what kind of experience are you wondering about ...
loading paper and film ?
camera movements ?
making portraits ?
offloading and processing ?
making mistakes ?
making prints ?
pneumericalizing your negative ?
focusing ?
i wouldn't consider myself a landscape photographer , but a generalist ...
i make portraits on commission, photograph buildings and sites on commission,
and document whatever i can, whenever i can ... sometimes with a large camera, sometimes
with a small camera ...
the most difficult thing i have had to overcome regarding using large format photography is the ease of
forgetting to stop down the lens, or close the shutter after focusing ... and loading the film in the holders
the right way.
other than that it is almost easier than 35mm or digitroll, or a medium format camera ...
if you are a little more specific, you
could probably find a few months worth of reading material by using a keyword search
here on apug and on the large format site ... apug has been around for nearly 10 years
and the large format page for well over a decade ..
have fun !
john
From seeing posts of yours in the past you seem to get quite a bit of information from the people at APUG. What do you think you are not getting? I'm sincerely confused and frustrated too. I'd like to help you. You seem like a nice person but what EXACTLY do you want to know? The qeustions you asked in this thread are answered somewhere else. I told you where to go get that information but you seem to only want to learn in exactly the format you expect.
If you just want to hear other people's life story in LF, then you will continue to be frustrated.
Why don't you tell us about YOU and what you want to accomplish with LF. I'd like to hear about your high school reporting days, and your experiences now in college. If I had a clue as to what you are doing, have done, and want to do then maybe I could tell you about some of my experiences that are relevant. I doubt you really want to know about some of the stuff I did photographically in the past since it likely has no relevance to waht you might want to do!
As my wife always says, "sometimes you need to give a little [information] to get a little."
From seeing posts of yours in the past you seem to get quite a bit of information from the people at APUG. What do you think you are not getting? I'm sincerely confused and frustrated too. I'd like to help you. You seem like a nice person but what EXACTLY do you want to know? The qeustions you asked in this thread are answered somewhere else. I told you where to go get that information but you seem to only want to learn in exactly the format you expect.
If you just want to hear other people's life story in LF, then you will continue to be frustrated.
Why don't you tell us about YOU and what you want to accomplish with LF. I'd like to hear about your high school reporting days, and your experiences now in college. If I had a clue as to what you are doing, have done, and want to do then maybe I could tell you about some of my experiences that are relevant. I doubt you really want to know about some of the stuff I did photographically in the past since it likely has no relevance to waht you might want to do!
As my wife always says, "sometimes you need to give a little [information] to get a little."
OK makes sense. in this case you mentioned you also owned a cambo and graphic. What do you like about it? what don't you like about it? Do you find you use the movements on the cambo alot? what lens do you have on it? thanks for the help!
OK looks like i havn't really explained myself well...
you might look into i one of morgan's development systems
(they fit into a 35mm / 120 development tanks)
Dead Link Removed
they seem perfect !
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
good luck !
john
I think I see what your getting at. Techniques, workflow, habits, processes, whatever comes to mind that makes the whole thing flow better. Does this need to be limited to 4x5? I would like to hear from 8x10 shooters as well. Of course I can contribute some of my possibly dumb ideas and things I'm trying, for what its worth.
I tend to get tunnel vision when I start on a photo, to that end I like an organized work space, especially my fanny pack, but as much of whatever else too. And everything must go back in the same place.
As an example I've organized a few tools onto my camera:
- your most difficult challenges
after getting past the usual errors which still plague me, the challenge is to
be present in the moment in the field, not look for images, but see them,
a subtle distinction but true in my experience, it's all too easy to find yourself
going through the motions, taking the easy or 'expected' shot, making an
image because "you're there".
- worst or best purchases
worst: graphmatic film holder, HP Combi tank
best: canham 5x7, schneider 121mm lens.
- your camera and why you do or do not like it
I like the canham, despite it's quirks, because it sets up aligned and fairly rigid,
it keeps it's positions, it's movements are intuitive i.e. it's pretty easy to tilt/focus,
it's light and I can and have walked for miles with it, I can completely disassemble
it and clean it.
- what you photograph
I photograph what I love, I don't know what it is till I see it, it may be a rock
a tree, a path, some water, a chair, a hand railing worn from use, the scenes
are things I wish to celebrate.
- steps and precautions you take
keep the dust down when loading film [still refining this], keep the film holders and camera
as dust free as possible, make sure the lens is clean, meter lots of things in the scene,
to get a broader feel for the exposure [but still weight the shadows most in my assessment],
be conscious of elements at the edges, leave or exclude them on purpose, make sure the
camera is level, and the tripod solid, always check to make sure I've closed down the lens
before I test fire the shutter a few times, always wait for the wind and/or tripod
to settle, watch for lens flare opportunities
- your favorite film
the one I'm using at the time, most films today are staggeringly good and the least of my worries
but kodak and ilford mostly [that will surely change] : txp, tmy-2, fp4, hp5
- any advice landscape photographers?
relax, don't rush the scene, you'll never be in the same place/time again; take two exposures if you
really like an image [dust kills]; walk walk walk; put the equipment down and walk an area of interest,
drop your hat where you find the best spot and come back; I'm happy to get one good/great image in a
day's work; don't give up, it's always worth it just being in the field
all the best,
-Tim
My main problem with 5x4" is making boring pictures! Otherwise, I find the whole process delightfully ponderous and really only make as many mistakes as any other format, with the exception of leaving the lens cap on, which I reserve for rangefinders...
Marc!
I started out with a Pacemaker Speed Graphic and a 152mm lens. It was my grandfathers.
I picked up some film and started shooting. The collection rapidly expanded.
I used Taco Dev, and then Beseler print tubes, which I use to this day.
Dan Quan, may i ask where you got the bipost to pc adapter? i might be looking for one soon.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/164971-REG/Paramount_PMBPPF_Female_PC_to_Bipost.html
B&H used department, but it's a paramount cord ( http://www.paramountcords.com/ ) and they are not altogether uncommon in used condition.
edit: actually, maybe I did buy it new: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/164971-REG/Paramount_PMBPPF_Female_PC_to_Bipost.html
Thanks, i was thinking about getting the combi tank. what didn't you like about it?
Just to add a quick note to what everyone else has posted. I've tried lots of methods for developing and find that for the money, the BTZS tubes are the best. Also, check out the workshops at Photoworks in Glen Echo, they have lots of folks there who shoot large format and it's in Maryland. It's in the same state you are in, so hopefully it's close by. Nothing beats spending some face time with someone else with the same interest.
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