Does large format inhibit your creativity?

[kthompson]

That photo of Ruby shooting Oswald was done by Bob Jackson of the Dallas Times-herald. The NPPA did a series of commemoritive posters on their 50th Anniv. a few years back and that was one of them...I got it in my office, and while I can't say for certain, the framing of the shot looks to be about 35mm in proportion. The interview that accompanies has him saying that he got "a couple of subsequent frames" off before it was all said and done. Apparently his strobe hadn't recyled fast enough so he missed one shot after that first image...he also talks about being one of about 4 guys in a press pool outside the jail cell waiting for Oswald to be transfered...apparently he pre-focused the shot and was ready for him to come out, but not ready for what actually happened...I don't know about the account that Ellis is quoting...in this interview he says he was riding in the motor escort at the time of the assasination.

But I also have an old Graflex poster on the wall from the mid 50's. It says "The Pages of History Are Pictured By Graflex" and has the image of the Hindenburg going down in the background....with little insets of other wire service photos from the days before AP and UPI, or at least in the infancy of UPI. That same ad lingo could be applied to Rolleiflexes, Leicas, and then Nikons....personally, I don't think the format really dictates the end result across the board, but there's no doubt that the end of the press camera ushered in a whole new phase of news-photography...

[Keith Laban]

Many thanks to you all for your answers.

I tend to agree with those of you who said that creativity is dependant on the individual and not the format. My main concern is that the large format camera, being the complex and involved beast that it is could detract from creativity. I also worry that this complexity leads to using the same practiced formulae time and time again regardless.

My personal mantra is to keep things as simple as possible, with the minimum of distractions (simplicity for a simple mind?) I work with a Hasselblad 500 series camera which surely must be one of the simplest cameras ever made. In many ways I work in a similar manner to many LF users, very slowly! Often I will spend a long long time considering different viewpoints, framing and focusing options and that's before I even put the camera on the tripod. Yes I know you can use masking frames to aid LF composition, but... combined focusing and framing options? Is this one reason for the formulaic front to back focus often seen on LF?

Many of you mentioned compromised spontaneity with large format, but I do feel that this is a separate issue, not necessarily affecting creativity.

In conclusion, I am sure that in the right hands and with an inventive attitude the LF camera is indeed a very creative tool. I am very happy with the simplicity of my Hasselblad, allowing me to concentrate on the image without distraction, though I do admit, that on occasion, some movements would be helpful.

Large format instead of the Hasselblad? .......... No

As well as the Hasselblad?........................Time will tell.

Thanks again.

Keith

[Dave_958]

Contemporary creativity can be found in images that are notable for the unexpected composition, hues, light or shadow -- be it a Monet or a representation of what a person sees who is high on methamphetamine. Ansel, Edward, Brett, Eliot, Sexton, Muench, Dykinga, and Walker are notable for their exploitation of composition, light and shadows. Creative artists make something out of nothing. They show something surprising in the very ordinary. They might choose, for example, the textured surface of a painted concrete wall with saturated blue hues, a large intensely red stone among a bed of dull gray pebbles, or yellow markings conspicuously located on a very black asphalt concrete pavement, as was done by Ron Lussier's wonderful work at www.lens

[e]

The man who photographed Ruby shooting Oswald did a TV show recently where he explained in detail how he got the shot....he got it with with a Nikon rangefinder.