getting small

[paulr]

I've been using a medium format camera. and .... i like it.

Go ahead. throw stones and vegetables. Loot my house.

I never thought I would cheat on my field camera. Things were fine at home. But I wanted do a project in color, and times were tough. I looked up the prices of sheet film and processing, and realized it would be close to $5 every time I clicked the shutter. I thought of creative ways to afford it, but my parole officer kept wagging his finger at me.

And then the phone rang. It was my friend Anne, asking, "hey, do you have any use for a Hasselblad? i have one and i don't know how to use it. you can borrow it, and if you figure it out, just promise to show me." I looked up the price of c41 film: $2.39 a roll. Processing: $5. I picked up the camera the next day, and stayed up trying to figure out how to use it from Anne's notes, made while a friend from the Czech Republic explained things to her. Notes like, "film goes on spindle that does not have the hat" and "you must see black or camera will break." In spite of these, I figured it out sometime before dawn.

A couple of rolls into it I was hooked. It's really the perfect way to try soemthing new (a new project, color, an experiment) because it's so fast and the film is so cheap. There's no deterrent from experimenting. I make 12 exposures in the time it would normally take me to make just a couple. Total freedom to play. Now if I decide to start using the the big camera for color, I'll be able to hit the ground running.

One of the nicest things was working with a tool where everything is different--color (new to me), square format, waist level finder, weird 40 year-old swedish design. It forces me out of any old habits, so everything is fresh. Doing the same old thing isn't an option anymore. At the very least, it's been a fun and interesting exercise. And I love the speed. I have a body of work taking sheep just a few rolls into it. My last body of work took 10 years.

[Steve Hamley]

Paul,

No argument here. I've been thinking about picking one up myself - I like the square format.

My "scouting", snapshot, and ultra light outfit is a Mamiya 7II. It isn't as versatile as the 4x5 or the 'blad, but with careful use it can yield results very near or equal to the quality of my 4x5 outfit.

It isn't a s much fun as 4x5 though, except shooting handheld. A friend who's been a pro all his life (he's now 83 and still works part time) said that if he could only have 1 camera it would be the Hasselblad. And he's shot everything from 8x10 to digital and started out when people were still using flash powder.

Steve

[Paul Butzi]

[i]And I love the speed. I have a body of work taking sheep just a few rolls into it. My last body of work took 10 years. [i]

Well, if your last body of work hadn't had to take all those hippos, it might not have taken ten years.

That's the advantage of a smaller format - you can focus on taking smaller animals, like sheep.

If you pick up a Leica M6, you can produce a body of work in about 15 minutes if you're in the barn where all the mice are.

[paulr]

Hippos?

I have to get out my loupe. I must have missed those.

[Lloyd Lim]

If it is film costs that you are worried about, get a roll film back, there are 6x6, 6x7, 6x9, 6x12 and even 6x17 backs available. The film does not cost any more than using a hassleblad, except that the 4x5 camera is not as fast (usually!)

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Enjoy the affair, because when the newness and exotic novelty wear off, you'll feel cheap and dirty all over. Make sure you store the Hassie in a different closet from your field camera, and be careful of your movements. On the plus side, when people ask you, "Is that a Hasselblad?", you can answer, "Yes!" (or perhaps, since it is indeed a Hassie, they'll say "Is that a Deardorff?")

[paulr]

Haha.

Actually, the questions I get in my neighborhood are more like "Is that a camera?" and "why are you taking pictures--are they going to tear down our house?"

The thing that's disturbing is that I immediately grew to like the square format. Which means it won't be easy to give the thing back when she asks for it.

[paulr]

actually, one question i got was from a kid that i photographed posing in front of his grafiti. he asked what kind of camera it was, and i just said "it's an old one."

He said, "tell me what kind it is and I'll steal you a new one."

I might take him up on it.

[Bruce Watson]

Hippos?

I have to get out my loupe. I must have missed those.

Try your loupe here: "I have a body of work taking sheep..."

Now, where did you find "work taking sheep" if I might ask? I could use some assistants. Think they can be trained to carry LF gear up the mountain? I'd be sad if they can only carry Hassy gear.

[paulr]

Hahahah .... i completely missed that.
taking shape, i meant.
sheep will be the next project.