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Gene McCluney
20-May-2007, 17:50
There is something about Large Format that is missing from most other modes of photography. It is a hands-on, DIY thing. You get to participate in "making" the image more than any other photographic media. A lens comes in, I make a new lensboard for it. Bellows needs replacing, no big deal, I have one made, and put it on myself. Don't have a 5x7 back for that 8x10, no big deal, find an old 5x7 back and adapt it to the 8x10. It's all so hands on. Mounting Packard shutters, patching bellows, loading holders, etc. It's great fun particularly with older wood cameras.
I recently made several "adaptor" lensboards so I could use my Sinar mounted, Toyo mounted and Eastman 11x14 2d mounted lenses on my Agfa/Ansco 8x10. Now I will probably make an adaptor to mount my Graphic mounted lenses on some of these other cameras. Total interchangeability, cool.

Bill_1856
20-May-2007, 19:19
Gene, if I had to go through all that crap to use a LF camera, I wouldn't go within a mile of it.
Large Format Photography isn't about equipment, it's about a state of mind.

John Kasaian
20-May-2007, 19:28
There are exciting elements that ride along on large format's coattails---different things to learn like mixing esoteric chemicals, fabricating small parts, refinishing wood and the properties of 19th century optics to name but a few. I think it does make LF more interesting as it expands the boundaries of your particular state of mind, :)

Glenn Thoreson
20-May-2007, 19:52
Like Gene, I make and repair much of my own LF cameras and accessories. It's as much fun as using the stuff. I do have to watch that I don't get too entangled and miss out on using the stuff, too. It's easy to do that.

Brian Vuillemenot
20-May-2007, 20:17
Large format has a natural, "organic" quality to it. You just feel so connected to the whole image making process, and it makes the keepers especially rewarding because you remember the circumstances you went through to make the images. This is something that one can never get out of the digital, "I'll shoot 1000 shots a day and pick out the top 3 of them" approach to photography.

Vaughn
20-May-2007, 21:11
Instead of the DIY aspect, I am more involved with the MIUY aspect (mess it up yourself). Generally speaking, I don't mess with my cameras -- other than making lens boards out of matboard.

I do like the pace and as Brian mentioned, the process of making the negative -- I find that it contributes to my making of the print...the experience of taking the image influences in a positive manner the making of the print. While I would not call in "organic", they are connected.

That and the image control one has through control of the focus plane.

Vaughn

Photobackpacker
23-May-2007, 13:56
For me it is a great excuse to slow down and see - I mean really SEE.

There is a huge investment in the shutter-drop - in terms of finding a subject, getting your gear to the subject, setting up the camera and then the cost of the media and processing. All of this forces me to take that extra time to cast aside what I expect to see and find what is really there.

It is a gift that keeps on giving. I find that my LF refined eye stays with me all the time - seeing the world through a refined eye.

RDKirk
23-May-2007, 15:45
This is something that one can never get out of the digital, "I'll shoot 1000 shots a day and pick out the top 3 of them" approach to photography.


There is a huge investment in the shutter-drop - in terms of finding a subject, getting your gear to the subject, setting up the camera and then the cost of the media and processing.

So you're saying that digital is male and large format is female.

Vaughn
23-May-2007, 17:14
So you're saying that digital is male and large format is female.

I don't know, looking at it that way, both sound male...

vaughn

Brian Vuillemenot
23-May-2007, 20:53
I don't know, looking at it that way, both sound male...

vaughn

I think he's comparing every digi shot to a spermatozoan whereas a sheet of 8X10 film would be an oocyte. In addition to the massive difference in time and energy invested, both are about the same difference in terms of relative size, assuming we're drum scanning in the 8X10 film so we can make a direct comparison to the digi shot. Sperm (and digi shots) are also much more common than eggs (and 8X10 sheets of film), and the later are both far more prized by most male heterosexual large format photographers.

Vaughn
23-May-2007, 21:29
I don't know Brian,

"There is a huge investment in the shutter-drop - in terms of finding a subject, getting your gear to the subject, setting up the camera and then the cost of the media and processing."

This just sounds so much like a guy trying to pick up chick at a bar, keeping in mind the old saying, "The best things in life are free...and they're worth every penny they cost."

I guess I'm not meant for such deep thoughts on such a shallow subject -- I keep whacking my head on the bottom of the pool...

Vaughn

Jorge Gasteazoro
23-May-2007, 21:56
There is a huge investment in the shutter-drop - in terms of finding a subject, getting your gear to the subject, setting up the camera and then the cost of the media and processing. All of this forces me to take that extra time to cast aside what I expect to see and find what is really there.

Hmmmm.....my problem is going thorugh all this, developing the neg, printing it and having it turn out like crap....leaving me wondering why the hell did I take this fucking shot?.... LOL....

ic-racer
25-May-2007, 06:43
In general I think that doing analog photography reqires the skill to keep the equipment in shape. The amount and complexity of all the equipment that goes into making a fine conventional b&w print is amazing. Everything from lensboard alignment, to exposure meter calibration to making sure the print washer works correctly, safe lights are safe, camera light leaks, sticky shutters, light leaks etc.

Since I love fixing things, analog photography is a good pasttime for me. I don't see how others can do it without having a local technician to keep everything working.

Gene McCluney
25-May-2007, 09:53
Since I love fixing things, analog photography is a good pasttime for me. I don't see how others can do it without having a local technician to keep everything working.

Late model large format cameras and lens/shutters are amazingly resiliant and trouble free. My Sinar P expert system has plugged along for over 30 years now without any repair. But it was purchased new. The commercial Ektar lenses I use on it are near 50 years old and still work just fine for me. If you tinker with antique equipment then yes, you need to be a bit of a fixer-upper. In general all analog, mechanical cameras are more trouble-free than the modern digital whiz-bang cameras.