View Full Version : Poll: What caused you to stop or slow down on shooting large- format film?
Otto Seaman
7-Jul-2013, 21:54
Please try to keep your answers useful and not too snide-wise-smug-righteous. Thanks!
Why do you start a poll with such a negative premise when this is a forum for promotion of and learning about Large Format Photography??
This is useless trolling and it will lead to the usual BS that goes nowhere.
WHAT IS THE POINT!!!!!
DELETE!!
Otto Seaman
7-Jul-2013, 23:11
Funny, how did you know I live under a bridge and subsist on roadkill and lost travelers?
Being a photographer you should know that negatives can be printed as positives ;-p The point is that this would be useful information that would help explain and understand the barriers confronting newcomers to large format. Just go through the Buy and Sell ads and of the first 20 posts, several are by people claiming to be leaving LF for good.
If, for instance, the poll shows cost is the largest barrier, perhaps you - gth - could do something positive by explaining how one could continue working in large format economically. Or show us how to simplify, save time, pack expediently, etc.
I know this is a unscientific survey but, given that this is the most active LF forum, even the casual results could be interesting to LF manufacturers, suppliers, inventors, educators... and maybe people other than yourself? Or perhaps you're right, it's a gloomy prospect having all these people quit and we should ignore it and maybe it will stop happening... in which case I am sure the wise Mods will step up and delete.
David A. Goldfarb
8-Jul-2013, 04:55
A heavier, more regimented work schedule for the past three years has cut into my time for personal projects in general, so most of my photography is work related and more suited to DSLR work. I do shoot the occasional large format portrait for work-related projects, when we're not on a tight schedule, but usually, everything has to be ready to go online or to press the same day, and photography isn't the main thing that I do.
Funny, how did you know I live under a bridge and subsist on roadkill and lost travelers?
Being a photographer you should know that negatives can be printed as positives ;-p The point is that this would be useful information that would help explain and understand the barriers confronting newcomers to large format. Just go through the Buy and Sell ads and of the first 20 posts, several are by people claiming to be leaving LF for good.
If, for instance, the poll shows cost is the largest barrier, perhaps you - gth - could do something positive by explaining how one could continue working in large format economically. Or show us how to simplify, save time, pack expediently, etc.
I know this is a unscientific survey but, given that this is the most active LF forum, even the casual results could be interesting to LF manufacturers, suppliers, inventors, educators... and maybe people other than yourself? Or perhaps you're right, it's a gloomy prospect having all these people quit and we should ignore it and maybe it will stop happening... in which case I am sure the wise Mods will step up and delete.
Heh, heh.... I'll try to save you my next roadkill......
Don't take it personally, but for ME, I simply don't like the negativity.... I don't need to hear you stopped doing LF, that you dropped film etc. Obviously it's none of my business, but mainly because it invariably launches a heated discussion that leads nowhere.... it's not good PR for young photographers that might be interested in picking up LF and film.
The best this forum can produce is sound information from current practitioners..... and mainly that's what it does well. I'd like to see the emphasis on that.
For instance a more positive POLL would be one that asked WHY you become interested and why you decided to pick up LF and what was your first mistakes..... that brings the Art and craft of LF FORWARD.
Hehe, I'm missing an option like:
(X) "Zilch! Nothing and nobody will ever stop me :-)"
I am in a phase of my life where I am increasing the amount of 8x10 work in Canada and do almost no 35mm work; Medium format abroad.
BrianShaw
8-Jul-2013, 06:34
While the premise may be somewhat negative, it reflects reality for some of us. Shooting LF takes time and concentration - both of which have been scarce lately. I reverted from mostly LF to MF and, most lately, back to 35mm because that is what can be done. In a future phase of life I expect to be moving back again. I can see it... the light at the end of the tunnel!
Jim Noel
8-Jul-2013, 06:57
Being more than 80 years of age.
Brian Ellis
8-Jul-2013, 07:20
I'm not going to go into all the reasons for me but none had anything to do with the options in this poll. The very first thing that got me thinking about digital was seeing some prints by George deWolfe. I was in Bar Harbor with a friend who knew him. We happened to bump into him on the street and started talking. At one point George pulled out a couple b&w prints from his car that he had made from scanned negatives. This was probably late 1990s, when the conventional wisdom was that a good b&w print couldn't be made digitally. George's prints quickly dispelled that notion, they were gorgeous prints, as good or better than any b&w prints I had ever seen. So that piqued my interest and it kind of evolved from there.
Otto Seaman
8-Jul-2013, 07:37
Maybe I am a bit negative since I did forget to add an option for "Not slowing down but shooting more LF film than ever", which would be my case as well. Sorry about that!
Looks like "time" is the early leader.
I am an "other" voter. I still shoot 8x10 in my studio/still life work. However I have found 2 disadvantages to 4x5 in landscape. #1 it is hard not to take "stiff" looking photos and #2 it is heavy to hike around with. My other reason is that I like the "look" I get with my Rolleiflex better. More free, more fluid and just as sharp.
Dennis
Designing a new camera. It took a long time.
mathieu Bauwens
8-Jul-2013, 08:31
Well, I can't answer to your poll because I do more and more LF in 4x5 inches, for fine art photography, portraiture, weddings and so on...
Bruce Watson
8-Jul-2013, 08:58
My health.
bob carnie
8-Jul-2013, 09:10
plus 1
I am only shooting 4x5 and 8x10 and considering 11x14 , I have no use for smaller format these days. I use the camera phone for happy snaps.
Handling a 8x10 sheet of film is a great thing.
I am in a phase of my life where I am increasing the amount of 8x10 work in Canada and do almost no 35mm work; Medium format abroad.
bob carnie
8-Jul-2013, 09:11
I am in that group.
Maybe I am a bit negative since I did forget to add an option for "Not slowing down but shooting more LF film than ever", which would be my case as well. Sorry about that!
Looks like "time" is the early leader.
No slow-down: more 5x7, less 4x5.
No digital except snapshots.
Bill_1856
8-Jul-2013, 10:28
I'm not going to go into all the reasons for me but none had anything to do with the options in this poll. The very first thing that got me thinking about digital was seeing some prints by George deWolfe. I was in Bar Harbor with a friend who knew him. We happened to bump into him on the street and started talking. At one point George pulled out a couple b&w prints from his car that he had made from scanned negatives. This was probably late 1990s, when the conventional wisdom was that a good b&w print couldn't be made digitally. George's prints quickly dispelled that notion, they were gorgeous prints, as good or better than any b&w prints I had ever seen. So that piqued my interest and it kind of evolved from there.
I started down the primrose path at one of Brian's Large Format groups in St. Petersburg (Largo?), when someone (I don't remember who) showed his prints and tiny digital camera. It probably took 5 more years before I totally converted. I continue to shoot occasional LF but with the demise of Polaroid I've fondled my big cameras a lot more than I['ve used them. When the Polaroid stock in my fridge goes bad or is used up then no more LF for me.
Poll does not allow for new users.
I am increasing my dosage FROM zero!
Spell check suggested I change 'usage' to 'dosage', I agreed!
I hear that light clearly and I am doing my damndest to shoot at least one good image before that train arrives.
I am enjoying slowing the f*** down in retirement, no more deadlines.
Finally I 'see'..
While the premise may be somewhat negative, it reflects reality for some of us. Shooting LF takes time and concentration - both of which have been scarce lately. I reverted from mostly LF to MF and, most lately, back to 35mm because that is what can be done. In a future phase of life I expect to be moving back again. I can see it... the light at the end of the tunnel!
"Shooting LF takes time and concentration"
...as do most other things worth doing. Even sleeping takes time :)
mainly because in the summer months my time is less and less, but when the fall comes
i will probably be shooting as much as i was before ... not much film though, mostly
hand coated paper and glass ... and store bought paper
BrianShaw
8-Jul-2013, 11:28
"Shooting LF takes time and concentration"
...as do most other things worth doing. Even sleeping takes time :)
Yes, I know. Fortunately I get a little more of that than I do of LF (or any other kind of photography). Not much more, though! :o
Had a kid...well..wife at the time actually had the kid, making me a parent
so it was a combination of no time and no money..oh..and selling off all my stuff to make ends meet
post divorce... I've gotten back into it as kid is older and can help slog stuff around and pose for lens tests
Kirk Gittings
8-Jul-2013, 11:39
I switched completely from film to digital for my commercial work some years ago. Though I overwhelmingly shoot LF film for my personal work, as a result of that switch I now shoot some of my personal work with stitches from a DSLR because when I am on a commercial shoot on the road and run into a potential personal images the DSLR is all I have with me. It has taken me some years to get competent enough with the stitched DSLR b&w images where I am confident hanging them next to my traditional b&w in shows.
Doug Howk
8-Jul-2013, 15:14
I retired last year and recently turned 70, so I am more conscious of what I carry. But that just means I've gotten away from carrying everything I own;-) I do less 8X10 now but that's just a personal preference for other formats especially 5X7. With more free time I plan to do even more LF photography as well as staying in better shape so can continue carrying them.
Oren Grad
8-Jul-2013, 20:39
The number of sheets of LF film I've exposed has gone up over the last couple of years, not down.
tangyimail
9-Jul-2013, 08:35
Doing more than less, for the past year. But it is bulky, especially when traveling.
Richard Wasserman
9-Jul-2013, 08:51
I contracted pneumonia about a month ago and have not only stopped large format photography, but just about everything else in my life. My doctor assures me this is temporary and my energy will return... If he is correct—and I'm sure he is—I will resume where I left off working on a few large projects. I will be shooting lots of 4x5 both color and B&W.
Scott Davis
9-Jul-2013, 09:26
I'd love to shoot more with the ULF monster 14x17, but cost is a major driver on not doing THAT more. And I've just had a bit of a mood swing away from LF/ULF lately. I'll swing back, I'm sure. Especially if I get a studio again and can shoot big negatives, and finally get my NuArc hooked up (have to get an electrician in to connect a 220v line to my darkroom for it). So at the moment I'm just suffering from disenchantment, combined with a raging lust for my Rolleiflex. The Rollei is a take-anywhere, shoot-anything kind of camera, and it takes portraits that look the way I want without the headaches of hauling the whole plate or the 5x7 around.
evan clarke
9-Jul-2013, 09:35
So, a question. What is anybody doing, of any activity, exactly the same way and amount you were doing it 5 years ago? I morph a little every day...
Nobody, and I can barely remember how I did photography 5 years ago.
But that's why I shoot, for evidence...
So, a question. What is anybody doing, of any activity, exactly the same way and amount you were doing it 5 years ago? I morph a little every day...
goamules
9-Jul-2013, 13:14
New Poll needed:
Reasons for starting or increasing large format photography?
- Relaxed workflow
- Handmade process (chemical mixing, film loading, printing methods, etc.)
- Because I like to be different than the masses
- I enjoy meeting people and talking about vintage photography
- The history
- My camera cost less than a good DSLR and a couple prime lenses
- I like to shoot vintage (soft focus, Petzval, etc.) lenses traditionally
- I like to spend a lot of time on one, perfect shot, not spray and pray
- other ____
Let's vet a new poll, to make sure it has valid choices. The previous poll left out a lot of options.
I like contact printing.
I like archaic technology.
I like watching a print come up in developer.
Those are just a few.
I also like using up old film and paper, that others have thrown away or abandoned, same with equipment.
New Poll needed:
Reasons for starting or increasing large format photography?
- Relaxed workflow
- Handmade process (chemical mixing, film loading, printing methods, etc.)
- Because I like to be different than the masses
- I enjoy meeting people and talking about vintage photography
- The history
- My camera cost less than a good DSLR and a couple prime lenses
- I like to shoot vintage (soft focus, Petzval, etc.) lenses traditionally
- other ____
Peter Lewin
9-Jul-2013, 15:04
I rather like goamules' approach, and my answer would be: "[handmade] process (chemical mixing, film loading, printing methods, etc." To expand slightly, I'm now shooting more 4x5, not less. In years gone by, part of my photography was "hobby/professional" where I was staff photographer for a very small magazine, and did some weddings/bar mitvahs on the side, and had my little Leica with me a lot for grab shots/documentation of anything that caught my interest. These days I concentrate on 4x5, shooting less in total, but more large format, because I'm doing it for my own enjoyment, and I enjoy the LF process, and the tactile enjoyment of larger negatives, much more than either 35mm or digital.
Daniel Stone
9-Jul-2013, 16:32
my GX680III kit has kept me from exposing more 5x7 as of late...
but it's "essentially" a LF camera, with a motor winder :).
It has tilt, shift, rise/fall and swing! So isn't it considered a LF camera too ;)?
-Dan
Actually I have been told it is not, nor are my 2X3 Speed Graphics and Mamiya RB even if I do shoot only sheet film with both.
my GX680III kit has kept me from exposing more 5x7 as of late...
but it's "essentially" a LF camera, with a motor winder :).
It has tilt, shift, rise/fall and swing! So isn't it considered a LF camera too ;)?
-Dan
Daniel Stone
9-Jul-2013, 16:40
Actually I have been told it is not, nor are my 2X3 Speed Graphics and Mamiya RB even if I do shoot only sheet film with both.
I know Randy, I was joking :p
imho, sheet film is sheet film
and I never get a joke just before dinner, pasta in the pot right now...
I know Randy, I was joking :p
John Olsen
9-Jul-2013, 16:57
Why is there no choice to vote for "I'm doing more this year"? I bought a new truck just to overcome the inertia problems and have had a couple of productive expeditions. I am looking forward to shooting more LF than in the last few years, even though I am not exclusively one format or another. Please include a positive option in this poll.
redrockcoulee
9-Jul-2013, 18:19
my GX680III kit has kept me from exposing more 5x7 as of late...
but it's "essentially" a LF camera, with a motor winder :).
It has tilt, shift, rise/fall and swing! So isn't it considered a LF camera too ;)?
-Dan
I think the GX680 exceeds the LF maximum weight criteria :)
Don Dudenbostel
10-Jul-2013, 05:18
I make my living as a commercial photographer and the demand has dropped to 0 for film of any kind. The last LF shoot was four or five years ago when I shot a product for a client that was to be enlarger to early 40ft.
Personal work has dropped some especially film. I've been there and done it since 1964 and time to move into other areas of interest. I'm shooting much less film because I'm now shooting collodion wet plate and loving it. It's new and fresh giving me a different way of seeing and a completely unique image.
Another reason, MF digital is superb when I want to shoot color. It's not LF but if I need a view camera solution I simply snap my LF back on my 2x3 Technikardan. For portability I use my Hasselblad digital or Nikon D800. Color film selections are fading, prices are high and quality labs are going away. When E6 of Atlanta closed it sealed the deal to leave LF color.
Next reason, I'm retiring next year and in the months following I'll be moving across the country and most likely will not have the space for a film darkroom.
StoneNYC
10-Jul-2013, 05:31
As long as my newly (used) 4x5 comes in the mail before December (that would be an awful postal nightmare) I'll be increasing my LF work from 0 to "something" haha very excited!
I rather like goamules' approach, and my answer would be: "[handmade] process (chemical mixing, film loading, printing methods, etc." To expand slightly, I'm now shooting more 4x5, not less" "These days I concentrate on 4x5, shooting less in total, but more large format, because I'm doing it for my own enjoyment, and I enjoy the LF process, and the tactile enjoyment of larger negatives, much more than either 35mm or digital.
Same as Peter, but also 8x10. Love working in the darkroom. I do shoot digital, but not as the "main attraction".
Drew Wiley
10-Jul-2013, 08:24
Ha - film and paper are better than ever, in both black and white and color categories. My darkrooms are well equipped. Why the heck would I want to give up LF?
Don Dudenbostel
11-Jul-2013, 03:19
Ha - film and paper are better than ever, in both black and white and color categories. My darkrooms are well equipped. Why the heck would I want to give up LF?
I think a lot of us would argue this. I started shooting and printing seriously in 1958 and the selection of film and paper was amazing. Not only the selection but the quality was IMO superior to today's silver products.
My photo career started in 1968 and by the early 70's the selection had started to thin. DuPont was gone, Ansco and several others and Kodak had started thinning their selection. RC paper came in and the the price of silver increased triggering a reduction in silver and increase in organic dyes. IMO the last really good papers, old school, we're Forte. Efke / Adox 50 and 200 are / were old school with that rich tonal scale.
If you used premium papers from the 60's and earlier you would not say they are better than ever.
Oren Grad
11-Jul-2013, 06:56
triggering a reduction in silver and increase in organic dyes
By "organic dyes" do you mean OBAs, or...?
Kirk Gittings
11-Jul-2013, 07:22
I contracted pneumonia about a month ago and have not only stopped large format photography, but just about everything else in my life. My doctor assures me this is temporary and my energy will return... If he is correct—and I'm sure he is—I will resume where I left off working on a few large projects. I will be shooting lots of 4x5 both color and B&W.
Sorry to hear that Richard. Get well soon.
Drew Wiley
11-Jul-2013, 08:20
Don - I too miss the wonderful graded papers of the past - true Seagull G, Portriga, Brilliant Bromide; I've got a number of prints my older brother did on DuPont
papers and gold toned. Any I liked some of the late Forte papers. Seagull was particularly versatile. But any image I've reprinted recently has come out better on
the new VC papers, such as MGWT, Kentermere Fineprint, Adox MCC... Film? Yeah, I miss Super XX, but TMY is more versatile for me anyway. We've got all kinds of
wonderful black and white films to choose from at the moment. And color? Well, you'd have to go back before my time, clear back to Kodachrome sheet film to tempt
me in that direction ... and if it still existed, nobody could afford it. Making color prints is easier than ever and the current Kodak color neg films are simply
marvelous. I've shot and printed far more than my share of transparencies. Life is good. No need to sweat about the past, or even to enter the salt mines of
digital printing. ...
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