KISS

[Ian]

Everybodys ideas are different and i'm all for individuallity. But, sometimes i do dispair and have to wonder at the thinking of others.

I see, and read about the amount of kit some LF users carry, and wonder why.

Ah, i hear some of you cry. Versatillity, more options, something for all ocasions. Always able to come away with the shot! or do you??

The way i see it is this. Any LF camera and lens with movements has got to be the most versatile camera of all, granted it may not be the easyest to learn with. But we all start somewhere.

The less options we have the less decissions we have to make the more time we have to devote to the most importent part which is seeing the image and creating it on film via the camera.

Take a good hard look into your kit bag and count the number of options you have make befor you take a shot.

To many?

Ok try this for size.

Next time out take:

1 camera body.
1 lens.
1 DDS with 1 sheet of film in it.
1 pre set F stop setting.

This should effectivly leave you with with 2 decisions, where to point the camera and when to fire the shutter. Shutter speed will be determined by your meter reading.

This all may seem excessive but, it will make you more aware and look longer befor you shoot. Time spent looking and watching will rarely be wasted.

Some of you will probably apply some of these ideas already, if you do? let us know.

If you dont, give it a try for a while and see if you improve. Stick to one film type and speed. I suspect if you give it a good try you will learn a considerabe amount about yourself and your equipment.

PS. Dont forget to have fun.

Good luck to all who try.

KISS ( Keep It Simple Stupid ) Wise words.

 

[jjstafford]

KISS is good. A painter friend of mine shoots 1/2 frame 35mm in the sloppiest manner you can imagine, and has for thirty years. Something, possibly my influence, has provoked him to try LF. To that end I am loaning him a Printex 4x5 rangefindeer camera. If his attention to making pictures does not improve, perhaps he will see the next step necessary - or not and therefore pour concrete around his casual picture making esthetic. It will be interesting.

 

[Jorge]

hmmmm...so are you saying we should learn to cook a gourmet meal with one pan? While the KISS principle is good, you gotta remember there is always a right tool for every job.

 

[John Kasaian]

A move up in format size (and wieght and bulk) does a good job of limiting the amount of kit you're inclined to take along. I have to disagree with having one sheet of film in your holder though. If I ever tried that, I'd surely make my exposure on the side thats empty!

 

[jjstafford]

hmmmm...so are you saying we should learn to cook a gourmet meal with one pan? While the KISS principle is good, you gotta remember there is always a right tool for every job.

It is about New Eyes, I think - as in "Step away from the microwave".

 

[Eric Rose]

I do that very thing every once in a while. If I seem to be getting to bogged down in all the tech stuff it's a great way to blow the cobwebs out.

I've been having great fun with my beater Speed equipt with an enlarging lens screwed to the lens board.

 

[Dan Fromm]

Been nearly there, done nearly that, occasionally go out a'shooting with just one lens for the discipline. Can't see limiting myself to just one aperture or two shots in a day, though.

In general it just isn't true that one lens is all that's needed. I've gone crazy in the other direction, carry many too many. I wouldn't recommend that anyone do what I do, but on a long outing I use most of most of my lenses. There are times when using a different focal length seems better than changing position.

 

[Jorge]

It is about New Eyes, I think - as in "Step away from the microwave".

I thought that was the message intended, but using the cooking metaphor once more, you dont learn to make a great sauce by trying it only once. Learning to "see" and developing a style IMO requires that you shoot more, not less and see what works and what doesnt for you. WHat good is going out, taking one shot and then going back home only to find out you still took one crappy shot?....

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I have a lot of lenses, but I don't carry them all with my all the time. Sometimes I'll go with just one or two. Lately I've been using the Technika with a three-lens kit (90/150/360). Sometimes I'll bring six or seven, if I really want a lot of options. If I'm traveling, I might bring five, six, or seven lenses to the destination city, but only carry one, two, or three on most outings, depending on what I'm going to be shooting.

 

[shyguy]

I think I agree, simpler is better. I would rather the shooter spend more time looking at the image, framing, etc. than contemplating which camera to use or which back or even which film.

Having said all that, I shoot with only one format, one camera, one film size, 2 types of film. I do have a good selection of lenses and filters though.

It's easy to get lost in the gadgetry, and that clearly is not what it's all about.

S.

 

[Dug]

Ian - I would love to set the shutter to "the meter reading" but the meter is not on the list of things to take. I also totally need a loupe and focusing cloth as well. I WISH it didn't have to be so complicated. My 4X5 backpacking setup is pared to the bone.

 

[Shmoo]

I think that because of the size, weight, and cost of LF equipment/gadgets, most LF kits I've seen have been more basic than most 35mm or MF kits if you compare features to features. Because it takes longer to set up the camera, LF shooters tend to think a bit more about what they're shooting first which is IMHO one of the virtues of LF. Since the film is so costly and film holders are so bulky, I don't think LF shooters tend to waste as many "shots". I think that sounds like "KISS" to me.

 

[Ian]

Hmmmm thought i might rattle a few cages.

Well done to Jorge you got it in one. As you said "still took one crappy shot".

If it was crap at home, what was it like when it was taken?

Point made i think.

 

[Ian]

Ian - I would love to set the shutter to "the meter reading" but the meter is not on the list of things to take. I also totally need a loupe and focusing cloth as well. I WISH it didn't have to be so complicated. My 4X5 backpacking setup is pared to the bone.

Dug the point was to limit your options and free your mind to create.

Take a light meter if you will, they can be useful as would a tripod, shutter cable etc etc.

 

[Jorge]

Hmmmm thought i might rattle a few cages.

Well done to Jorge you got it in one. As you said "still took one crappy shot".

If it was crap at home, what was it like when it was taken?

Point made i think.

Not rattling my cage, I simply dont agree with you. But I suppose every shot you take is a winner.... point taken back...

 

[Earl Dunbar]

Everyone has made some great points. I think the original idea was two-fold:

1. Simplifying is always a good thing. It's not the total answer, and using one lens, one sheet of film, one pre-set aperture is NOT the solution for everyday, assignment or spec shooting.

2. This exercise can be, (and has been, in my experience,) a really good tool for sharpening skills, re-visiting concepts that can sometimes get lost, but most importantly, focusing on vision, by eliminating the equipment decisions.

To extend the cooking analogy though, chefs in training will repeat a procedure, technique or recipe many times (sometimes ad nauseum) before they achieve proficiency. I have heard that in French cooking schools, students cannot do ANYTHING until they have totally mastered knife skills.

I would guess the same would be true of the sauce of which you speak. Even if you've been successful with a specific sauce, re-visiting the basics can be instructive.

I've done this in 35mm by taking only a fixed lens rangefinder when I'm out shooting, as well as w/ 4x5 and one lens. Makes me think and improves my work. I think what Ian was saying was that sometimes restrictions can introduce us to a freedom we've missed. Sounds contradictory, but it works for me. YMMV.

 

[Jorge]

This is not the first time I have heard this "advice" and I find it to be a bad one. Presumably someone who is carrying and setting up a LF camera has taken the time to study the subject. With my 12x20 I only have one lens, and I assure you I do not set up the camera unless I know what I want, but even then sometimes the shot does not work once I print it, those failures teach me something. If someone is using a LF camera and has not learned to "see" what is in the ground glass as opposed to being overtaken or exicted by the subject itself, then perhaps LF is not for them. Or they have not been shooting long enough.

WHat I have found more "liberating" is learning to control my process so I dont have to worry about exposure/development considerations, but I find hard to beleive that using one negative with one aperture is going to improve my photography, like I said, this sounds to me like asking to make a 5 course meal with 1 pan.....one should have and know how to use the right tools for the job.

As I wrote, I saw more imporvement in my photography when I shot more than when I shot less.....even with a 12x20.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Some people have more gear than they know how to use effectively, and for them, this is good advice. Use one thing at a time, learn all of its possibilities, and then add another thing. Don't buy a new camera with three lenses. Get comfortable with one lens, and then when you need another one, you'll know it.

Once you are comfortable, though, then the equipment allows you to create new photographic possibilities. For instance, I was doing bird photography for a year or two before I started using flash. I prefer natural light, and a flash was just an extra thing to carry. Now I do bring a flash, because I've learned to use it more effectively, and it lets me take photographs when there either isn't enough light, or when the light is too harsh and I need some fill. Without a flash, I would just have to shut down in the bad light. With a flash, I can still get some good photographs.

 

[John Kasaian]

Actually one thing that really sold me on LF is it's simplicity. I mean if you've got one good lens, a light meter, loupe, some trays, a heavy enough tripod and a couple or three film holders, cable release, a couple of filters, focusing cloth and a piece of glass for contact printing you're sitting pretty---at least as pretty as Weston, Adams, Watkins, Dassonville and the other classic old timers. Then as now, the results depend on the photographer and not the gear.

 

[Ian]

This is not the first time I have heard this "advice" and I find it to be a bad one. Presumably someone who is carrying and setting up a LF camera has taken the time to study the subject. With my 12x20 I only have one lens, and I assure you I do not set up the camera unless I know what I want, but even then sometimes the shot does not work once I print it, those failures teach me something. If someone is using a LF camera and has not learned to "see" what is in the ground glass as opposed to being overtaken or exicted by the subject itself, then perhaps LF is not for them. Or they have not been shooting long enough.

WHat I have found more "liberating" is learning to control my process so I dont have to worry about exposure/development considerations, but I find hard to beleive that using one negative with one aperture is going to improve my photography, like I said, this sounds to me like asking to make a 5 course meal with 1 pan.....one should have and know how to use the right tools for the job.

As I wrote, I saw more imporvement in my photography when I shot more than when I shot less.....even with a 12x20.

Jorge, for some one who disagrees so viamantly with my sugestions you seem to practice much of them. And have gained from them.

And if you want to start a points scoring exercise, thats 30-15 to me i belive.

 

[Jorge]

Jorge, for some one who disagrees so viamantly with my sugestions you seem to practice much of them. And have gained from them.

And if you want to start a points scoring exercise, thats 30-15 to me i belive.

LOL... I said I have only one lens for the 12x20, all I can afford, and I take far more holders and I am certainly not stupid enough to waste money at $5/shot to try and use only one apperture, talk about bad advice I have far more lenses for my 8x10 and 4x5 and I use them all. I certainly do not practice any of your "suggestions." I find them dumb and as I said bad advice. If you had taken the time to read what I wrote instead of trying to "score " points you would have understood I advocate practice, and shooting a lot.

As a matter of fact why dont you simplify more and walk around with a card with a hole in the middle and image you have taken a photograph. Hell, simplify even more and sit in your couch and imagine you are taking pictures.....

I beleive this is the match, welcome to my ignore list....

 

[Jorge]

Oh, and BTW I dont disagree with you vehmently, I just like to speak up when someone posts bad advice...

 

[argus]

My first LF lens is a 360mm. I will keep it simple & clean untill I can pay for another (shorter) one

G

 

[Peter Schrager]

One Lens?

I believe Edward Weston owned ONE $5 lens. Seems like he really did miss that telephoto!
Regards, Peter

 

[Ole]

Next time out take:

1 camera body.
1 lens.
1 DDS with 1 sheet of film in it.
1 pre set F stop setting.

...

I have a plate camera for that: 1 body, 1 lens, shutter stuck on 1/25th, 3 single metal holders, only 2 glass plates left. So I use one time instead of one aperture, and two glass plates which are so expensive I won't even think of exposing them before I'm certain it will be a masterpiece...