook page.

I have been filling these books up for so long that I really do not need a pre-printed form. My notebooks have become a diary of my (mis)adventures since I began using them in 1980.

Doremus Scudder · Apr 28, 2020

Here's a pdf of what I use. Feel free to use as is or use it for ideas. (It may be A4 size, so "fit to paper" if you want to print it on letter).

Best,

Doremus

Horatio · Apr 28, 2020

Doremus Scudder said:
Here's a pdf of what I use. Feel free to use as is or use it for ideas. (It may be A4 size, so "fit to paper" if you want to print it on letter).

Best,

Doremus

Well done. Thanks for sharing!

JWMster · Apr 28, 2020

Geez. I look forward to getting this down. You guys... well, as a newby, I'm adding pages at the front on field camera (notches for the front and rear standards) set-up for my lenses, reciprocity, etc. and NEED to move closer to Matt's approach.... which is closer to what I actually do: circle stuff and
minimize... # 6 - like # 5 and identifying the changes in the case of a "bracket" type thing. But this is primarily 'cause I"m trying to get the hang of all the variables that just weren't there before coming to LF. But do I like Vaughn's approach? Yes, I'm amazed. Not sure all of what he's doing, but figuring out a bit and with the shot,
he nails it.

My approach is to work up pages in a spreadsheet, save the sheet to a PDF, then add the PDF's into a document, print the document as a booklet and cut to size. It works. For now, it's what I need to not be tied to the phone apps since inevitably, the "no signal" shows up whenever you need it most. But I'm still trying to get the kinks out of
just getting shots... and the kinks make me laugh, cry, pull my remaining hair out, etc.

Ariston · Apr 28, 2020

Because I'm not to the point where I hike for my LF photos yet (still learning), I've never shot more than two frames in an outing, and usually only one. So I just remember it.

I will probably use masking tape eventually. That's how I annotate my negative sleeves in MF and 35.

Vaughn · Apr 28, 2020

Sometimes I wonder if I know what I am doing!

On the image...5x7, 210mm lens, FP4+ film...metered with a spot meter (Pentax Digital Spot) and that gave me a range of reading of 12 to 15. Because I was so far away, even with the 1 degree spot of the meter, I could not read just the darkest area of the scene. From previous readings that day and checking on light values nearby, I figured the deepest shadows would be around 10, maybe a little higher. So my actual range of light values in the scene ran from 10 to 15. I exposed two negs, one at 12 (f22@1/8 sec) and the other at 13 (f22 at 1/15 sec). Even though the scene had an 'average' range of light values, I gave the film a lot of development for the contrast I wanted for platinum/palladium printing.

If I had used a filter, I would have made note of it. The most important info for me is the SBR -- scene brightness range (that 10 to 15 above) and where I exposed within that range. That will give me all the info I need to determine processing (which developer, dilution, time, temp, and aggitation) for the print I want to make in whatever process I will be using.

I transfer the info onto the paper envelopes the negatives are stored in. Also included on the envelope is the development info, and the negative's printing history. In theory...if I remember to do it.

Vaughn · Apr 28, 2020

Ariston said:
...I will probably use masking tape eventually. That's how I annotate my negative sleeves in MF and 35.

Eventually the masking tape will dry, fail, and leave dust all over everything. If it the blue stuff...maybe it will take a little longer.

Black Dog · Apr 29, 2020

BrianShaw said:
Generally I carry a small, pocket-sized, spiral note pad and a stump of a pencil. But like you plan, I more often jot a note in the little white box on the film holder.

Little stickers are also good!

RalphLambrecht · Apr 29, 2020

Horatio said:
Just curious about how others record notes for photos taken in the field, re: exposure, etc. I’m planning a minimalist approach using masking tape on each film holder.

What’s your preferred method?

I use a small tape recorder (dictaphone) and transfer the info to index cards after the shoot.

neilt3 · Apr 29, 2020

Vaughn said:
Eventually the masking tape will dry, fail, and leave dust all over everything. If it the blue stuff...maybe it will take a little longer.

Depends on how long you take between loading film , exposing it and developing ?

I use the green frogtape on mine .
Put it on when I load the holder , with just the film type/ISO on it .
When I unload them for developing , I remove the tape and use fresh when I reload them .

I've never found it to dry out and fall off or leave dusty deposits , even if if been on something for over a year.

Vaughn · Apr 29, 2020

neilt3 said:
Depends on how long you take between loading film , exposing it and developing ?

....

I was referring to standard masking tape on negative sleeves...

I have seen damage caused by old masking tape -- minor issue in the game of life, but one still has to deal with it a couple decades later.

Ariston · Apr 29, 2020

Vaughn said:
Eventually the masking tape will dry, fail, and leave dust all over everything. If it the blue stuff...maybe it will take a little longer.

Yeah, it’s not a very good permanent solution. Hopefully I will make time to catalog things properly before that happens. I DO NOT want a digital list. How do you keep up with development notes? A notebook referencing the sleeve page?

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