[nathanm]

I haven't used them a whole lot in the ones I've taken actually.  A little forward tilt on the two landscapes, I took one of a highway underpass and some train tracks, I can't remember what I used there but it wasn't much.  There's a giant gothic church in town that I want to shoot where I can try out the front rise\parallel verticals trick.

There's a large range of selective blurs you can apply when you start twisting this thing around, it's like instant "artsyness".  Front swing gets you blurry sides, rear tilt gets you really extreme distortion and blur...there's a lot of possibilities.  It's flexible enough that you can either get everything tack sharp or you can get everything to be a bokeh overload!

My current lenses really aren't long enough for portraits, though.  I've got a 300mm on order which wil probably be better for that.  You have to get right in the person's face with the 135mm with the tripod at their feet in order to get a decent head and shoulders view.  But I am looking forward to using the movements for portraits.  This is the kind of look I like for example:

http://flickr.com/photos/wesfrazer/273345463/
http://flickr.com/photos/brianray/376259178/
http://flickr.com/photos/bosseb/202032198/

I know you don't necessarily need movements to get this kind of shallow DOF thing, but certainly the tools are there.  You don't need any of that Lensbaby stuff with this camera! Heh!

[drphoto]

I've got a Minolta SpotmeterF if you're interested in trying the old Zone system approach. You can borrow it for a while if you just cover the shipping.

[nathanm]

I've got one that has a spot meter as well as ambient, a Sekonic L-758 DR.  Thanks, though!   I've got Ansel's "the Camera" book but it look like I'll need "the Negative" too.  As I understand it, whatever you aim the spot at becomes Zone V, if you measure a highlight add 2 stops, if a shadow subtract 2.  Something like that.  I'm sure it's more complicated than that though.  But the Zone system seems to be a complete analog process whereas I intend to skip the analog enlargement part and scan instead.  In my experience with film I know that for scanning it is best to have negs which err on the side of overexposure.  Dark, dense slides are a real nightmare.  If you have really heavy shadows the only way you're getting them to come out is with a drum scanner.  Stuff which looks perfect to the eye doesn't scan as nice as something a bit washed out.  Of course, scanners keep improving over time.  Digital cameras seem to be the opposite.  Highlights clip like mad, but you can pull a lot of detail out of the shadows.  Johnr's avatar picture is a great example.  You'd think the background is solid black, but there's detail there which you can bring out.  The Olympus E1 we have at work does the same thing, the shadows seem to plug up a lot, but there's detail hiding in there.

[Listens2tubes]

The Zone System will allow you to properly expose and develop film to reach your desired outcome. It's practice is a powerful tool in the creative process. I used Zone System with my Mamiya RB67, carrying plus, normal and minus backs. Just using a spot meter slows down the process. Reading highlight and shadow areas and deciding where you want detail, then noting the spread and adjusting film development to compensate. Now that my favorite 120 film has been changed and I will have to start testing all over again. This is the main reason my Burke and James 4x5 and Meridian, a Brooklyn made Linhof knockoff complete with revolving back, are resting in a box. I have shot slides and Polaroid 52 & 55 with the B&J. Type 55 negatives have a somewhat short scale compared to conventional films. But scanning seems to see more detail in both prints and negs. So being that you will using Photoshop a good scanner will be your link to the desired outcome. Enjoy

[nathanm]

Although I would much rather have a set of gorgeous chromes to show off in this reply (they aren't processed yet) I'll instead regale ya'll with a boring field report of my large format experience. 

I am not a morning person by any stretch, like Tenacious D says I like to "wake up at the crack of noon" on weekends.  BUT...if you're going to attempt to take pretty pictures of sweeping vistas and all that shit, well you gotta go where the light is.  So I've been trying to figure out how it would be possible to actually wake up in the morning to go shoot photos.  The first time I tried it the alarm clock was merely pounded into oblivion and eventually switched off in a zombified state.  Not gonna happen.  Instead I decided to simply stay awake all night until the sun came up.  I can't be certain, but I don't think I have ever actually witnessed the sun rise.  I figured it would be an entirely different experience.  And it was!  Unfortunately I still missed seeing the sun actually break over the horizon of Lake Michigan by about an hour.  But nevertheless, the early morning light was really beautiful!  I had never seen my town at this hour before. 

I hauled my backpack and tripod downtown on foot.  I don't know how much all of it weighs but I am guessing it's somewhere between "really" and "fucking" heavy. Actually the walk down wasn't so bad, but the return trip was another story.  I shot about six or seven sheets on the beach and then headed up a bike trail.  I stopped to get a shot of the sun breaking through a clearning and falling on an isolated tree when a biker rode past and then turned around.  Turns out he was a photographer who used to shoot 4x5 for years.  Then he offers me free film holders!  Sheesh!  It's like manna from heaven with this camera, first TONEPUB, now another complete stranger...what luck!  People are offering me free film holders like they're goin' out of style...(wait a minute...)

Everything about this format points to being the most impractical, nonsenical thing one could do in the computer age.  I walked past a lot of nice scenery that I could've shot on a digital SLR in mere seconds, but with the view camera you're looking at a 20 minute setup time, so you just move on.  I've gotta come up with a better solution, probably involving a bike.  The car is nice, but there's places where I couldn't pull off to the side cause the ditches were too deep.  I also worry about police entanglement.  Anyway, I hope that if I metered correctly and operated the holder correctly the Velvias chromes ought to scare away the fears of the cumbersome operation.  The Polaroids suck IMHO, with the exception being Type 55 B&W and the Sepia 56.  The color stuff I've shot looks like ass.  But nevertheless, it has been fun and I am especially blown away at just how perfect these large format lenses are!  None of this bulbous barrel distortion one becomes so used to seeing with cheaper cameras.  Level the tripod, point it at a wall and the lines on the ground glass line up perfectly with the edges of things.  Not bad for used glass that the former owners have obviously dropped!  Heh! 

I got a 300mm and I had no idea from the pic on the website just how large it was.  I had to grunt like Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor when I pulled this thing out of the box!  Totally threw me for a loop!  The front of it is almost the diameter of a CD!  The thing is a BEASTl! :

Here's an example of how a totally inexperienced photographer tries in vain to focus on a church in the middle of the night with a wideangle lens!  I couldn't see a damn thing!  Doh!  Oh well, try try again.

[SET Man]

....I walked past a lot of nice scenery that I could've shot on a digital SLR in mere seconds, but with the view camera you're looking at a 20 minute setup time, so you just move on. 

Hey!

   Yup, that is part of the process of large format No pain no gian.

   Nice night scene shot. I assumed that you just point the camera up, focused on the clock and shot pretty much wide open right?

   There is a way to keep the front of the church in focus from top to bottom without closing down the f stop too much by using the front movement to shift the focus plane. And make the church straight, not leaning back by using the back shift. But of course this ain't easy to do at night because is hard to see.

   But I think this photo look better this way anyway. It got a feel to it

  BTW... is that a $ sign I see on church?

Take care,
Buddy

PS

BTW... is it harder these days trying to shoot in NYC with 4x5 or any other camera that need a tripod. Many places in NYC are no longer allow this. Suck isn't it? 

[drphoto]

The view camera experience was always about slowing down and thinking about what you wanted to do. Not just the time to set it up, but the expense of each shot. You can't just 'blast away' and edit later.

Yeah Buddy.....tripod in NYC means getting a permit. At least they're free now, but it is a bit of a PIA because you have to be very specific about when and where. You can't just go out and shoot when the mood or the light moves you.

I had a huge panic a few weeks ago, when we were shooting Cunningham Park in Queens and I showed up w/ the wrong park permit. (I brought the  one for Madison Sq. Pk) Luckily the parks guy wasn't a totally dick and said, 'well, I can see you made the effort'  and let me slide.

[lonewolfny42]

drphoto...

I had a huge panic a few weeks ago, when we were shooting Cunningham Park in Queens and I showed up w/ the wrong park permit.

You came all that way to shoot in Cunningham Park... ....something special ?

[TONEPUB]

Take the best loupe you can get with you to focus under
the cloth.

That will help a lot.

[nathanm]

BTW... is that a $ sign I see on church?

Yeah, I scanned this on an old flatbed that I just hooked up to my Mac.  I used some software called VueScan and it puts $ watermarks all over the photos unless you pay for it.  I retouched them out-or I thought I did; I hope you're referring to the ones on the border?  I'll eventually get a new scanner anyway so I didn't feel like buying VueScan for this quick 'n dirty stuff.  This is actually a reflective scan, not with a transparency adapter.

Boy, sure am glad I don't live in NYC, no offense guys.

Pretty much all the movements I did were a total guess.  I just moved things around until I thought I saw the whole church in the frame.  It was very half-assed, but I don't mind since it's a learning experience.  I was surprised it was as dark as it was considering there's two huge spotlights that illuminate the church at night.  Not bright enough, though.  I'll have to do one during the day.  I did have my loupe but I didn't use it.  I will have to try that next time.  I fabricated a focusing hood from some mat board and gaffer tape which works really nice, I carved it out out so it would mash against my face and block out light from behind.  Works great, but now I just have to redo one so it works for both vertical and horizontal.  I'm also trying a design that uses welding goggles.

[JohnR]

Heh, you left a $ sign 2/3 up the church

The welding goggles idea sounds interesting. Would make an interesting self-portrait as well!

I have to say I admire your perseverance and willingness to have a go

[nathanm]

   NOW I see it...how the heck did I miss that one?  Sheesh!  This church and the school off to the right of frame (where one of the spotlights is mounted) is where I went to grade school.  One time a friend and I were able to get into the central bell tower which was really cool. (when we were older, not in grade school that is) There's a winding flight of rickety stairs and ladders you can climb.  We didn't go up all the way to the bell, but it was pretty neat nevertheless.  I should see if I can get in there again to photograph.  It's very creepy\cool.  There is also an alleged underground passageway between the church and school which I always wanted to see.  I don't know if it's true or if that was something kids just made up.

[Listens2tubes]

If you read Ansel Adam's The Camera he tells about driving around with a platform on top of his car. He was shooting 8x10 on the fly from the roof of a car!

[nathanm]

I thought about getting a bicycle and mounting the camera on that somehow.  It's not the most portable thing in the world.  A car for 8x10 sounds about right.  As you go up in size you need bigger and bigger vehicles.  That 20x24 Polaroid needs a pickup truck!


Edit: fixed the dollar sign

[aerius]

I suppose this counts as a large format since it was taken on an 8x10 sheet with a pinhole camera.

[JohnR]

Oo-eee! What was the camera, out of curiosity? Did you contact-print?

[aerius]

The camera was a wooden box with a pinhole on one end and a hinged door & filmholder on the other.  It was actually one of my high school shop projects, the entire class got together in small groups and built pinhole cameras, some with more success than others.  I have no idea what happened to the camera, I haven't seen it in years and I assume I lost it in the move some years ago.

The pictures are indeed contact prints, some worked out better than others, that was one of the better ones.