Been a while since I've been on LFforum for anything other than to pawn my posessions. I had this crazy idea that with 1k of my own money + selling almost all of my 35mm gear on ebay I would be able to afford a leica M8 and two lenses. Long story short I'll probably have to wait 15 years for that to happen, I noticed the prices for used LF lenses have come down, so I got a Shen Hao and a 150 and 300, and really looking forward to it. I always loved LF.
Anyway. For the longest time I've wanted to photograph fish in an aquairium with LF.
Indeed, this very thing was discouraged here: http://www.largeformatphotography.in...um+photography
I'm hoping to work around f/32 and between 1/60-1/125 with HP5, am willling to push to 800. This will require a lot of light, aka, flash. Unfortunately, I don't have the money for the type of flashes I'd need for this. I was instead going to use DIY hardware store kit.
Here's the plan: 12" long tank. A sheet of plexi slipped in to make the swimming area about 2" deep so the fish can't get away from me. On the bottom a piece of textured aluminum foil. A sheet of plexi on top polished with 220 grit sandpaper for diffusion. Above the tank, as much wattage as I can get, probably a 500 watt worklight. I think I might need more wattage, but above a 12" tank they simply wont fit.
Is there any way to make this work without buying/renting really expensive strobes? Am I kidding myself?
Why do I want to use LF? As mentioned in the link I posted, the hardest part won't be the actual photography, but the patience and timing required for the "subjects" to perform. With an LF camera and a small tank, I plan on just framing the entire tank and then cropping down to wherever I need.
Thanks-
-Alex
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