With thanks I post a few of my first ever LF frames...

[deldridg]

Hi all,

well, after over 30 years of photography of all sorts, I've finally purchased and now shot my very own large format camera thanks to the great encouragement from many of you and many more hours of reading posts here. I bought a Chamonix 045F-1 (4x5) along with a number of lenses and a geared head for my tripod (Manfrotto 410 + 055 Pro). Lenses are: Schneider 210/5.6, Schneider 150/5.6, Nikkor 90/4.5 SW and a new Schneider 72 XL (against the advice of many more experienced photographers who recommended getting to grips with LF, one lens at a time...). Oh well!

Yesterday morning I headed off to do something no one has ever done before. I was off to shoot Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House etc. At least I thought it was a novel idea. Noone else was within "coo-ee" with a 4x5, that's for sure!

Armed with a single roll of Tri-X 400 and a Sinar Zoom 2 back, my primary aim was to get well exposed (no blow-outs in the clouds and hopefully some good shadow detail) and sharp images with less concern about composition - I had only an hour to shoot the 6 frames and also wanted to practice some lens shift for perspective correction and a bit of Scheimpflug focus shifting.

This morning I scanned all 6 images (the roll was developed for me yesterday) on a Flextight at 3,200 ppi in FFF, ie. raw unconverted 16bit x RGB channels. They were then converted to PSB, de-spotted (these become my final RAW images), converted to B&W using ColorPerfect and a slight bit of curves adjustment applied.

[Please forgive me if I make a terrible gaff on my first image uploads. I have reduced these to 1200px wide (from 17,000px wide) and done some JPG compression. Hope this is OK...]

Here is one of the first frames:

99521

Shot with the Nikkor 90/4.5 SW and used a bit of front swing to keep the whole bridge sharp. Metered off the brightest bit of cloud and exposed 2.5 stops down from there. Next time I would deal with the obvious keystone using rise perhaps...

99522

Again with the Nikkor 90 and this time attempted to use Scheimpflug to keep the nearest spike and the Opera House in focus. Almost...

99526

Straight on with the Schneider 210/5.6. About 2cm front rise to correct for perspective.

99524

And finally a 100% crop from the previous shot. Locals will recognise Cafe Sydney above Circular Quay.

So there are some of my first LF frames. Plenty of work to be done but I've never held a negative with so much information, and these are only 6x12s! I've also shot a few Portra 160 4x5s and they are simply incredible to me.

Many thanks for your time and I hope to bump into some of you in LA in the next week or so!

Cheers,
David

[Jim Cole]

Great first results, David. Congrats! Careful with those tilts on your bridge shot.

[deldridg]

Great first results, David. Congrats! Careful with those tilts on your bridge shot.

Hello Jim - many thanks for your kind words. I'm very much in awe of the camera (it is a thing of art in itself), knowing the potential it has in the expert hands of many folk such as yourself. I've visited your gallery and am further inspired, especially as you are also of the Chamonix 'family'!

Coming to grips with swings, tilts and shifts is going to be both a challenge and a journey for me no doubt. I hear your advice re the tilts and will try to be especially careful! I've just loaded up some film backs and hope to get out again tomorrow morning and practice some more.

As a side note, I was very fortunate to stumble across some lovely gear - a number of the lenses and the Sinar 612 back were being sold off after the passing of their previous owner. Not knowing their worth, I later discovered that I'd purchased them for very little. Hopefully their presence in my camera bag won't confuse me too much...

Thank you once again,
David

[h2oman]

you can't compare'em with today's (spam link removed) hd images

Not a great way to begin your participation in this forum.

Nice work, David - you are of to a nice start. :)

[Harley Goldman]

Nicely done, David. Excellent start.

[John Kasaian]

Good work! Thanks for sharing :D

[Robert Hall]

Off and running, David. Nice work.

[deldridg]

well, I must say they are quite engaging, you can't compare'em with today's (spam link removed) hd images but they still have their own class and uniqueness, keep up the good work...

I'm not sure if this was intended to create a reaction but you have touched upon an important point here and I thank you for it.

You see, I have specifically chosen the LF route now precisely to create images that are mine, that are personal and hopefully very different to the hundreds of millions of (freely downloadable) "today's hd images" of which you speak. Having shot countless thousands of digital images myself using pro gear over many years now, nothing has created a response in me anything like the feeling I had when I first looked at those big, beautiful (analogue) negatives yesterday. I then knew it was all worthwhile. Add to that the kind supportive words of folk on this forum and I have a very wide smile on my face!

Whilst I am unable to completely avoid digital (post) processing as I don't have a darkroom (yet), the heavy costs, inconvenience, time and attention, anxiety, expectation, disappointment and celebration that are all part of creating large format images, is infinitely more satisfying and rewarding to me than anything I've done using my digital gear. Shooting for the joy of it with an instant histogram and instantaneous feedback no longer does it for me. I'll reserve that for photos of my kids.

It must be said that for you to use my very first images (think of me as a large format "L plater") and a first thread of my shots as the basis for promoting your own digital works as superior (and for sale) is a bit sad and cheap. I'm not sure how effective that approach will be to a large format audience to be honest.

Further, while you were complimentary in part, you have made a very unfair comparison - I am not shooting commercially, I have never done this before and it has taken a lot of personal cost to take this step, against the logic of being already able to create "today's hd images" with gear I already have. I'm very glad to have made this leap.

Anyway - I wish you well with your business but please give compliments for the sake of being supportive and only where they mean something. I hope my response hasn't offended you.

Regards,
David

[deldridg]

Many thanks folks for the compliments - they are much appreciated. I've just come back from shooting 2 frames in 2 hours! This is joy... :)

Now I have to wait - oh the anxiety!

Cheers,
David

[deldridg]

While I'm boring you... ;-)

...one point I haven't added is my sheer disbelief at the incredible depth and tonality that these images contain. What staggers me is the resolving capability of a $200 lens (Schneider 210/5.6) and the detail to be found in 400 ISO film.

My intention is to stick to only 1 4x5 BW film (Tri-X 320), 1 4x5 colour film (Portra 160) and possibly 1 4x5 positive (Velvia 100??). I'll probably use the 612 back to try other 120/220 film types out - so as not to confuse matters!

Cheers,
David

[rdenney]

Guys, be careful about responding obvious spam, especially using quotes of the link to the commercial site. I've removed these from a couple of posts--normally we'd remove all the responses but these brought up larger issues for people.

Rick "who would normally not edit a post" Denney

[deldridg]

Guys, be careful about responding obvious spam, especially using quotes of the link to the commercial site. I've removed these from a couple of posts--normally we'd remove all the responses but these brought up larger issues for people.

Rick "who would normally not edit a post" Denney

Hello Rick,

my apologies.

Regards,
David

[DennisD]

Hi David,
Very pleasing work for your "first ever" LF attempt. Your previous experience serves you well and You will obviously derive more and more enjoyment as you dig in deeper !

Very fortunate that you were able to obtain a group of excellent lenses right from the start. Try to explore and understand each one (individually) as you progress. Continued good luck and good wishes.

Dennis

[deldridg]

Hello Dennis and thank you very much for your kind words. While I do have a lot of experience (in the lower formats... hehe), I am quite astonished at my reaction to the whole process - perhaps it stirs something in me that photography used to do back when I was a kid messing around with simple cameras and basic darkroom practices. It's a real labour of love and does force one to engage with every stage. Wonderful. And those negatives! WOW.

I am certainly feeling like I've joined a very generous and supportive society here and really look forward to progressing, sharing and hopefully even adding some value to others who are venturing into LF for the first time.

As for lenses - I have been very fortunate, and I guess being in my 40s and not my 20s, I am in a better position to afford gear - and it's so well priced these days (sadly in some respects). In fact I snared a beautiful and mint conditioned Nikkor M 300 f/9 this morning (from New York actually) for only a few hundred dollars. I am hoping to pick up something like a 120 macro - that should do me for a while! And yes, I agree that concentrating on one lens at a time is time well spent (like playing golf with a 5 iron + putter). It's always amazing what you can achieve!

Most of all, I would love to spread the good word and try to sweep up others who would get enormous value out of slowing down and really engaging with their photography. This is almost a burning mission for me. I've found something that is deeply rewarding and naturally want to share with others. Everyone that stops and shows interest in my 'strange' camera while I'm out shooting gets a first hand experience under the hood. They always emerge with a sense of awe. :)

So again, many thanks and I look forward to more interaction in the future!

Cheers,
David

[DennisD]

Thanks, David, for your reply.

You have a genuine enthusiasm and very generous spirit about sharing your LF photography. May that stay with you always ! I'm sure you will attract many followers over time.

You will always find people here willing to provide advice and help solve any problems that arise.

All the best.

Dennis

[Michael Wynd]

David,
I thought your response to channels3500 to be very mature. The fact that you were able to take something positive out of it was inspiring.
Mike

[deldridg]

David,
I thought your response to channels3500 to be very mature. The fact that you were able to take something positive out of it was inspiring.
Mike

Hello Mike - thank you for your compliment. I try not to take comments such as those I responded to personally. The guy is out there trying to make a living and I wish the best for him. He's chosen a tough space and I was probably a bit harsh.

I get to Canberra quite often to see the in-laws. Next time I head your way I'll pm you if you don't mind and pick your brains for some shooting suggestions. Nice to know that LF lives in your parts!

Take care and cheers,
David

[Leigh]

Nice shots, David. Keep up the good work. :D

- Leigh