Why LF doesn't seem to be working for me

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

I have been contemplating moving from 4X5 to some format of roll film. On any given day I can be lusting after a new camera in the 645 to 6X12 range. As I don't print any larger than 16X20 I have a lot of latitude in choices. It does seem that the longer I am out of work the smaller the format I think I can afford. Lately I have been bouncing and and forth between a Mamiya RB67 and a Bronica ERTS 645

[Bruce Watson]

I lack motivation to deal with the hassle of the format. Trying to shoot LF often stresses me out...

For LF you don't need to be a team player, but you do need a good attitude. If you think that LF is a hassle, and it stresses you out, then perhaps LF isn't for you. No shame in that, it is what it is. LF ain't for everyone, else LFers wouldn't be such an incredibly small minority in photography. So sell it all and don't look back. Life is too short for self imposed hassles and stresses.

[Drew Wiley]

Edward - why not just pick up a good roll film back for your 4x5? It will be less costly and
way lighter wt than a big clunky dedicated MF SLR system, but the same film cost. Image
quality will probably be way better too since you can still use view camera movements.
SLR's are nice for quick shots and stormy conditions, but are otherwise pretty disappointing once you get to the printing stage, at least to me.

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

Hey Drew, I have a 6X7 roll film back for my 4X5. The problem is that my 4X5 is a CC400. I think I could carry a RB67 and every lens Mamiya ever made for it and it would still be a drop in weight and size. I am currently limited to about 100 paces from the parking lot/side of the road.

[Brian C. Miller]

Trying to shoot LF often stresses me out whereas I get a big buzz shooting my slrs (film and digital). Shooting lf is time consuming and expensive. I lack inspiration for projects or themes that I feel merit the use of LF.

I started in LF because MF wasn't giving me the focusing I wanted. What camera? Pentax 6x7. How much does it weigh? The same as a Graflex Super Graphic. How fast do I shoot with it? About the same speed as a Super Graphic. What's the main difference between the Pentax and the Graflex? The convenience of roll film and an SLR.

I've never really been into 35mm. I went from a 35mm point & shoot to medium format. Why? Because the point & shoot definitely couldn't give me what I wanted to do: I wanted to shoot by moonlight. I bought a Pentax because I couldn't afford a Rollei or Hasselblad.

As for projects, there are no projects worthy of film. None. Or every project is worthy of film. Whichever. So don't worry about it. This stuff doesn't have a long shelf life, so don't expect anybody to see what you've done in a few hundred years. You'd have to use glass or pottery or sculpture for that.

Recently I set about using up the "expired" roll film in the bottom of my fridge. I went out with my Holga and rode around on my bicycle photographing alleys and stuff viewable from alleys. Most of the images contain the alley, positioned to stretch it into the horizon. Looking at a series of them, it really produces sort of a Zen effect. Now, I wouldn't have those images if I hadn't decided to shoot up the film, right? So there you go.

[George E. Sheils]

You have received a lot of very good opinions here, OP.

However, I find what Rick has said has particular resonance. It is commonplace for us photographers to run dry at some stage during our lives and lose our sense of direction...but sometimes all it takes is a serendipitous moment of inspiration from someone else's work to re-awaken our love for photography. In Rick's case he happened across a print so superb that it re-awoke what attracted him to the medium in the first place.

I too have had a layoff where I became burnt out and placed my cameras down for 10 years without pressing a shutterbutton - only to have my interest re-kindled by an invitation to take part in a lo-fi shoot for a day.This was enough to make photography fun for me again and I got my mojo back, so to speak.

Keep the faith. Go to visit exhibitions. Look at high quality photo work from other photographers. It doesn't make difference whether its LF, medium or lo-fi stuff. Be patient...but don't make any rash decisions to sell off gear that you might live to regret. I sold off my lf gear (Sinar F2 and a bunch of lenses and I'm still regretting it as I now have to build up again).

Yeah, keep the faith.

[Drew Wiley]

OK Brian ... Let's compare. I do have a Pentax 6x7 and 300mm lens, which about right for a
shot I'd really like to take from the summit of an 11000 ft peak this Spring (actually, not
hypothetically). Then for that big cannon barrel I'd need my Ries tripod, preferably the same one I use for the 8X10. Add another P67 lens or two... Now compare that to a Nikkor
300M on my Ebony 4X5, a couple other dinkey view lenses, a graphite tripod, and a Horseman 6X9 back ... I'd end up not only with a far lighter pack, but also much crisper
negative, plus the option of view movements. The P67 would have an advantage only in
bad wind. And with the Ebony I still retain the option of shooting full 4X5 film as well.

[Brian C. Miller]

Well, Drew, I have one serious tripod, a Bogen 3036. So all my cameras have the same quick release plate. So no transport difference there. (I have a large Benbo, but I need to get a nut and wrench to replace the stripped handle.)

Pentax 6x7 with 300mm Takumar, vs Super Graphic and Schneider "classic" 360mm f/5.5 Tele-Xenar plus film holders.

Which is more of a brick?

Or how about Cambo 8x10 studio camera (18 pounds?) and Fujinon 360mm f/6.3 plus film holders?

It ain't heavy, it's my camera!

[alexn]

Thats the beauty of being human.. We're all different...

I work 12hr days 5 to 6 days a week, I have a 3 month old daughter at home, however Every sunday I wake up at 3am, drive to a pretty coastline or a nice country side and spend from say 4:15 through to 8 am shooting my LF.. As other people mentioned, the use of roll film holders makes it easy (nigh on trivial) to shoot an LF camera. and I find that 4hrs a week is more than enough shooting time for me both capture the images I want to capture, and de-stress myself to a point where working the long hours doesn't affect me... I use my LF as a stress reliever, under the dark cloth is the one place I can have silence, switch my mind off, and just be in the moment with the image on the GG...

I have 10~12 exposed rolls of E6 in my fridge at the moment, These will all be processed in the coming few weeks... Then on weeknights, if I get time, I will inspect my slides, maybe only 5 or 6 slides a night, and select the ones to be scanned. I might scan a couple a night, and again, if I get time, process them on the computer within a month or so... The turnaround from shooting to printing can be 3 months, That doesn't concern me... I find with DSLRs I shoot 10x the amount of shots, I tend to process more of them even if they are flawed, and will be more stressed an hectic trying to wade through 400 images, where with slides I might only deal with 10~30 images...

Immediacy breeds mediocracy in my opinion. I am FAR more selective of my images when I see the slides months after I shot them, because the time makes you forget the hardship involved with capturing the image...

I drive 1.5 hrs to a location, hike all the LF gear 1.5kms up a beach to get to a bluff/rocky out crop (in pitch black night) set everything up, all the work involved in shooting the LF format.. then I go all the way back home.. If I had the images straight away, I would find something in them to love, because I am still mentally attached to the whole process of creating the image. Once you separate from that, you find that the images you call 'keepers' are of far higher quality because you are judging them purely on their merits and flaws, with no psychological attachment...

[Peter Gomena]

I went through a stretch of a dozen years when I couldn't budget time for much of any photography. When I did get out, I was so rusty that LF was a big hassle. Then, one day, I wanted to make a stitched panoramic view of a scene near my home. Only LF would do the job properly. So, I dug my 4x5 out, loaded the holders, and made the shots. Since that day, I've steadily used my LF gear more each year. I recently had my Hasselblad repaired, and I'm using that more as well. I'm a casual shooter by the standards of many here, but I do get out and use my LF gear, and I enjoy it. It is not a camera format for speedy use or instant reaction to changing light or subject matter. It's a tool for more contemplative work, and that suits me. I'll keep the gear and use it until I can't lift it any more.

Peter Gomena