Should I give up LF and go miniature?

**Michael Graves** · 7-Oct-2006, 19:39

Having shot nothing but 5x7 or 8x10 for the past few years, I had forgotten how light a 4x5 Speed Graphic was. I spent the day wandering around the Green Mountains of Vermont today shooting with that baby. The camera, tripod and a small back with film holders, light meter and dark cloth was lighter that my 8x10 by itself. It was amazing!!

I'll process the negatives tomorrow and see if I got anything worth while. But I did have one interesting experience. My wife was driving and we went past this amazing barn with all kinds of attached silos and hay lofts and other cool addendums and the sun was just sinking down toward the horizon, so the light was great. I screamed for her to stop and she did. This old guy, about sixty-five or seventy years old was just coming out of the barn. So I jumped out and asked him if it was all right if I took a picture of his barn.

"Well, shoot," he said. "Whatever would you want a picture of THAT for?"
"I like it."
"So go right ahead."

He watched me while I set up the old Speed Graphic and composed the shot. I was working pretty fast because I figured I only had the light for a few minutes. When I was done, he said, "Hell, boy. That camera of your is older than I am."

"Could be," I said. "I was made back in the late fifties or early sixties. What are you? About forty five? Fifty?"

"Yeah, right." Then he chuckled. "I got me one of them digital cameras. It take right nice pictures and you can see what you got right away!"

You know, until he said that, I had been intending to offer him a print of the photo if it came out well. Now he can stick it in his ear.

Or not. I guess it ain't HIS fault.

**Capocheny** · 7-Oct-2006, 22:05

Michael,

Offer him a print and he'll realize the error of his ways!

Remember, "a person knows only what he knows unless he's shown something different."

Cheers

**David A. Goldfarb** · 8-Oct-2006, 06:59

I found I couldn't appreciate the attractions of 4x5" until I had used 8x10" for a few years. No reason not to shoot both!

**BrianShaw** · 8-Oct-2006, 07:03

I'm sure glad that I didn't need to buy a Rolls Royce to learn to appreciate my Mercedes!

**Michael Graves** · 8-Oct-2006, 07:52

Originally Posted by BrianShaw

I'm sure glad that I didn't need to buy a Rolls Royce to learn to appreciate my Mercedes!

Hmmmm. Wonder what I can do to more fully appreciate my wife?

**Michael Graves** · 8-Oct-2006, 08:27

Here's the first negative that I scanned from the old Speed.

**reellis67** · 8-Oct-2006, 08:48

I like my 4x5, but I'm getting to like the 8x10 as well. There is something of an appeal, for me anyway, about being able to setup quickly and work with a light kit, but I found that as I progressed through the sizes that I found a temporary interest in previous cameras, but after a while I went back to where I was. I shoot with 120 a lot because my wife just won't tolerate the setup time for the 4x5, and I find that I like the speed at times, but I would *never* get rid of any of my cameras because there are time when any given camera fits the bill better than the others. There are times when the speed of a smaller format works well, and there are times when it doesn't. I think I would be more frustrated having only one format to work with - like David said in his post, why not just use both? I like having the choice to use 8x10, 4x5, or even 120.

- Randy

**David A. Goldfarb** · 8-Oct-2006, 09:07

I don't necessarily think that the Rolls Royce analogy is quite it. For me, 8x10" was just more intuitive at first. The ground glass was about the size of a sheet of paper, and I could see the effects of the movements easily. Working on a groundglass the same as the size of a final print seemed to require less abstraction in terms of knowing how the print would look when enlarged.

4x5" seemed fiddlier at first. But then I could take what I learned from 8x10" and apply it to 4x5", and it all became more natural, particularly in situations where 8x10" was just less practical.

**Jay DeFehr** · 8-Oct-2006, 10:20

We all see the world differently, and as a consequence, approach it differently in our work. For instance, I would have been far more interested in the old man himself, and relegated his odd barn to a background element. I might have even asked him to produce his digital camera as a part of the composition. I think the single greatest pitfall of LF photography is to take it too seriously, and sacrifice our sense of fun and playfulness. When it starts to feel like work, I know I'm doing something wrong. Good luck, and have fun!

Jay

**Marko** · 8-Oct-2006, 11:46

Originally Posted by Capocheny

Michael,

Offer him a print and he'll realize the error of his ways!

Remember, "a person knows only what he knows unless he's shown something different."

Cheers

Hey guys,

Go easy on the old fellow - he's using what was recomended to him by all the "experts" he knows and the thing probably really fits his needs.

After all, how many of you are using ready-to-go templates for your web pages and are happy with results?