What's your (LF) subject matter?

[Colin Corneau]

I'm curious as to what members here aim their LF cameras at -- landscape/scenery? People and portraits? Still lifes/studio work? Other?

The first thing I think of with traditional large format cameras is landscape and nature imagery. That may be from the inevitable influence of Ansel Adams, but I'm wondering how accurate that impression is.

I also have a real tendency (even though I just started using LF) to photograph people; that may be the influence of my work at a daily newspaper.

[Michael Wynd]

Hi Colin,
I usually photography landscapes but have been trying my hand (?) at doing portraits and nudes lately. The big problem is getting them to stay still for long enough. I've thought about using a hammer to stun them, but they didn't seem to like that idea.
Mike

[Daniel_Buck]

landscapes, rocks and trees for me. Starting to get into architecture though, and I'll probably eventually start shooting vehicles with 4x5 as well. (which is what got me into photography in the first place)

[Mike Boden]

Predominately, it's landscapes....that's at least what I market and sell. However, I shoot the occasional portrait, architectural, and abstract for fun.

[Capocheny]

Depending on the weather here in "Rain-couver" during the winter months... landscapes and still lifes.

When it's coming down cats and dogs... definitely still-lifes! :)

Cheers

[naturephoto1]

I predominantly photograph landscape and nature in 4 X 5.

Rich

[Peter Lewin]

Most often architecture or man-made objects in the landscape; next most frequent, still life and the occasional portrait; least often, pure nature-scapes (in general, to my eye, nature in the northeast suburbs, where I live, is nice to look at, but simply not photogenic; it always seems to me that the majority of nature photography posted on these forums is from the West, or even Hawaii, but rarely places like New Jersey...)

[John Kasaian]

Whatever is beautiful and true is fair game.

[Mark Sawyer]

I photograph reality, but it's a sad substitute for what I would rather be photographing...

[Frank Petronio]

I photograph what I'm thinking about.

[Greg Lockrey]

My predominate subjects tend to be abstract with 4x5. Recently I've gotten into 6x17 format and experimenting with doing 3D (stereo) with that format. Hope to have some fall color images (I must be getting old) with that soon. Another little project that I am working on is to use a first surface mirror in front of the lens and make stereo one shot images with that. I have been trying to find a lens pair to use on a 4x5 for this but haven't been successful to date.:)


All cameras should be stereo btw. ;);)

[Ole Tjugen]

Anything that doesn't move too fast.

[Miguel Curbelo]

architecture

[JessJ]

I would like to photograph scenes that I supposed could sell.:)

JessJ

[Armin Seeholzer]

My main part to go into LF was architecture, but meanwhile I'm doing almost everything in LF inkluding portraits and stillives and landscapes.
Armin

[Randy H]

As old and slow as I am getting here lately, once I get the camera set up, it is whatever gets in front of it.
Old machinery and equip sitting in the field, as left-over reminders of some big-time operation of the past. Kinda like ghosts, visiting their past. We have a lot of abandoned oil fields and strip-mines around Oklahoma, so there is ample opportunities if you don't mind long. winding backroads in the middle of nowhere, on a lazy afternoon, with not a soul in sight for miles......

[Joseph O'Neil]

Family shots, then historical sites,even local history. To the outsider it may appear to be architecture and / or landscapes, but I figure pictures of the kids always look best with a lighthouse or mountain in the background. :)
joe

[jnantz]

i photograph a lot of buildings and streetscapes
before stuff is torn down and "fixed" ..
i also make portraits ...

[Scott Davis]

A bit of everything-

Landscape, architecture, "travel" (read: buildings and fun cool stuff to look at in places other than where I live), still life, the occasional macro attempt (mostly with the 'toy' format 4x5. It starts getting to be a challenge to manage the bellows, depth-of-field, and exposure times when doing 5x7 or bigger. :D ), and of course portraits and nudes. There's a simple solution to doing portraits and nudes with large format- use strobes! At short range, you can even get enough oomph out of a Vivitar 283 to work in 4x5 if you shoot at large apertures if you're desperate.

[darr]

With the big cameras I tend to gravitate towards still life and portraiture. I enjoy looking at LF landscape work, but I am not able to transport all the equipment to make those beautiful shots. I wish I could! :)

[scott_6029]

Old stuff - buildings, machines, walls, paint, etc. "city scapes", "gorp" - I think Brett Weston called it that...

[JPlomley]

Landscapes and since picking up a Nikkor 120mm Macro, some of the minutae therein. Had a blast shooting the irridiscent lichens on Cadillac Mountain this fall. It sure is a lot of work though compared to landscapes, but rewarding nonetheless.

[David_Senesac]

Landscapes and nature. Much of the film I expose is with an intention to hopefully market resulting fine art prints in my photog business. I shot with a full bag of 35mm SLR gear many years then moved up to 6x7 and then a view camera. Thus have long since learned the myriad subjects not worth pointing my big camera at. Instead the little Coolpix in my pocket snags all manner of other subjects. Am quite picky about what a potential subject might look like as a big print and its marketability so if not will like just take a little digital image. ...David

[Zach In Israel]

I am working on doing wide field astrophotography with LF, but I haven't quite gotten there yet, with luck by next summer.

[demetrius]

Nudes. And a little architecture.

[Richard M. Coda]

Architectural details, geometric and natural abstractions, and landscapes when they present themselves.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Anything that has a historical significance here in BC, be it buildings, monuments, or churches.

[rwyoung]

Old stuff - buildings, machines, walls, paint, etc. "city scapes", "gorp" - I think Brett Weston called it that...

And all this time I thought "gorp" meant "Good-Old Raisins and Peanuts"! :D

[Oren Grad]

Anything that doesn't move too fast.


What Ole said.

(Small-format photography too... :o)

[John Powers]

As old and slow as I am getting here lately, once I get the camera set up, it is whatever gets in front of it.
Old machinery and equip sitting in the field, as left-over reminders of some big-time operation of the past. Kinda like ghosts, visiting their past. We have a lot of abandoned oil fields and strip-mines around Oklahoma, so there is ample opportunities if you don't mind long. winding backroads in the middle of nowhere, on a lazy afternoon, with not a soul in sight for miles......

Randy,

The Art critic of the Akron Beacon Journal gave me a two dollar word for what I shoot. Entropy, the inevitable and steady deterioration of a system. For a dollar in stamps I will share the word. The first subject was a series on twenty greenhouses that went out of business in 1991 and the deterioration that time, storms off Lake Erie, new wild plant life, vandalism and such have caused. My next project has been the crumbling of the Erie and Ohio Canal system that stopped functioning during the flood of 1913. The first with an 8x10 enlarged to 20x24. The second contact printing 7x17 on silver.

John

[orwellswift]

I tend to shoot still life set ups and have recently been shooting a lot of portraits with 4x5 colour and 8x10 b\w.

[Tudor Vreme]

for myself landscape and structures, for my clients architecture and products, all in color slides 4x5 and 6x12cm rollfilms.

[tim810]

Most of my interest is in photographing cityscapes. Old barns and Mills etc. I like photographing what we (as humans) tend to leave behind. Tonight I Photographed someones old baby stroller burried in 1 foot of newly fallen snow. It was located behind my apt in a rail yard.

[Preston]

My main interest is grand and intimate landscapes in mountain and desert areas; primarily in California. I also like old barns and Gold Rush era architecture, and am currently doing more in this genre.

-PB