My lessons learned first time doing Large Format photography

MurrayMinchin · Feb 27, 2023

Cut a 4x5 hole in a 5x7 card which is white on one side and black on the other, then you can “see” if compositions are worthy of actually setting everything up.

I tied strings to mine...one for each of my lenses. At the end of each string was a knot, which when held in the teeth put the card the proper distance from my eyes to give the same ‘focal length’ as each lens.

No more moving the camera & tripod back & forth after setting up...maybe a couple inches, but no more major moves

BHuij · Feb 27, 2023

MurrayMinchin said:
Cut a 4x5 hole in a 5x7 card which is white on one side and black on the other, then you can “see” if compositions are worthy of actually setting everything up.

I tied strings to mine...one for each of my lenses. At the end of each string was a knot, which when held in the teeth put the card the proper distance from my eyes to give the same ‘focal length’ as each lens.

No more moving the camera & tripod back & forth after setting up...maybe a couple inches, but no more major moves

This is a very smart idea. I used to wear a necklace under my tee shirt that had a 3D printed framing tool like this, a small rectangle at 4x5 aspect ratio. But it never occurred to me to calibrate the distances like this for various focal lengths.

I have an app now that can preview any focal length on any format using the phone's camera, but I rather like the idea of being able to do that without batteries.

choiliefan · Feb 27, 2023

I have one of those Zone VI viewing filters.
It's the 35mm/5X7 model but they can be had quite cheaply for 4X5 etc.

Doremus Scudder · Feb 27, 2023

choiliefan said:
I have one of those Zone VI viewing filters.
It's the 35mm/5X7 model but they can be had quite cheaply for 4X5 etc.

Me too. You get used to noticing how far from your eye you hold the viewing filter when you arrive at your desired framing and that translates to lens focal length. Estimating the right focal length gets pretty easy with experience. If you wanted to be more precise, you could tie knots in the lanyard at distances corresponding to the focal lengths of the lenses you have. I don't need that; I only occasionally have to change lenses after choosing one I thought was right.

Best,

Doremus

Alan Edward Klein · Feb 27, 2023

I have a Harrison film changing tent. What do people do to keep them dust free?

Kilgallb · Feb 27, 2023

BHuij said:
This is a very smart idea. I used to wear a necklace under my tee shirt that had a 3D printed framing tool like this, a small rectangle at 4x5 aspect ratio. But it never occurred to me to calibrate the distances like this for various focal lengths.

I have an app now that can preview any focal length on any format using the phone's camera, but I rather like the idea of being able to do that without batteries.

What is the name of the app?

Vaughn · Feb 27, 2023

My appolize...finally read your blog w/images.

Lesson 6. If your camera has back tilt, that could have been used to keep the back vertical (keeping the trees straight, tho the lens curved them anyway) when you tilted the camera down.

You have out of focus areas on the first and last images. Top of the log is not as sharp, and the lower left of the third is soft. That last set-up is an especially difficult situation to work with.
Attention needs to be paid to the imaginary "plane of focus" created, first by the standards 'zeroed out', then how one moves it by swings and tilts. On the first, the plane of focus could have been lifted above the snow, so that closing the lens to f32 would bring both the top of the log and the ground in focus together. In the last image, it looks like any tilt favoring the right side would make it more out of focus on the lower left...tough, like I said, to find a solution in that situation.

And as an additional possible lesson, don't be afraid of f64. It is your friend, especially when one start's focusing closer to things and the depth of field plummets. One has to decide what is more important; a very sharp image that has areas of soft focus...or a sharp image with all in focus (depending on the degree of enlargement, etc). That would actually be a very good test for your system...take two images with the 135mm of the same set-up, but one at f32 and one at f64...see if there is significant difference in sharpness in your scans and a reason to avoid f64 or not. (assuming it goes to f64)

Rayt · Feb 27, 2023

Alan Edward Klein said:
I have a Harrison film changing tent. What do people do to keep them dust free?

I wipe down the holders and film boxes before placing them inside. My holders are always in ziplock bags. Before I put grubby arms in the tent I usually take a shower first and always with bare arms no shirt.

Sirius Glass · Feb 27, 2023

Learn the convention for the dark slide color being out. White side out and black side out. That will save you grief and double exposures.

hroark · Feb 27, 2023

Rick A said:
Because I get caught up in what I'm doing and occasionally trip over them. YMMV

Oh, I know that with all my cameras. Nearly tossed one down a waterfall. Thanks

hroark · Feb 27, 2023

Chuck_P said:
Adding another.......pull the correct dark slide!

This is a first for me....a couple of weeks ago I pulled the wrong dark slide. This obviously ruined that sheet, and of course, I didn't actually make an image on the sheet I meant to make a image on.

Thing is I didn't realize this until I developed together the sheets from that holder. The sheet on side A of the holder that I thought I had exposed properly, there was nothing there......and the sheet I ruined on side B of the holder was maxed out in density as it received tons of light, both accidentally and when I thought I was exposing side B normally.

How did this happen? I normally leave the dark cloth on the camera when pulling the dark slide. So, without my reader glasses on, I accidentally grabbed the wrong slide the first time, then grabbed the correct slide the second time, resulting in an unexposed negative from the first side A and a badly ruined negative on side B. So after developing the negatives, I had to do some powerful reflection on how that could've happened.

Woah. That’s some detective work required. I managed to pull the dark slide as I pulled a holder out of my bag. Don’t grab things by the dark slide, make sure that little metal thingy to hold them in place is in position, and now I’ve added a little piece of painters tape (belt and suspenders).

hroark · Feb 27, 2023

BHuij said:
Dust has been an issue for me, living in a very dry climate. Basically changing bags are a no go. 100% guarantee that I'll have dust on the negative at time of exposure, permanently ruining the image for optical enlargement. I have scanned a few such frames, cleaned up the dust in Photoshop, and been able to successfully make great alt process prints from a digital inkjet negative, but it's not my ideal workflow.

I have to brush the whole film holder very carefully with my anti-static brush, then use a small mini vacuum I bought specifically for this purpose to ensure I'm totally dust-free. Then load in my darkroom without using the changing bag. I keep the unexposed film holders in anti-static bags, and make sure to pull the dark slide out slowly prior to exposure so as not to generate static. If I'm religious about all of these things, then 99% of my frames will be dust-free at time of exposure.

If I ever go out to shoot large format and am unable to carry as much film as I really need with me in my 6-7 film holders, I may look into a changing tent instead of a changing bag. But for now, a neurotic and obsessive process to reduce dust immediately prior to loading seems to be the safest bet

Thanks for the run down. A few more steps I can try next time. I wiped down my changing bag insides, washed up real good, made sure it was just my arms and no clothes, and used nitrile gloves this time. Fingers crossed.

Side note, First time I went to load film into my developing tank since getting back into this stuff, I put my arm in with my Apple Watch on. That didn’t work out well.

hroark · Feb 27, 2023

gordrob said:
The 5x7 Super Technika is only 6lbs heavier then your IV. The holders are a bit heavier. Lenses and everything else stay the same

Only 6 lbs! Ouch.

hroark · Feb 27, 2023

Paul Howell said:
8. Study the zone system, know what your developers can and cannot do.

I find this to be a common misconception, that he zone system is not primarily concerned with exposure and development. The main driver for the Zone System is visualization, what Minor White called previsualization, learning to visualize a scene in black and white then having the tools to correctly expose, develop and print to achieve the visualized scene. My thinking is unless you are wanting to learn how to visualize look to Phil Davis' Beyond the Zone System.

Thanks for the pointer, I will do that. I will admit that being able to use apps like Viewfinder, even with its mediocre film and filter simulations, feels like a total cheat.

madNbad · Feb 27, 2023

Way back in the era of long leaders and cheap film a friend of mine had a fellow student in his photography class found himself with a baby on the way and a Linhof Kardan Color 45S. He kept the baby, I gave him some much needed cash and got the Linhof. Much like the OP it was learning LF on scene. One of the things I quickly learned was to get much more tripod than you think you'll ever need because you are going to need it. The Quickset Husky was sold and a Majestic took it's place. The next important lesson was the art of notch reading and how to be sure the sensitive side of the film was facing towards the light. This, of course was learned the hard way with various sheets of film. The ever popular, close the shutter before removing the dark slide as well as the aforementioned pulling the correct slide. Velcro was my friend for attaching the dark cloth. In addition, binder clips to attach that same cloth around me. Wooden clothes pins were also used as weights. Up and down, back and forth took a little longer. Rise, fall, tilt and swing looked a lot easier in the guide books instead of through a loop while sweating under the dark cloth. Eventually, I bought a prism viewer and all was right, or correctly oriented, with the world. I owned the camera for about five years and learned a lot in that time. Circumstance's led me to sell the Linhof to a new user. I tried a few other folders like the Horseman VH-R but nothing ever caught my imagination like that Linhof and the first time I laid a properly exposed 4X5 Ektachrome on the light table.

BHuij · Feb 28, 2023

Kilgallb said:
What is the name of the app?

Viewfinder. It’s available for iOS, not sure about Android. I think I paid a few dollars for it.

Alan Edward Klein · Feb 28, 2023

Rayt said:
I wipe down the holders and film boxes before placing them inside. My holders are always in ziplock bags. Before I put grubby arms in the tent I usually take a shower first and always with bare arms no shirt.

Wipe holders and film boxes with what? Water? Alcohol? ?? what about the inside of the tent?

MurrayMinchin · Feb 28, 2023

When I used to use a film changing bag, I'd turn it inside out to use it in subdued light. The fabric liner on the inside shed lint like a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie snowfall scene. Moved to a Photoflex changing room and was much happier.

After emptying holders and turning the dark slide, be sure insert & pull out the dark slide a couple times and flick the holders with your finger a few times...it's surprising how much crap falls out of the felt at the top or out of the grooves along the sides...even the bottom flap can hide stuff.

It's an age old battle...I've seen lint in Ansel's skies.

hroark · Feb 28, 2023

MurrayMinchin said:
When I used to use a film changing bag, I'd turn it inside out to use it in subdued light. The fabric liner on the inside shed lint like a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie snowfall scene. Moved to a Photoflex changing room and was much happier.

After emptying holders and turning the dark slide, be sure insert & pull out the dark slide a couple times and flick the holders with your finger a few times...it's surprising how much crap falls out of the felt at the top or out of the grooves along the sides...even the bottom flap can hide stuff.

It's an age old battle...I've seen lint in Ansel's skies.

I have been wondering about the changing room and dust. I think I’d like it just so my sweaty hands had more airflow while doing work. Decreasing dust and lint might just seal the deal. Thank you.

mjgreeneaudio · Feb 28, 2023

I’ve been using these dark cloths for a number of years and haven’t had issues with them blowing away.

4x5 BTZS Focus Hood (dark cloth)

BTZS, focus hood, dark cloth, view camera

viewcamerastore.com

Good quality and the white exterior and black interior is nice in the summer.

mjgreeneaudio · Feb 28, 2023

BHuij said:
Viewfinder. It’s available for iOS, not sure about Android. I think I paid a few dollars for it.

Great app and worth the few bucks.

Don_ih · Mar 1, 2023

madNbad said:
the art of notch reading

Easy. It's at the top, right?

Dark slide convention is silver/white for loaded and unexposed, black for either empty or loaded and exposed. There are usually bumps or notches you can feel on the white side to know which side you're loading/unloading in the dark.

When you put the film holder in the camera, turn the lock of the appropriate dark slide so that is the only one you can pull out.

There's nothing to do about leaving the lens open when you pull the dark slide. That's just gonna happen sometimes. @BradS has the right idea with a cock/fire shutter routine. Make everything routine.

BHuij · Mar 1, 2023

mjgreeneaudio said:
I’ve been using these dark cloths for a number of years and haven’t had issues with them blowing away.

4x5 BTZS Focus Hood (dark cloth)

BTZS, focus hood, dark cloth, view camera

viewcamerastore.com

Good quality and the white exterior and black interior is nice in the summer.

I've also been using this hood the whole time I've been shooting 4x5 (~6 years). No complaints.

abruzzi · Mar 1, 2023

I’m surprised—I never had the slightest dust problem, and I live in the desert southwest. Then again, I always use a darkroom, not a changing bag, and I just give the holder a quick blast of air before loadin—nothing excessive.

Andrew O'Neill · Mar 1, 2023

Learning lessons is an ongoing thing. I've been doing LF for exactly 30 years, and I'm still learning lessons

My lessons learned first time doing Large Format photography

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