Tips to Speed LF Landscape Setup

[John Hollenberg]

Well, it happened again--I missed the best light. I was up at Convict Lake in the Eastern Sierra, nice light, but cloudy and changing fast. My friend gets a perfect composition and perfect light with a 35 mm SLR. It turns out that I chose a very similar composition, but by the time I am ready (maybe 5-7 minutes later) the light has changed and wind has kicked up obscuring the wonderful reflection of snow covered peaks on the lake.

So I get to thinking, "How can I speed up the setup?" (besides practice, which I will definitely be doing). I identified several areas that take me too long and am hoping for suggestions to speed up setup:

1) Leveling the camera - I use a Gitzo leveling base (which I love) with an Arca Swiss B1 on Gitzo 1325. It still takes me too long to get the ballhead level in two dimensions. When I get one right, the other has moved. My current camera, a Wista DXII doesn't have bubble levels. I have been using a small pen-sized level I bought at a hardware store. Tips on working faster with the ballhead? Should I buy a bubble level and attach it to the camera? If so, which one? Should I consider switching to a pan head like the Bogen 410 compact geared head?

2) Setting up the camera - this is actually not too bad, I like the Wista best of the three cameras I have owned (Tachihara, Toho are others). Does take some time to unfold and attach the lens, but reasonable. Certainly a non-folding Ebony or perhaps a monorail set up with lens already on it would be faster.

3) Attaching the hood and checking for vignetting - I am using Lee Prohood for Cokin P adapter. Not my favorite. Finding adapter rings for lenses and setting things up, checking for vignetting takes me WAY too much time. Would the regular Lee system be better? A camera which has a good compendium hood (Toyo AX, Arca Swiss)? I will definitely keep the Wista for multi-day backpacking trips, but may want to get another 4X5 for shoots closer to civilization. The Bright Screen I got from Maxwell Precision Optics for the Wista is a joy to use--much better than either the Tachihara or Toho.

Thanks for any help.

--John

[John Cook]

I had a similar problem many years ago In Hollywood, shooting multiple location setups with an 8x10 Sinar of Schwinn bicycles with models for their large catalogue.

The Sinar carrying case required the camera to be completely collapsed, broken down and the lens removed and stowed separately. Seems we spent the whole day screwing things together and then taking them apart (as the sun set on us).

Our solution was to have a case custom-made, from one of the many Los Angeles case makers, which would accept the camera fully set up and ready to go, with lens attached and bellows extended.

It turned out to be too large, awkward and heavy to easily shlep over hill and dale. But we worked within sight of the location vehicle. And, come to think of it, we were younger then, as well.

[Mark Windom]

1. Bubble levels: I used to shoot a Wista SP (on a B1 and G1325) and would attach a bubble level in the hot shoe on the top of the camera. You can get levels that work in two directions, left to right and front to back. Any good camera store should carry them.

2. Hoods: I never used them. I found that shading the lens with a hat, the dark slide, etc. did the job. I can't say I ever saw any flare or drop in contrast with this technique.

3. I now shoot an Arca-Swiss 69 (monorail) and I really don't think the amount of time saved in setting this up as compared to a folding field camera is worth the investment in a monorail. There are several other advantages in using a monorail over the Wista that I won't go into here.

[Robert A. Zeichner]

I'm not sure that speeding up what already, for large format set up, seems like rushing, makes sense. The whole LF thing is a contemplative, slow-paced process and while there may be situations where you miss opportunites due to set up time, there will be other times when, if you just wait for the right light, everything will come together for you. It might take me 10 to 30 minutes to adjust everything to where I want it and then another hour or more of waiting for clouds to drift in (or out) or some other changing situation to do what I want it to do. I try to anticipate potentially interesting weather situations and just plan on waiting. If you want to work faster than 5-7 minutes, that's fine. I just think you need to re-evaluate whether or not LF is the right approach. Maybe a Crown graphic with a rangefinder and Grafmatic holder is your answer? Or maybe MF?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Arrive early. Study potential compositions and plan. Wait for the light and see what it does. Expose film at the decisive moment.

[Brian Ellis]

For landscape work I don't use bubbles to level the camera, I just look at things on a gridded ground glass. Absolutely perfection in leveling isn't usually necessary for landscapes, observing straight lines like the horizon line on the gridded ground glass usually works fine. I used to use a Lee hood and the Lee filters but abandoned them because they didn't work well with a Linhof Technika camera. I now use circular screw-in filters and they go a little faster than the Lee system with its separate adapters for each lens. I don't use a hood at all now. If the sun is striking the lens I shield it with my hand. If it isn't then I don't worry about it. In theory you really should use a hood in cloudy, diffuse light more than with directional light from the sun because diffuse light strikes the lens from all sides and you can't block it all with your hand. However, like someone else mentioned, I don't notice any problems without a hood. having said all that, I still don't get set up as quickly as I'd like sometimes.

[Gary DeWitt]

Last week in Yosemite Valley it had been snowing and the storm was clearing. Awhile before sunset there were clouds moving across the face of El Capitan while the sun was sinking into a partly clouding sky near the horizon. The light on El Cap was extraordinary and could wink out at any minute. I got a shot off in less than three minutes. How? I cut corners to get an "insurance shot." I composed very quickly such that I could get the extraordinary light on El Cap at the expense of foreground. That eliminated the need to spend much time focussing as I needed no tilt, just a tad bit of front rise. Jam a lens on, focus quickly and shoot.

Now I had a shot in the bag and I could take the time to work on the shot I really wanted. As it turns out I had time to get the shot I wanted, too, in fact I exposed 15 frames of great light on El Cap.

[Alan Davenport]

1) Leveling the camera

While a desirable starting point, this is really only critical in architectural and a few other shots. Eyeball-level is level enough for most scenics. A gridded groundglass also gives an instant reference for the horizon.

2) Setting up the camera

Practice, I guess. I hear there are some field cameras that can fold with a lens installed (at least some lenses.) What a boon that would be, unfortunately it isn't the case with mine. One thing that may save a few moments is to wear a vest or jacket with commonly needed items always at hand (loupe, meter, etc.) A lot of people like to keep a cable release permanently attached to each shutter, which would save a bit more time (IMO, at the expense of possible damage in storage and handling.)

3) Attaching the hood and checking for vignetting

For that quick shot, use the darkslide to shield the lens from the brightest light. If you're not using much in the way of movements, vignetting is less of a problem; if so try using back tilts where possible.



IMO, the best advice is that already given: get there early. Carry a 35mm camera for those shots you almost got there in time for.

[John Hollenberg]

Thanks for all who offered suggestions. As far as LF being a "contemplative, slow-paced process", I believe that is up to the individual (see this thread: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/thread.php?topic=496935#500359 ). I do photography for fun, and frequently mixed with hiking or extensive backpacking. Due to other constraints (friends or family won't get moving, too tired to get up after backpacking the previous day for seven hours, etc.) I may not "arrive early". However, when I see a composition I like in good light, I want to capture the moment. On this particular trip, I only exposed 6 sheets of film at one setup using two different lenses. Fortunately, I got one shot I am pretty happy with (actually I prefer it to the better lit shot on 35 mm). The rest of the trip I shot with a Canon 10D, but none of the shots were close to the one shot at Convict Lake.

I am glad to hear there are others who want to work quickly when the moment is right. I guess we all need to find our own rhythm.

[Peter Collins]

David Goldfarb is right. Everyone should go back and read it again!

Ansel Adams got Moonrise **partly** because he had spent way more time than we ever will trudging around the high Sierras and elsewhere in the West--lots of heavy gear, making photographs. He could be fast because he had been at it for 20 years already. And **partly** because he was lucky. Remember, by his own telling, he got Moonrise after giving up on a stump he had spent too much time on. In his words, more or less, "The stump won."