First LF shots !

[Mark Straughen]

Hi all,

Having only previously posted in the Introduction forum, thought I'd share some of my first shots with you. First impressions of my move from DSLR to Large Format, I've found focusing, setting controls, and exposure hardly a problem at all to adapt to. I have been finding it hard to effectively find a good composition, mostly due to the upside down back to front image on the ground glass, but I imagine I will adapt to it the more I shoot.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with my results so far, on Velvia 50, though I am thinking of experimenting with Provia as I'm not sure the saturated colours of Velvia are to my liking.

Scanned on Epson 2450

[Capocheny]

Hi Mark,

Well done!

Yes, the more you shoot with LF... the stranger it'll become to have an image appear "right-side-up" on the screen! :)

Cheers

[Eric James]

Yes, the more you shoot with LF... the stranger it'll become to have an image appear "right-side-up" on the screen! :)

I sure hope you're right HDC, 'cause I'm still dizzy under the cloth after 18 months.

Very nice Mark. I carry an small, aspect-equivalent frame to size up my compositions - one might help you too.

If Velvia 50 is "over the top" for you, consider a box of Velvia 100F, or Astia 100F - both have impressive reciprocity, and the Astia is a bit more forgiving in contrasty situations.

[David Karp]

Very nice.

Regarding the upside down/flipped thing: I don't even notice that things are upside down any more. Its kind of wierd when you think about it.

[Capocheny]

I sure hope you're right HDC, 'cause I'm still dizzy under the cloth after 18 months.

Top of the season to you Eric,

It happens on the 19th month, 8th day... but only if you expose at least 18 or more sheets between the hours of 2:30 PM to 8:00 PM (when there's ample light) between the 6 and 8th day of the 19th month. Then, when you can snatch the pebble from my hand... you may go and expose even more sheets. Grasshopper, the more sheets exposed, the faster you'll become accustomed to all of this. :)

Funny enough, it didn't take me long to grow accustomed to the reversed image - upside down issue that some folks find difficult to adjust to. It's just a matter of giving yourself lots of time to "view" the ground glass and, IMHO, it's easier if there's plenty of light. :)

Faith, my friend... faith! :)

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Cheers

[Greg Lockrey]

Actually looking at your work upside down is a great way to determine if the composition is good. That was a trick we used in art school along with looking at the piece in a mirror.

[Mark Straughen]

Eric, I was recommended Astia by an avid LF landscape photographer, but to me the colours tend to look too 'pastel'. I will be grabbing a box of Provia 100F to try in the next few weeks.

Can't wait til I get used to the upside down image, guess I need to spend as much time as possible under the cloth :)

Cheers guys

Mark

[Capocheny]

Eric, I was recommended Astia by an avid LF landscape photographer, but to me the colours tend to look too 'pastel'. I will be grabbing a box of Provia 100F to try in the next few weeks.

Can't wait til I get used to the upside down image, guess I need to spend as much time as possible under the cloth :)

Cheers guys

Mark

Mark,

I think you'll quite like the Provia 100F...

Greg is spot on... it forces you to "really LOOK" at your composition, which is a good thing! :)

Cheers

[Ash]

I was told the same on my art course, turn your work upside down and suddenly you see where the composition is all wrong :) You'll find that for a more portable option you might want a Rolleicord TLR, as the reversed image (but right side up) keeps you on your toes.

Really nice photo's there though. I'm still trying to get a result with my half-plate camera, ortho film isn't really the best thing to start off with!

[Neal Wydra]

Sweet.

Neal Wydra

[Alan Rabe]

Very nice shots indeed for a first try.
Actually I have found my compositions are better on LF due to the upside down aspect of the image. There is a book called "Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain" that explains it. It seems that the left, analytical, side of the brain can be too controlling over the right, spatial relationships, side. With the image upside down the left side just sort of shuts down and stays out of the way and lets the right side takeover. So you end up composing based on the shapes and their relationship to each other rather than the things in the image. I believe Cartier-Bresson actually had a prism he used on his 35mm cameras that would reinvert the image for just this reason.

[Steven Barall]

Don't fight the upside down backwards thing. Embrace it. Resistance is futile. Anyway, one of the great things about large format is the upside down backwards thing because it forces you to deal with nature as an abstract right at the time of the exposure and it makes you work harder and think harder which is a good thing. People don't think enough.

I think there was a famous photographer back in the day who had eyeglasses made that would force him to see everything upside down and backwards, and he just wore them all day long as he went about his business. This is interesting. I think it was a famous photographer anyway because I can't believe that I thought it up.

Have you thought about negative film??? This is the large format equivalent of pro choice vs. pro life, gun control and tastes great, less filling all rolled into one but I will show no fear and bring it up anyway. Neg film is better. And now as the chairs start to fly and the piano player dives behind the bar I will slink out the back door. Bye bye.

[Rakesh Malik]

Nice first shots!

I've also found that the inverted view forced me to improve my composition skills, once I got over the shock factor of having such a bright, clear view of the scene I was framing :)

BTW, you're not the only one here who likes color neg film... the only reason I don't use it much is that the labs in my area don't process it, so I have to ship it out for that, but for slides and B&W's I can go to a lab 10 minutes away from my house.

You do however gain a lot in exposure latitude, and from what I've seen if you know what you're doing when you scan and post-process the image, you can get stellar results from color negs. I am not yet in that category however; I'm still at the point where I'm relying on some software automation to take care of some of things I haven't learned to do yet when setting up scans.

[ageorge]

Actually your eyeball (lens) is projecting the world upsidedown and backward on to your retina (film) and it's your brain turning it all back the right way. So there is a little LF in everyone:)

[Ash]

Very nice shots indeed for a first try.
Actually I have found my compositions are better on LF due to the upside down aspect of the image. There is a book called "Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain" that explains it. It seems that the left, analytical, side of the brain can be too controlling over the right, spatial relationships, side. With the image upside down the left side just sort of shuts down and stays out of the way and lets the right side takeover. So you end up composing based on the shapes and their relationship to each other rather than the things in the image. I believe Cartier-Bresson actually had a prism he used on his 35mm cameras that would reinvert the image for just this reason.

I totally agree with the concept in your post. I find that spacial awareness is increased significantly with reversed images, although once you 'train' that awareness you dont really need a flipped image. Sure does help when trying to balance and frame a shot though!

Can you remember the author by any chance?

[GSX4]

Great pics. Just curious, what lens was that? I see some light fall off on the corners and wondered if a center filter might be in your future?

[Vaughn]

A month after-the-fact, but great start there Mark!

Early on, I can remember spending a long time under the darkcloth, and when I took the cloth off and looked around, it was the rest of the world that looked upside down. Very strange experience!

My brain turns negatives into positives, too...probably from studying my 8x10 B&W negs on a light table for too long. Sometimes it takes me a while to realize what is going on when I look at someone's "negative" print -- my brain wants to make it a positive.

Keep up the good work!

Vaughn

[vijayn]

Bravo, Mark. While you are experimenting with film, if I may offer a suggestion; please try Kodak's Ektachrome Professional Plus (or EPP as it is known in the parlance). It is also available in Readyloads if you are hesitant about loading your own holders. Welcome to the world of LF.

[Mark Straughen]

Thanks for the kind words all, Andrew the lens I used on these was a 90mm Sinaron f6.8, which is basically a Sinar rebadged Rodenstock Grandagon. I didn't think I would be needing a centre filter on a 90mm, but I am beginning to think I might !

Vijay, funny you mention that, as I have been looking at shots produced by a photographer using that film and I quite like the results, might have to give it a shot.

[Uri Kolet]

Hi Mark, Welcome from Vancouver, Canada. Impressive photographs; where were they taken? Cheers, Uri

[Mark Straughen]

Hi Uri, these shots were both taken at Turimetta Beach here in Sydney Australia.

[Ben Calwell]

Welcome to large format -- very nice images.