Have Internet Forums Revitalized LF Phototography?

[Ralph Barker]

I, too, agree that the Internet and photography forums have helped to revitalize photography in general and large format more specifically. As others have mentioned, the ability to access information about products and processes, along with the ability to share experiences with others on forums, greatly enhances the experience and shortens the learning process.

[John Kasaian]

Without a doubt, forums---especially Tuan's more than any other---has given a boost to LF. Maybe not in increasing the numbers of folks willing to slog around with a LF camera, but those of us who do at least have a venue to learn from our mistakes and the expertise of others as well as exchanging information. This is the sort of boost that keeps people from giving up out of frustration(like my first experience with a speed graphic---I couldn't see an aerial image to focus on the gg---no one told me about that big honkin' focal plane shutter!). As a hobby I think LF photography has had two major things going against it---very few people with experience to pass on and the scarcity of available equipment. Now we have forums to tap into for help and (gulp!) eBay to sell us the paraphernalia that most merchants wouldn't dream of stocking(if they even could get the stuff to begin with!)

Books and magazines are important, as are knowlegeble sales people, technicians, workshops and those great old time photographers who grew up with LF being the norm. I'm grateful for forums like this one that brings all those resources to my computer monitor(often at 3:00a.m. when I can't sleep because I can't figure out how to spell shcimpellfenig---schippelfig---schelpfarfig-----you know what I mean!)

[Jeremy Moore]

I would never have jumped into LF without the internet. Thanks to the LF Forum and Apug I'm now happily shooting 5x7 and contact printing palladiums (something else I never would have done).

If it weren't for the internet I would probably just be shooting a DSLR and printing off an Epson--nothing wrong with that, just not as much fun!

[Matthew Cromer]

The LF photographers over at NPN, and purchasing some LF prints is what convinced me to go 4x5 for my landscape work.

I would certainly not be using LF today without the LF shooters I have met online.

[Diane Maher]

I think it has also. I've learned a lot from the LF shooters I've met online.

[Paul Butler]

I shot extensively in MF before being given a LF camera (Linhof Technika 5x7, what a gift!). At the time, I had never received training in LF photography.

I read a great deal, and found many of the classic books mentioned in this forum to be extremely useful for general information about LF technique.

However, the internet provides unprecedented efficiency in communicating information about specific, detailed topics. For example, when a lens or camera was manufactured, the image circle of a given lens, specifics on different films and developing techniques, and other data that helps the workflow process of any serious photographer.

I know you can go to a trade show or conference and talk shop with colleagues. But what if you need specific advice on using unsharp mask in photoshop, for example? Or, comare the performance of a Symmar S MC with an APO Symmar. This is where internet forums shine, because all of the participants can draw on the experiences of all the other participants, and can do so at any point in time (not just when they happen to be physically together in one location).

The internet has also created an efficient marketplace for used gear, both for buyers and sellers - both through ebay and for conventional camera equipment vendors that sell on-line. You end up with equipment that works for you in your specific circumstances, instead of holding onto whatever equipment you happened to come upon at your favorite camera store (whether suitable or not in terms of price and functionality).

[Kirk Gittings]

Remember how great the Zone VI newsletter was for timely LF information? In its time it was a marvel for those like me who were starved for LF information.

I have been involved in LF since 197o. Prior to the internet, LF knowledge was precious and rare to be gleaned solely from books, instructors and personal experience. Remember how great the Zone VI newsletters were? The limitations of that knowledge intimidated all but the most resourseful from involvement in LF. The internet changed all that. The internet is history's best source of information and mis-information and LF photography is no exception. Forums provide a role for active debate and sharing which I think helps people to weed out the mis-information. The openness of this forum has been exemplary in that and I see a much more active broadly based and knowledgeable LF community as a result.

[Graeme Hird]

DarinWC asked what am I getting at? I thought the point was fairly self explanatory:

If you ask people who read internet forums if LF photography has been given a boost by people reading internet forums, of course the answer will be yes! Only people who read the forums will answer, and they will all answer yes. That's a biased sample.

Personally, my story is the same as everybody else's here - I have learnt much more from this forum than I would have had I not had access to the internet. For me, the answer is a resounding YES. But I'm biased.

If you want the real answer, don't ask the question here - ask people who sell LF gear and have researched market trends before and since the advent of internet forums devoted to LF photography. If they can demonstrate a clear link between the growth (or decline) of LF photography with the internet, then you have the answer to the question.

Would Kodak cut back film formats if there was truly growth in the sector? I don't know - Kodak doesn't always seem to follow the logical pathway, but it's an indicator that LF photography may be in decline, not growth as the original question implies.