So my first lens arrived today, the 150mm Rodenstock Sineron SE pictured below, and I felt inspired to go out and expose a few sheets of film. This was my first time ever using a large format camera so I really didn't know what I was doing. I loaded ten sheets of Ectar 100 into 5 Fidelity Elite holders in the changing bag recently bought. Hopefully that went ok. I decided to do my trial run at a rather conspicuous spot in Brooklyn overlooking the East River and the NYC downtown skyline. I arrived via the ferry shortly before sunset. I only brought two film holders with me as I just wanted to get a feel for setting up and operating things without worrying too much about the pictures. At times I had a small audience of people curiously watching me. I was trying not to look like an idiot as I bumbled around setting up my shot, juggling light meters and loupes. Before I knew it I had exposed all four sheets in a few different locations along Brooklyn Heights Promenade. I should have been more patient because as I finished I feel like the best light was just dawning. I guess I'll have to go back again.
I came away with some initial thoughts. First of all I need to get better at operating the various dials and knobs on my camera and remembering to lock them down well before loading the film. I brought a dark cloth but I found that I didn't really need it. The ground glass was bright enough that I could compose and focus without it, but I didn't spend a long time on my compositions as I was so focused on technical things, so I should probably keep bringing it. This was my first time using a spot meter. I picked up a beat-up Pentax Digital and I'm pretty sure I was using it correctly... Overall, it was fun. A bit of a blur, I should probably slow down more and worry less about losing my light. My goal was just to get my feet wet, not so much worring about what's on the negative. I'm looking forward to shooting more and seeing what some of these exposures look like.
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