Your method for matching lens to landscape composition

[Drew Wiley]

I just do it - intuively grab a lens, compose the shot, and if it's fishy either try another
lens or give up. I'm very, very nickpicky about composition; and if it doesn't look right
on the groundglass, I don't know what good some handheld cropping gadget will do.
This doesn't mean my final shot is exactly what I at first imagined, however - I often
readjust the camera and explore around through the ground glass itself before reaching
for film. Might take 30 seconds, or might take half an hour!

[Greg Miller]

Before using a viewing card or rangefinder, you need to think about how you want to represent the spatial relationship between objects, and also think angle of view of foreground elements vs. angle of view of the background elements. If you want to exaggerate the near/far spatial relationships, or you want to have a wider angle of view in the background elements than foreground, then you want a wide angle lens and should move to a position that allows for the appropriate composition (do you want that boulder to loom and dominate the foreground or do you want to diminish its presence? Do you want the faraway mountain range to be majestic or subtle?). If you want to compress the near/far spatial relationship, or narrow the angle of view of the background elements, then you need a longer focal length lens., and you should move to a position that allows for that composition.

Then you can take out your viewing card or rangefinder.

[tgtaylor]

While on a road trip a few years back I stopped in Ink Jet Arts in Salt Lake City and purchased all their remaining 6x7 cardboard Blair mounts for mounting 6x7 transparencies. I also bought some 4x5 Blair mounts. Simply take your camera to an open space with a field of view that encompasses all your lens and determine how many fingers the mount must be held in front of you to encompass the same field of view as seen thru the lens. For example, 6 fingers for my 150mm Rodenstock lens holding the mount between the thumb and index finger of the left hand and all 5 fingers of the right lined-up and touching the left thumb.

Well, they don't make Blair mounts anymore (I bought the last ones) but you can cut out a 4x5 opening in heavy matt board and keep it in your pack. Be sure to write the results in permanent ink on the side of the mount.

Somewhat tacky, I guess, but it's a heck cheaper and lighter than a Universal Linhoff finder.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Save your money and just make yourself a viewing frame. I use a 4x5 inch cutout in white matt board. I use the 4x5 "viewer" when out with the 8x10 too. I just double the focal length. I find it very useful in isolating compositions as well. Pardon me, I've had too much Sherry... how come there's no drunk smiley face??

[argos33]

I usually scratch my head for a second or two, then do a dance. After the dance, I always know which lens it is...

In all seriousness though, I have to agree with Greg. I usually spend a good amount of time just staring at the scene, and deciding what about it I find interesting or what draws my eye. Sometimes the "big picture" is what I find most interesting, other times one small detail. Once I've decided what I want to include/exclude, and what I want the spatial relationships to be I'll reach for the framing card, but I usually have a pretty good idea of which lens is going to do the trick.

[cyberman1946]

Emo, this question never gets old. There are several good ways to turn your mental image into a virtual image into a film image. Cheapest (a card in your format) to elegant (a Linhof viewfinder). Use the method that doesn't get in the way and practice, practice, practice. After about forty years of the aforementioned practice you can just walk to the exact spot and mount the right optic.

[Mike1234]

I've been thinking of using a small ~7" ultra-thin digital photo frame with an external battery and mini USB input together with a cheap P-&-S camera that accepts W/A or tele adapters as needed to simulate the FL of the lenses I'm using for film. One could use a transparent mask with lines placed over the photo frame to show different aspect ratios. There are digital cameras that show real-time images while one composes. Just watch the 7" screen while composing and shoot. If you don't like what you see then shoot another until you get it just right. Set up the 8x10 and take the shot. Of course, the light may be gone by then.

Think of it as "chimping" on steroids for LF photographers.

[Winger]

I use a homemade card. Basically, I took a piece card stock and cut out a 4x5" hole, and affixed a piece of string coming from just beneath the bottom of the cutout. Then for each lens, I held the card out at a distance to match the ground glass focused on some landscape scene. I place a small tab on the string that I could bite on, and labeled it the focal distance of that lens. So, in essence, the string will have as many tabs as you have lenses, and you can walk around looking at things through the card. When you find something, just pull the string to your teeth and pick the closest one, selecting a shorter focal distance if in-between, and crop.

I know this is an older thread, but I didn't want to start a new one and the quote above is part of what I'm looking for. When making your own and marking the string, what type of scene do you focus on and how far away? Do you focus on something at close to infinity or something closer?

I frequently am out somewhere without a camera and want to get an idea of whether the scene will work with one of my lenses (or the lens, depending on the camera). I know experience will help, but I only have about 3 years of LF so far. I'm also considering the iPhone app "Viewfinder Pro" but it's $20 and a piece of mat board is cheaper (though I nearly always have the phone with me anyway).

Thanks!

[Scott Walker]

I started out using a grey card with a 4x5 hole in it and a string attached. I now use Viewfinder Pro.
The card with the hole and string really sucks in comparison.
The only time I have used the grey card with the hole since getting the app was as a grey card.

[Winger]

I started out using a grey card with a 4x5 hole in it and a string attached. I now use Viewfinder Pro.
The card with the hole and string really sucks in comparison.
The only time I have used the grey card with the hole since getting the app was as a grey card.

Good to know. Maybe it'll be worth the $20 then. Thanks!