New to Large Format - South Bend, Indiana USA

My name is Jeff Bradford and I'm new to large format. I've been a photography enthusiast since the 1980's. I currently work as a product photographer. The need to express myself through artwork has always been a part of my life. Now I want to slow down and apply my energy to quality over quantity. I want to focus more on subject and composition than on finishing a roll of film. I feel that art should communicate something. The more levels the artwork communicates on, the better. My goal is continued personal development through learning and perfecting the craft of photography so the creation of artwork flows more readily.

I will ask technical and philosophical questions. I shall endeavor not to try your patience.

4x5 enjoys plentiful hardware and media, but may not be large enough for my contact print plans.
5x7 seems ideal to me, but less availability of film.
8x10 may be where I end up. I won't know until I've tried them all...

Thank you all for making this forum a valuable resource.

Jeff Bradford