Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

[Oliver Sharp]

I've done some LF shooting, mostly studio, and have tried to combine family outings and photography with 35mm and medium format. We have a 2 year old, so the advice above to have him be more patient is rather amusing. My solution to your dilemma would be very simple - forget about LF entirely when you are with the family. What's great about large format is that you have movements and can get much better control of the image, and you end up with a large piece of film.

However, 6x7 on modern emulsions yields extremely high quality enlargements, so I think you will rarely benefit from the added film area unless you are tripod mounted and quite deliberate in your focusing and shooting style. That's completely unrealistic for me in a family outing. Movements are great, but they also take a lot of time to fiddle with in combination with precise focus; again, an exercise in frustration and annoyance all around. So I see very little advantage. A 6x7 rangefinder like the Mamiya, on the other hand, is a totally different situation. While my best photographs are almost always a result of taking my time, if you need to you can take shots very quickly with the Mamiya. And if you are using 220 film, you don't have to reload too much more often than with 35mm. The camera is portable, fairly light, quite rugged, and has superb optics. So I think it's the best compromise for you, given your objectives.

My own approach is different; I choose to shoot 35mm in such situations, not least because when I am with family I want to take pictures of them. 35mm auto-focus has yielded many more wonderful images of our 2 year old than my Hassy, simply due to the fast handling and focusing. I'm reasonably fast with medium format and use it a lot in the studio, but modern AF gear is far quicker than I am. So I use MF (or sometimes, but rarely, LF) for my deliberate images and for studio use, and 35mm for pressured situations.

Cheers.

[patrick dumont]

dear chris,

no doubt time has elapsed since your original posting and you may have decided on the route to follow. In any case, i wish to relate some real world experience of shooting with a family.

Vacation are an important time to dedicate to the family, but an amateur pursuit is important for one's equilibrium. We have to make the most of available time. In my case i tend to get up very early for my photographic hobby and am back for breakfast. alternately I am usually quickly off after dinner time in summer to make the most of post sunset light. In that way i enjoy being with my children (all three of them)during the day and manage my own timetable as well. This means being extremely organized but the more kids, the more organized you become!

I confess having shunted the idea of LF so far for that reason. The time factor even in the above mentioned procedure is very constrained so I went the MF route. In this case a Mamiya M7. For those times when i wish to indulge at my own pace, camera on tripod, incident metering composition et al... it is light and easy to operate. for those times with the family, it actually weighs less than my 35mm basic family gear(f100+35-70 2.8). I was with the children and my 3 nephews in the park of versailles castle this w.e and was happy to use the M7 quickly for nice family shots.

sounds to me you are ready for m7. BUT i confess on negative side that since i started MF, i also discovered the DOF limitations. Just a little bit of movement on landscapes would be much welcome for those near-far shots.

LF will come later... no doubt.

regards

patrick london

[Gene Crumpler]

I've evolved the ideal travel/family snap shoot outfit. I carry a G1/w 35 and 90 lenses and a hasselblad 500cm with 80 and 150. This is supprising light and the hasselblad is much more compact than my Pentax 6x7 or C330 . I can carry this combo all day in a small unassuming shoulder bag that looks more like a P&S outfit. I'm shooting color negative in the contax and B&W in the hasselblad.