How do you experience your GG?

[Doremus Scudder]

Great!

I still spend a lot of time under the darkcloth. Since I show the rebate, and thus do no cropping, I spend a lot of time refining the edges and corners of the image on the GG -- it's much too fun for me not to do! I do not use a viewing frame, though I can see its advantages. ...

Lovely image, Vaughan!

It's amazing how differently good photographers can work. I crop almost everything (I enlarge) and plan my end result before I set up for the shot; anything from tall and skinny to panorama to square (and occasionally full-frame too ). My viewing frame helps me to eliminate many shots from consideration, saving set-up time as well as finding the right camera position. I set up the tripod, put my chin on the camera platform, close one eye and find my (fairly) exact position before I mount the camera. Occasionally I'll adjust tripod position a bit based on the ground glass image, but really, only rarely. Then it's just find a lens that'll work, focus and apply movements.


Doremus

[DrTang]

I don't even realize the image is upside or flipped side to side.

sometimes adjusting it ..I end up pointing it right when..of ciurse I should point it left.. happens


however ..it was really funny when a model wanted to look thru the camera from the working end.. and so I got in front and she's like: 'WHOA..Everything is UPSIDE DOWN'

and I said..yeah..watch this..(and I stuck out my arm)..now look thru the camera and of course my arm was pointing the other way (albeit upside down).. and she was like..how can you even figure all that out??

I said: LUCK

[Bernice Loui]

Does not appear to be a eye viewing image difference for me between viewing on the GG or viewing the scene being projected to the GG. This transition appears to be instant and seamless for me.

This could be similar to playing a musical instrument where muscle memory is part of what is required to master a musical instrument well enough to be a means of expression. It could be viewing the inverted GG image is a similar mind-brain adaption that comes with time and becomes more instinctive than focusing on sorting the GG image out which is very often the case for those new to GG viewed cameras.

Dentist work on teeth using a mirror, this could be a similar visual adaptation and skill.

The image making process begins with looking for how light is interacting with shapes, then how can that illuminated shape-form can be isolated into a frame with it's perspective changed by a given lens as needed. Essentially, the image to be is created-formed in mind before the camera-lens is set up. Once the camera and lens choice has been made, view the GG, adjust as needed before film is exposed.


Bernice

[Vaughn]

Thanks, Doremus. I do some in-camera cropping by using modified darkslides to make 4x10 and 5x14 images on 8x10 and 11x14 film respectively. My decision not to crop is just a self-imposed limitation I apply to help push me to improve my seeing.

The closing of one eye is something I also do -- helps me to reduce the influence of stereo-vision on composition. Sometimes I am surprised how much the stereo image can influence one's decisions in the field.

[jim10219]

Luckily, my mind doesn't process the upside down image well. As a result, what I like best about the ground glass is it allows me to disassociate the object from the image. It forces me to approach the photograph as a purely aesthetic composition devoid of the narrative or meaning I sought when setting up the camera. It's like a second opinion on the photo. It's kind of like how I'll view a projected negative in the darkroom or image on a computer from a far distance, sometimes without my glasses on, to help with cropping decisions.

Recently, I made a viewfinder mask to help with compositions and lens choices before I set up a camera. I'm interested to see how this effects my relationship with the ground glass.

[LabRat]

What is interesting for me is that I spend over 80% of my composition time just looking where transitions and dynamics begin and end, but the main composition was already set in my eye/brain, so the rest of the time is just cleaning up the edges...

This is what I do with all formats, but the biggest training device was using a point & shoot digital camera for many off the hip shots, where I was able to see the edges of the image instantly, so it started a curve that helped me in all formats...

And using a gg for so long helped me to see a lcd screen more fully, so there is a synergy...

It's all good...

Steve K

[neil poulsen]

My ground glass viewing experience goes hand in hand with my camera, an Arca-Swiss 4x5 that's the result of collecting a multitude of parts over the years.

For example, I really like Arca's arrangement of the g.g. and the fresnel lens, the latter of which is between the lens and the g.g. (They've adjusted tolerances to make this possible.) This makes the image on the g.g. stand out in a nice way. Though not necessary, it's also quite nice to have geared rise/fall, which makes adjustments almost seamless with the viewing experience.

As for composition, I'm comfortable seeing the image reversed top/bottom & left/right. This "objectifies" the image, abstracting it in a way that enables me to be more aware on the geometric shapes in the image, as well as the content itself. I like photographing architecture and landscape, and the process of studying the scene and viewing it on the g.g. helps me to better internalize and absorb what I'm seeing. Of course, by its nature, using a view camera goes hand in hand with a careful, deliberate approach to photographing. All combined, it leads to enhanced viewing, understanding, and enjoyment of the scene itself.

[Tin Can]

Very interesting that Arca-Swiss place their Fresnel; between GG and lens. They are a highly respected company that produce high-end LF cameras.

Which settles that issue for me. My Speed Graphic is similar, also a respected design.

I have two 8X10 Horseman with factory fresnel that has confused me, as one has it in front and one behind. Both are adjusted...

I plan to experience any GG as soon as my new glasses arrive, one more week.

I

[John Layton]

Randy...I think you mentioned on another thread that you are having some closeup glasses made?

I've been using a pair of 4X readers...pretty much as powerful as I can find without going to a "custom job," and so far they've been fine. I also have a pair of extreme close up glasses which I inherited a few years ago, which I generally use for retouching - the lenses of which are small enough...and positioned well enough - to wear along with the 4X's (yes...two pairs of glasses at once) so that I can effectively, by tilting my head slightly, go back and forth between the full screen viewing that the 4X's afford, then quickly move in with the retouching lenses to assess small areas of the GG - all of this "hands free."

Not sure who makes my retouching glasses or if they're even available anymore - but they are very simple and seem like they would be very inexpensive.

[Tin Can]

John. thanks for your suggestions. I recently had cataract and IOL implant surgery which takes weeks to settle in. I am awaiting new RX Progressive eyeglasses. I can' t use the 20 pairs I have from 'before'. I now see 20/40, much better than my previous 20/800 and I am using 2.5 diopter reading glasses which are very annoying. Cateract surgery takes 10 minutes, but recovery is about 6 weeks for me.

Later today I plan to try a still life, maybe with my laser FocuSpot and a Wire Sports Finder. I don't need to see to develop film!

Randy...I think you mentioned on another thread that you are having some closeup glasses made?

I've been using a pair of 4X readers...pretty much as powerful as I can find without going to a "custom job," and so far they've been fine. I also have a pair of extreme close up glasses which I inherited a few years ago, which I generally use for retouching - the lenses of which are small enough...and positioned well enough - to wear along with the 4X's (yes...two pairs of glasses at once) so that I can effectively, by tilting my head slightly, go back and forth between the full screen viewing that the 4X's afford, then quickly move in with the retouching lenses to assess small areas of the GG - all of this "hands free."

Not sure who makes my retouching glasses or if they're even available anymore - but they are very simple and seem like they would be very inexpensive.