Practicality of using LF and especially ULF in the field

[Hugo Zhang]

Greg,

I usually use a small camera like 5x7 with a few lenses to scout. If I find something I really like to capture with a big camera, then I just go back to my car and take that camera, either 11x14 or 14x17, with one lens and one holder to finish the shot.

Hugo

[faberryman]

I usually use a small camera like 5x7 with a few lenses to scout. If I find something I really like to capture with a big camera, then I just go back to my car and take that camera, either 11x14 or 14x17, with one lens and one holder to finish the shot.

If you're going back for the big camera, you can't have strayed too far.

[Hugo Zhang]

Yes, sometime I went back for a special shot after I developed and printed my 5x7 films.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Anyone who knows me knows that I can carry a lot. At least I used to. I would hike with my 14x17 in my Kondos backpack for a mile or two. Now I have to be more realistic as I get older. I want to do this ULF thing for a long time. I love working with the big cameras. I will generally hike out with the 8x10 or just go for a walk and scout around. There are times when I see nothing or if I'm really seeing well I'll intuitively take the format I feel will work. Areas I'm familiar with it may be the 8x20 or 11x14 or 14x17. I'll use a cart or a wagon and if I have to go off trail I will. There is a lot to shoot close to my van I'm finding. So it is very practical I feel. Just do it.

[Doremus Scudder]

I like to get out in the backcountry, up on top of hills/mountains, deep into canyons, etc., with my kit. That's why long ago I decided to go no bigger than 4x5 and to keep my kit as light as possible.

When in the backcountry, I usually make a base camp and then take extended day hikes (5-9 hours). My kit for this is a Wista DX with a lens folded up in it, three or four other lightweight lenses, a meter, filters, darkcloth, tripod, six filmholders and accessories. I carry my camera and lenses in a lumbar pack (the darkcloth is rolled up and strapped to the pack) and the meter, filters etc., in a repurposed fly-fishing vest or Gore-tex overcoat, depending on the weather. Filmholders are in a separate pouch with a shoulder strap (carried cross-body). The tripod is usually in my hand, but I can strap it to the pack if I need my hands for scrambling. I weighed my kit last year: 22 pounds (10 kg) exactly. I carry 90mm, 135mm., ~200mm, 240mm and 300mm lenses (all small and lightweight). I have a 75mm lens that I'll swap for one of the longer lenses if I'm headed somewhere that I think needs wider shots.

When out on overnight or multi-day backpacks with the camera, I'll pare down this kit and carry my Mido holders instead of regular filmholders. Lenses get pared down to a 100mm WF Ektar, and 180mm and 240mm Fuji As.

I can't imagine doing what I do with even a large 4x5, much less 8x10 or larger. I'm happy with 16x20s an the occasional 20x24 from my 4x5 negatives.

FWIW, my day-hiking kit fits nicely into a small rolling carry-on/backpack combo and gets used in cities in that form. At my European home in Vienna, I carry this on my bicycle (pack on my back and tripod strapped onto the bike carrying rack). When on the road, I carry other cameras and lenses, but these seem to only get used fairly close to the car.

The main thing you have to decide is how far for how long and in what terrain you really want to work, and then, what format and how much equipment you can comfortably do that with (emphasis on the word "comfortably"). Or, you can take the opposite approach: decide which format you're really in love with and then find out the hard way how far and for how long you can lug it around and organize your photo outings accordingly.

Best,

Doremus

[Stephen Willard]

Have you ever thought about using pack animals such as llamas, goats, or donkeys?

I have two llamas. Each llama can carry around 100 pounds plus I carry a 50 pound backpack for a grand total of 250 pounds. i can stay out for 36 days in the Colorado backcountry before I have to return for provisions and film. I bring in a 5x7, 4x10, tripods, 10 lenses, film changing tent, film holders, and gear to sustain my life including an Inreach beacon which allows me to text my wife.

Hope this helps...

[neil poulsen]

I could carry my 3036 tripod, Arca Swiss F 4x5, seven lenses (all f5.6), film holders, etc., all over the place. But with age, I'm paring down on (camera equipment) weight.

> I'm thrilled with my Feisol 3372 CF tripod that Kerry sold me. (Good bye to my 3036 and its 475 replacement. I loved those tripods; but, they're heavy.)

> I'll still keep a 4x5 rail system. But for forays into the field, I have a Wista SP.

> I sold my trusty f5.6 90mm SA and bought a 90mm f8 Nikon.

> Ditto my f6.8 360mm Symmar-S (what a monster!) and currently have a 355mm G-Claron. Replaced a 240mm Symmar-S with a Fujinon 250mm f6.7.

> I built the following cart, which makes packing gear on streets and sidewalks a lot easier.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...-Old-Golf-Cart

I have four, relatively light-weight lenses for 8x10 and a Deardroff V8 for packing. Frankly, I've always been kind of a 4x5 guy, so 8x10 is an experiment for me.

[Cameron Cornell]

Here is the circus wagon that I knocked together so I can haul my 8x10 Ansco Studio No. 5 into the field. Obviously I am restricted to pretty smooth trails and paths. At least I can get her out of the house this way, though. It's fun.

Cameron Cornell
Washington State

[John Kasaian]

A small mule makes a great photographer's assistant!
The complication is you'll also need a trailer and a tow vehicle to take your entourage to the trail head.

I've never tried schlepping the 12x20, but an 8x10 can be do-able. The hardest part for me---besides the extra weight---is carrying the tripod.
My suggestions----
1) Get a comfortable pack that fits your camera AND you.
2) Leave your tripod head at home
3) Use a shotgun sling so you can deploy your tripod without taking off your pack.
This is a sling made for shotguns that doesn't require hardware to attach.
If you can do simple leather work this can be a DIY project as the cheaper store bought ones tend to be made of narrow webbing.
4) Take one small lightweight lens that can ride in the camera with the lens board reversed. Maybe take a 2nd lens if you've had your Wheaties.

YMMV, of course.

[Jim Noel]

"I will be the first to quote the great Brett Weston, who used an 11x14 camera around New York City while in the Army in 1945;
"If it's more than fifty yards from the car, it's not photogenic.""
This is taken from Morley Baer's comment that ,"There are no good pictures more than 50' from the car."