8x10 - a comedy of errors

[Willie]

https://fstoppers.com/landscapes/bea...-valley-174163

This gentleman has done video logs of his 8x10 trip to Death Valley. A comedy of errors that mount up quickly as he spends time trying to work with the camera. Ends up with a damaged Ebony and a trashed Ritter out of it.

Worth watching, especially as he reviews the chromes he shot. How he goes about it and his editing of the images is interesting. Maybe he is distracted by trying to video what is happening. I have never seen anyone so careful be so hard on gear.

Main question I have after watching is how can anyone drive around Death Valley on the roads and trails and keep a vehicle so clean?

[Thom Bennett]

Ouch! Is that common practice for landscape photographers to leave their cameras set up overnight unattended? I do appreciate how carefully he watches the light and plans each shot.

[ghostcount]

. . . Is that common practice for landscape photographers to leave their cameras set up overnight unattended?. . .

[David Schaller]

Ouch! Is that common practice for landscape photographers to leave their cameras set up overnight unattended? I do appreciate how carefully he watches the light and plans each shot.

Okay, biting my tongue to not go overboard, but I would say no, for many reasons, but especially not up on a ridge of sand in Death Valley, with a dark cloth attached. I'll just leave it at that.

[Thom Bennett]

Ha!! Sorry, I don't have another 10 minutes to give this guy. He needs a video editor!

[letchhausen]

Ha!! Sorry, I don't have another 10 minutes to give this guy. He needs a video editor!

Yeah, I usually get tired of some of the rambling and click out. I admire sincerity as much as the next guy, but between the 'golly gee you guys are great' and the over elaboration of the minutiae of the gear I rarely make it through. What he's doing photographically isn't that interesting other than from the typical landscape point of view (which I admittedly have zero interest in). But what is interesting is the younger generation's expertise (there's others like him) with branding and cross-pollinating via Instagram, social media, etc. I see a strong benefit in that in turning others on to the possibility of large format and slower methods of working.

[Ben Horne]

Yeah, I usually get tired of some of the rambling and click out. I admire sincerity as much as the next guy, but between the 'golly gee you guys are great' and the over elaboration of the minutiae of the gear I rarely make it through. What he's doing photographically isn't that interesting other than from the typical landscape point of view (which I admittedly have zero interest in). But what is interesting is the younger generation's expertise (there's others like him) with branding and cross-pollinating via Instagram, social media, etc. I see a strong benefit in that in turning others on to the possibility of large format and slower methods of working.

If you try to please everyone, you will please no one. I know the videos aren't for everyone, and that is just fine with me. I treat the videos in the field very much the same as a written journal. If you pick up someone else's written journal, you may not think that every page is the most exciting thing -- and that the person might have a tendency to ramble on a bit, but it is something that is very personal that I am sharing with the world. The whole point of the video journals is to tell the honest experience of going on solo trips. The good, the bad, the thought process involved, and the final results. It's perfectly fine if you don't find my photography all that interesting and that you have zero interest in it, but it is certainly my passion. It is something I spend a lot of time, sweat, and money on because I love it. I don't do this for other people, and I don't seek to please other people, I do it for myself because I enjoy it. One of the things I've noticed through the years is that other people have seen my enthusiasm, and they too have started to shoot large format. That is one of my goals, to get more people interested in LF so the film supply will remain. As you have noted, that is why it is important to be active on social media, and in some cases we are starting to see some traction.

[Alan Gales]

If you try to please everyone, you will please no one. I know the videos aren't for everyone, and that is just fine with me. I treat the videos in the field very much the same as a written journal. If you pick up someone else's written journal, you may not think that every page is the most exciting thing -- and that the person might have a tendency to ramble on a bit, but it is something that is very personal that I am sharing with the world. The whole point of the video journals is to tell the honest experience of going on solo trips. The good, the bad, the thought process involved, and the final results. It's perfectly fine if you don't find my photography all that interesting and that you have zero interest in it, but it is certainly my passion. It is something I spend a lot of time, sweat, and money on because I love it. I don't do this for other people, and I don't seek to please other people, I do it for myself because I enjoy it. One of the things I've noticed through the years is that other people have seen my enthusiasm, and they too have started to shoot large format. That is one of my goals, to get more people interested in LF so the film supply will remain. As you have noted, that is why it is important to be active on social media, and in some cases we are starting to see some traction.

Hello Ben,

I just wanted to tell you that I enjoyed your videos. They were not professionally edited but that helped make them honest and real. Keep up your enthusiasm. It's contagious!

Alan

[Ben Horne]

Ha!! Sorry, I don't have another 10 minutes to give this guy. He needs a video editor!

Sometimes my cat handles the video editing. Sorry it isn't to your taste.

[Thom Bennett]

Sometimes my cat handles the video editing. Sorry it isn't to your taste.

Didn't mean to imply that they were not to my taste. In fact, I spent quite a few hours over the course of a few days roaming around through your videos as I have not had the pleasure of photographing out West and am fascinated by those that do. Such a unique landscape. I guess in this day and age we want everything succinct and to the point which, I realize, is a contradiction in terms for those of us who shoot large format. As I said in my original post, "I do appreciate how carefully he watches the light and plans each shot." That, to me, is the sign of a true photographer. Keep up the good work and maybe give that cat a raise. You're working that poor kitty too hard!