anyone seen Sasha Bezzubov´s work? Just wondering any ideas on format

Hi, Am extremely new to this, so any comments would be greatly appreciated. Was checking out Sasha Bezzubov´s work ( website of the same name ) in particular his ´wildfire ´ series. Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts as to whether this was 5 x 4 or 8 x 10 ( or something in between ). I also like Simon Norfolk, Mitch Epstein ( power series ) and Ed Burtynsky. These last three I know shoot 5 x 4 and often I see scenes where there are multiple planes of focus in the scene where using movements, I assume, would generally be pointless. If you often find yourself shooting something with multiple planes of focus, is there a simple way of determining an optimum aperture so that everything is sharp? Just focus on the groundglass and do some tests on film at different apertures? Does it vary every time? If you are in a situation where you are more concerned about getting the shot or a number of shots, is there a simple way of focusing and shooting, without movements? I mean it looks to me that when there is so much going on, in terms of various planes of focus, that it comes down to a smaller aperture anyway.. One last one, if you were generally intending to shoot this way, any ideas about which are the better lenses at smaller apertures, rodenstock or schneider? Am thinking about getting a couple of the newer models and I realise that this may be a question that just sparks debate and doesnt have any real answer. Do newer, modern lenses have the ability to produce a sharper image across the board with wider apertures? Ok, that is enough, I think I have exhausted myself, any info or suggestions anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Yes, there are optimum apertures depending on what you want to achieve along with shutter speed, especially stopping movement of elements in breezy conditions, but having said that, if you're in a situation where you've got the movements as close as you can get it AND you're still a hair away from perfect focus, stopping the lens down to f32-45 will usually result in the required sharpness.

"If you often find yourself shooting something with multiple planes of focus, is there a simple way of determining an optimum aperture so that everything is sharp?"

This link should answer your above question:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/fstop.html

I also found this link of great value:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/focus.htm

Thankyou both for your responses, they are much appreciated. Will check out the links provided and try and get a better understanding of it. Thanks again.