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Thread: ULF Why do it?

  1. #1

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Western Australia
    Posts
    762

    ULF Why do it?

    I am looking at the reduced lens options once you go to 8x10 , And i wonder what challenges face ULF shooters and why bother? 11x14 would be challenging but 16x20 4x bigger than 8 x10 !!what lenses would cover this image area?And yes i know Awesome contact prints no need for an enlarger yada yada ,But hey modern films films are pretty good i think they can stand a four times enlargement . And the weight OMG a 8x10 on a four mile trek is hard enough. Just curious as to why anyone would pursue ULF

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Oregon Coast
    Posts
    261

    Re: ULF Why do it?

    Pure fun. The "Yes! I am still a kid!!" kind (although, there is no shame in as-far-as-the-car-can-go photography.) And you really can't dismiss the Awesome contact prints.)
    Denise Ross
    www.thelightfarm.com
    Dedicated to the Craft of Handmade Silver Gelatin Paper, Dry Plates, and Film

  3. #3
    William Whitaker's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    NE Tennessee
    Posts
    1,423

    Re: ULF Why do it?

    Ground glass seduction. Besides, it's fun. Like self-flagellation.

    You make a good point about enlargement. Some would ask the same about LF in general. But I don't have to prove or defend my sanity to anyone these days. Besides, I love my 12x20. But I don't go on four-mile treks, either. Two or three is enough.

  4. #4
    Moderator
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Posts
    8,634

    Re: ULF Why do it?

    For the contact prints.

    Because although carrying the equipment is a pain, using it is a blast.

    For the contact prints.

    For the contact prints.

    For the contact prints.

    Did I say "for the contact prints"?

    It's up to you as to whether the difference between contact prints and enlargements is something to get excited about. If not, there's little point to ULF.

    Sure, you can define scenarios where, if everything goes right, an enlargement from ULF will be technically superior in some perceptible way compared to a bigger enlargement from a smaller format. And for that you pay a fearsome price in logistical challenges.

    But for most users, it's about the contact prints.

    PS: I can't carry a ULF camera on a 4-mile trek. If it's not somewhere I can get to with a car or with a cart, then I can't photograph it with ULF. C'est la vie. I have smaller cameras for treks.

  5. #5
    multiplex
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    local
    Posts
    5,345

    Re: ULF Why do it?

    cause you got the camera + lens cheep, use paper negatives and it is fun ?

  6. #6
    LF/ULF Carbon Printer Jim Fitzgerald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Vancouver Washington
    Posts
    3,927

    Re: ULF Why do it?

    For the carbon prints from in camera negatives up to 14 x 17! Seeing is believing.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    San Joaquin Valley, California
    Posts
    9,597

    Re: ULF Why do it?

    All this.
    "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

  8. #8
    Analog Photographer Kimberly Anderson's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    658

    Re: ULF Why do it?

    I'd be redundant at this point to say anything else.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    AZ
    Posts
    4,431

    Re: ULF Why do it?

    Why do people bungee jump, where there are parachutes?

  10. #10

    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    El Cajon, CA
    Posts
    674

    Re: ULF Why do it?

    I'm not yet into ULF, but having an 8x10 makes me want something bigger. I guess it is true, "Bigger is Better"

    Quote Originally Posted by goamules View Post
    Why do people bungee jump, where there are parachutes?
    Don't bungee jump in Mexico, they will think you are a pinata.

    m
    Michael Cienfuegos

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