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Thread: hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

  1. #1

    Join Date
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    hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

    currently not an owner or user of LF camera's, but keen and curious to get into it.

    you can see my work here (both digital and MF film) (NSFW!)
    www.ludwigdesmet.com

    any comments welcome,

    best

    Ludwig, Charlemagne on this and other fora

  2. #2

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    Re: hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

    Welcome to the forum, Ludwig!

    I checked out your work and it is really nice! You are going to love large format for your landscape and portrait work. It will slow you down from medium format and digital but most find spending more time on the image is beneficial. Many if not all of us also shoot smaller formats and/or digital so you will fit in real well here. Be sure to read the LF Homepage at the top left corner of this page. There is a lot of good information there. If you have any questions feel free to ask. We are glad to have you as a member!

    Alan

  3. #3

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    Re: hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

    Ludwig, if you are a francophone as well as an anglophone you might want to visit galerie-photo.info

  4. #4

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    Jul 2016
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    Re: hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

    Hello Ludwig,

    You have impressive photographs in your web site.

    Given your skills I think you will be able to exploit the aesthetical resources LF can offer you.

    A difference you may find is that in LF there is a tendence to make a custom development for each individual sheet, in special for challenging scenes, with rolls you have to make a common development.

    Then you will find that LF has a different OOF roll off, beyond narrower DOF, in the same way that MF looks different than 35mm or DX. See volumes in this Avedon's shot: http://100photos.time.com/photos/ric...with-elephants.

    I'd suggest you review portraiture from Yousuf Karsk and from Sally Mann to explore how those masters worked LF aesthetic nature.

    With LF you may also tend to use a lot camera movements, tilt-swing focus planes deliver amazing effects.

    LF has also drawbacks... not as agile !

    A cheap 4x5 monorail like cambo sc may be a good choice to start, you will learn what you want from a LF camera. Selecting glass is another challenge, you may go to classic portraiture glass or to modern optical top performers, I'd recommend you start with anything cheap to build a criterion about what you want.

    Regards,
    Pere.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Nov 2017
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    Ronse, Belgium
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    Re: hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Gales View Post
    Welcome to the forum, Ludwig!

    I checked out your work and it is really nice! You are going to love large format for your landscape and portrait work. It will slow you down from medium format and digital but most find spending more time on the image is beneficial. Many if not all of us also shoot smaller formats and/or digital so you will fit in real well here. Be sure to read the LF Homepage at the top left corner of this page. There is a lot of good information there. If you have any questions feel free to ask. We are glad to have you as a member!

    Alan
    thanks for this warm welcome! I have a lot to look into, thanks for the tips.

  6. #6

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    Re: hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Fromm View Post
    Ludwig, if you are a francophone as well as an anglophone you might want to visit galerie-photo.info
    Bonjour, et oui je suis plus ou moins trilingue, je vérifie votre lien sans faute!

    Quote Originally Posted by Pere Casals View Post
    Hello Ludwig,

    You have impressive photographs in your web site.

    Given your skills I think you will be able to exploit the aesthetical resources LF can offer you.

    A difference you may find is that in LF there is a tendence to make a custom development for each individual sheet, in special for challenging scenes, with rolls you have to make a common development.

    Then you will find that LF has a different OOF roll off, beyond narrower DOF, in the same way that MF looks different than 35mm or DX. See volumes in this Avedon's shot: http://100photos.time.com/photos/ric...with-elephants.

    I'd suggest you review portraiture from Yousuf Karsk and from Sally Mann to explore how those masters worked LF aesthetic nature.

    With LF you may also tend to use a lot camera movements, tilt-swing focus planes deliver amazing effects.

    LF has also drawbacks... not as agile !

    A cheap 4x5 monorail like cambo sc may be a good choice to start, you will learn what you want from a LF camera. Selecting glass is another challenge, you may go to classic portraiture glass or to modern optical top performers, I'd recommend you start with anything cheap to build a criterion about what you want.

    Regards,
    Pere.
    thanks, I hesitate about a monorail for the portability of things, since I rarely shoot in studio, I need at least some flexibility in moving around.
    I would like to try LF as a next step, medium format has obliged me to slow down in a certain way, but I think my photography could benefit the even slower process of LF ...
    thanks for the tips on glass. Not sure yet which way to go, ...

    Ludwig

  7. #7

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    Jul 2016
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    Re: hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

    Quote Originally Posted by Charlemagne View Post
    Bonjour, et oui je suis plus ou moins trilingue, je vérifie votre lien sans faute!



    thanks, I hesitate about a monorail for the portability of things, since I rarely shoot in studio, I need at least some flexibility in moving around.
    I would like to try LF as a next step, medium format has obliged me to slow down in a certain way, but I think my photography could benefit the even slower process of LF ...
    thanks for the tips on glass. Not sure yet which way to go, ...

    Ludwig

    For sure that an slower process can yield amazing results !!!


    Here you have a list with modern glass:

    http://www.largeformatphotography.in...s/LF4x5in.html
    Last edited by Pere Casals; 3-May-2018 at 07:42. Reason: typo

  8. #8

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    Re: hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

    Quote Originally Posted by Pere Casals View Post
    For sure that an slower process can yield amazing results !!!


    Here you have a list with modern glass:

    http://www.largeformatphotography.in...s/LF4x5in.html
    THANKS a lot, thinking about getting an Intrepid 4x5 gen II, the glass list should get me started for that part.
    anyone having film holders and or developing aids for a small budget?
    (currently using standard Paterson tank and spirals for medium format)

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jul 2016
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    4,566

    Re: hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

    Quote Originally Posted by Charlemagne View Post
    THANKS a lot, thinking about getting an Intrepid 4x5 gen II, the glass list should get me started for that part.
    anyone having film holders and or developing aids for a small budget?
    (currently using standard Paterson tank and spirals for medium format)
    The intrepid is a nice camera !!!

    You will find plenty of 4x5 holders at e*ay...

    To start sheet development I recommend to do it in tray,

    You can use a paper safe (10$ used), you deep the sheet, close the door and open lights, then you can control well agitation at a glance, a low agitation won't provocate bromide drags because gravity doesn't help like that, then when development made you close light, move the sheet to stop bath tray and after 15s you can open the light, development is stopped !! you can fix with lights open, and see fixer strength. You can measure the time it takes to clear the hallide, then fixing has to be extended the same time. That time points fixer exhaustion. Absolutely no problem if fixing with lights open, I do it always and never had a problem.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Then you can divide the tray to make a couple of sheets at the same time. You can deep or move out the sheets at different times if developing different films or doing N+/- developments.

    If you use diluted developer, say xtol 1:1 you will waste little developer with one shot usage.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Click image for larger version. 

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    ... so spend $10 in a 8x10 paper safe and use hot glue to make separations in it. This is the straight way to start inmediately, later you can get a more refined developing system, but the trays are very convenient to experiment, in my case it's my abosolutely preferred way, because agitation control, and because I can easily develop different sheets with different development times, also I find funny to see how the hallide clears out.

    For sheet handling in the dark you can also use a $26 toy IR vision "Spy Gear Ult Ninja Night Vision", IR does not expose normal film...

    Click image for larger version. 

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    If it's useful to you then you can purchase a commercial model, but this one for kids is pretty useful, at least to try it.

    If you have not read it, you can get these books:

    Beyond the Zone System,
    The Drakroom Cookbook,
    Image Clarity
    http://ctein.com/PostExposure2ndIllustrated.pdf
    Way Beyond Monochrome,

    And, if wet printing, the selective masking PDF: https://www.alanrossphotography.com/store/22-pdfs

    Well, all that is not art and perhaps it's a bit boring, but it can be pretty useful to get technically perfect results.

    With glass, I'd recommend a Symmar-S 150, Rodenstock N or Nikon W to start, all are equally perfect. Check the shutters, get a ($70 +/-) shutter tester. Mechanical shutters are not exact (factory new have +/-30% tolerance, old ones...), you have to know what are the true times to nail exposure, but at least times are usually repetitive, you may read this: https://kenrockwell.com/tech/exposure-large-format.htm

    Remember that when extending bellows to focus near you have to correct exposure, like in a Mamiya RB...

  10. #10

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    May 2010
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    Re: hello from Belgium, looking out to plunge into LF

    Quote Originally Posted by Charlemagne View Post
    THANKS a lot, thinking about getting an Intrepid 4x5 gen II, the glass list should get me started for that part.
    anyone having film holders and or developing aids for a small budget?
    (currently using standard Paterson tank and spirals for medium format)
    You can get used film holders cheap on this forum or Ebay. Try to find ones that look close to new. Starting out, you don't want to worry about using heavily used film holders with possible light leaks.

    Tray development is cheap and easy if you have a darkroom.

    I don't have a darkroom so I use a Jobo Expert Drum, a Beseler motor base for agitation and a Jumbo Harrison tent for loading my 8x10 negatives. Unfortunately, the Expert Drums and Harrison tents are not cheap. I saw a fellow on YouTube who used a Unicolor drum for developing film and he said it worked fine. I've never tried it though. There are also cheaper tents than the Harrison available. Some members on this forum have said that they like them.

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