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walter23

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Messages
1,206
Location
Victoria BC
Format
4x5 Format
Well, I've posted a few times, but I figure it's time for an introduction. Greetings from wintery Calgary, AB, Canada.

I've been reading here for awhile but only this weekend finally developed my own negatives. I've already really been enjoying large format for the last month, shooting polaroid type 54 to get the hang of the movements and stuff. I'm pretty addicted to the working style with my camera, a shen hao field camera, and developing my film was a great experience. I can't wait to do more.

Anyway, here are my first 4x5 negatives - first shot and first developed. These are really bad digital captures - I used my digital SLR (blasphemy!) to photograph the negatives against a blank screen on my monitor. As I didn't want to get dust on them or scratch them I photographed them through protective plastic which left ugly reflections (including the blue stuff in the harbour photo, and the uneven sky on the beach). They're much cleaner than they look - it's amazing looking at a 4x5" negative for the first time, especially when you turn on the lights after muddling around in the dark and see them floating in a fixer tray! I'll need a proper scanner before I can do justice to these things digitally.

Now, I know this is an analogue photography forum, and that a lot of you are very passionate about traditional techniques, but I'm going to post a link to my website which contains a lot of digital work anyway - it's where I'm coming from, and was a tool that has taught me an awful lot. I promise not to bring it up ever again around here though - it'll be my dirty little secret. If it makes you feel better, some of my favorite landscape shots also have analogues on Velvia 50 that I took at the same time, or on a different day :smile: I do like the hum and smell of the slide projector.

Dead Link Removed
 

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Last edited by a moderator:
Welcome, and I know your going to have loads of fun shooting and developing the 4x5 stuff.

Great to have you onboard.

Mike
 
Welome aboard :smile:

I went to your website and after seeing your landscape stuff, me thinks you'll adapt to the 4x5 real fast!

Murray
 
Pssst...

Click on 'Regional' just to the right of 'Home' on the top banner...scroll down a bit until you find the "Calgary Large Format Users Group" (at least I think that's what they're called).

Murray
 
Welcome from the west coast.

By the way, I like the blue capture artifacts.

Matt
 
Everyone's got some dirty little secrets and very often APUG is the place of them, as for most, the use of film cameras IS a dirty little secret.
Welcome aboard the naughty lounge.
 
Welcome from Sydney Australia. No confessions necessary. I am biased and of an age that would argue starting analog and going to digital is the better path to learning but I suspect the reverse journey will inevitably be how many newcomers reach us in future. Others might say starting analog and staying there is the only way!
 
I won't open the can of worms any further except to say that I sort of agree in that digital doesn't have quite enough of a punishment factor for your mistakes - in large format every shot costs several dollars. With digital every shot is free. I'm a lot more careful with LF :smile:

I still learned a lot with the immediate feedback of digital, but my goal was always to learn to get it right the first time rather than take the shotgun approach that digital can encourage.

Welcome from Sydney Australia. No confessions necessary. I am biased and of an age that would argue starting analog and going to digital is the better path to learning but I suspect the reverse journey will inevitably be how many newcomers reach us in future. Others might say starting analog and staying there is the only way!
 
Welcome Walter, I am a shen-hao 4X5 user too. Looks like you enjoy the format and analog photography a lot. I really enjoy the process of taking a large format picture, of course the resulting big negative is alwasy a plus for me.

Take care, Alex W.
 
Welcome from New England. Hey, you are definately on your way! Nice images.

drew
 
welcome from the south west coast.
 
Thanks for the welcome.

Welcome Walter, I am a shen-hao 4X5 user too. Looks like you enjoy the format and analog photography a lot. I really enjoy the process of taking a large format picture, of course the resulting big negative is alwasy a plus for me.

Yeah, the process is so different. I'll spend 15 minutes looking at a possible shot and ultimately decide not to take it, and then carry the tripod to another vantage point or break down the camera and abandon the subject entirely. In any case it's a more careful and relaxing method of shooting and I really like looking at images on the ground glass even if I don't feel they warrant an exposure.
 
Salut from rainy and windy Normandy!
 
Welcome from Southwestern Ontario. I think you will enjoy your stay.

Cheers Greg
 
Welcome to the group. I envy your LF and darkroom habit. My 35 is just a wee widdle one. But welcome just the same.
 
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