On a more philosophical bent, I ask myself "If this should be the last sheet of film I ever expose, is it something I'll want to be remembered for by my children?"
On a more philosophical bent, I ask myself "If this should be the last sheet of film I ever expose, is it something I'll want to be remembered for by my children?"
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
Checking that something hasn't moved in or out of your picture after you looked at the GG. My visualization sometimes become my reality and I forget that the world doesn't obey my visualization.
If possible use the f-stop you're actually going to expose with. It is hugely embarrassing to discover that that fuzzy thing at 4.5 looks really bad at 22.
Perfection is a moving target.
Pack the camera, not just the ancillaries.
lol
SINAR F+ 4x5 wearing a Fujinon 150/5.6 W
After taking the shot, reverse the dark slide before inserting into the film holder. This is my most common mistake because I let my vigilance down after letting go of the cable release.
If I'm shooting in full sun, or even close to it, when I pull the darkslide for the exposure I always shade the 'open' end of the film holder with it from direct sun. I don't think my holders have leaks in strong light, but I have certainly had some inexplicable fogging on the edges of some negatives. It seems since I've adopted this shading habit, the problem has all but disappeared.
Just when it seems we've about covered the gamut of possibilities, this one reminds me of my habit of putting sufficient squeeze on the top of the holder during darkslide remove/insert to keep the holder against the rear frame.Originally Posted by Cletus
1. Clear a path for the darkslide. How many times have I yanked the camera out of position because the darkslide got caught up in the darkcloth ?? (I have a darkcloth made by my wife that has elastic all the way around the camera body)
2. DO NOT try to take photos by pulling the darkslide out most of the way. Take it out altogether. I have a metal darkslide on a 6x17 adapter and thought I'd be smart by half and make a scratch on the darkslide so that I could just gently slide it out which would not jerk the camera out of position either when it finally 'popped' out nor when I missed the slot and tried to put it back in. Only problem was that the long exposure with a long slender darkslide flapping in the wind allowed light through the slot surrounding the darkslide !! So. Just remove it OK! (note to smart-alec self)
Compact cameras of any variety are SO much less complicated ! I've a feeling we all have to make each of the mistakes at least once. LF really does make a clown of most at some time or other !
I can add remember to add bellows and reciprocity factors to the list of things to remember!
Before stopping down, squint through the corners of the ground-glass to see if the lens-hood/compendium is in the picture.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks