say hello to my er...little friend

[thedeep]

hello largeformatters.

I've been lurking here for quite some time as I've been piecing together my kit over the past year or more. Reading mostly about equipment, not technique just yet.

anyhow, I'm a digital artist, working in visual effects, with a background in the sciences/math---photography was my lead into the technical arts. I've shot 35mm for over ten years, since high school, and have shot a bit of medium format and recently sub 35mm dslr. I wanted to get into large format mostly for the technical aspects (focus plane adjustment, perspective control), as well as large negs. Oh, and to look cool with a big camera at national parks. =D

so I got myself a sinar p2 4x5 (the little friend in question. Don't worry, I'm young, but it probably won't go more than 100 feet from my car), with a sa 90/5.6, sinaron 150/5.6, sinaron 300/5.6, all in db mounts, and the assorted stuff needed to make it work. I'm still on the hunt for a few more items, but I should be ready to take this setup with me on a road trip through the american southwest soon.

anyway, thought I'd introduce myself before posting a few wanted ads, but otherwise I'm usually content to peruse old threads---well, at least until I start taking actual images. haha.

be seeing you!

[Ron Marshall]

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are set. What else do you need before shooting?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Welcome to the forum!

[Scott Knowles]

One small suggestions before you leave on your trip? Practice first near home and get the sheets processed so you can get an initial review of your technique, mechanics and understanding. The last thing you need is to learn when you have great opportunities in front of you and have to hope the images come out.

It pays to become familar with the equipment, field work, the lenses, and the exposure. The key for me is to make the field work process (mechanics) instinctive so I can concentrate on the image and the exposure. And take lots of notes so you can refer back to remember what worked and what went awry.

Good luck.

[John Kasaian]

Welcome!

[thedeep]

thanks all! and yep, I plan on testing with instant film before I set off, as well as while I'm shooting. Because of my digital background, I'm quite familiar with photoshop and other manipulators, but I'm also well aware that you can't create info when it's not there (something my peers face every day, sadly), at least not without a lot of effort, so getting it right on film is the whole point. Everything afterwards is shine, and you know what they say about shine...