The joy of photography

[Riverman]

Pretty new to the forum and to large format. Bright winter morning in London - up and out before sunrise.

Man- after a truly grim week at work it's so fantastic to just get out into the sunshine and shoot photos. Such a buzz and the perfect antidote to the nine to five. Really - it's like a natural high.

Images are probably not up to much - so far I've only shot 3 or 4 frames of black and white 5 x 4 (adox 50 - sheets plagued by dust after my artless loading). This morning was my first crack at colour - with a quickload holder and some fuji pro 160.

After shooting 35mm for 10 years and 120 for 2, I've found the step up to 5 x 4 quite a challenge but I'm relishing it. And I think I'm beginning to realise that planning and preparation is so important. I need to be constantly five or ten minutes ahead of the light!

Well, if the weather holds it should give me a nice sunset over the Thames this afternoon. If I can get round to scanning some of first shots I'll post them up here. I've noticed there's some great work on the cityscapes threads - do people generally find it more of a challenge working in crowded urban environments than out in the sticks?

I've found it quite distracting working with 5 x 4 as a novice when there are crowds around - because I'm new to the format I work pretty slowly and really have to concentrate - part of me wants to escape to coast or countryside the next bright morning like this so that I can really concentrate and not feel quite so self conscious under the gaze of passers by wondering "what the hell is that guy doing with that weird looking camera?"

Have a great weekend all! Enjoy the sunshine.

[bgh]

Welcome to the forum, and to 4x5! So glad to read your post, and particularly the title of the thread--in the midst of the concerns over equipment and techniques, it is easy to gloss over the fact that this is, for the most part, a particularly enjoyable thing to do. It is a beautiful world out there, with joy and beauty around so many corners. And I find that shooting with my LF camera is a wonderful way to help me to enjoy the world around me that much more.

Keep up the good work, and enjoy!

Bruce

[Brian Ellis]

Nice post, thanks. You'll find that the self-consciousness goes away after a while. And I think many people do find it more pleasant to photograph in the countryside than in an urban environment, one of the reasons for the popularity of landscape photography. I enjoyed both but in the city where I used to live I was always worried about being mugged and robbed when I photographed in the areas where I liked to photograph. Never happened but it was always a concern, especially while under the darkcloth.

[Riverman]

Cheers for the replies. It is seriously good fun working in this format. Unfortunately the clouds conspired against me at sunset so I didn't get the shot I'd hoped for of full-on sun bathing the buildings on the horizon to the east. Mind you - a little after sunset the sky to took on a soft, pastel glow. Pink clouds and contrails. Light meter batteries failed so I guessed my exposure - fingers crossed! After observing at the start of the thread the importance of planning and preparation when working in this format, this evening I learned my first lesson in improvising on the spot!

[Kirk Gittings]

Welcome. One thing to try........grow a big beard, get a photo vest, a funny looking hat and people will think you are an old school famous photo nerd. Adopt an almost famous "field" name like A. Edward Adams Jr. You can then spend your time in the field chatting and signing autographs while slowly making images and your slowness will be seen as being deliberate and methodical and become an asset. People will faun all over you and try to emulate your image with their point and shoot digital cameras.

Actually just think about doing some practicing at home setting up the camera, dry shooting etc. until it becomes more routine. Your confidence will grow and time in the field will become about the joy of image making rather than the frustrations of learning technique. Nothing else but images will matter. I remember the first few times I went out. I was so slow that I completely missed the good light. So I started practicing in my spare moments. It worked. I still don't like working with people around, but now I can get there and get the image quickly and move on.

[Riverman]

Hello again all. I started this thread back in November after my first few shots of 5x4. A dozen or so negs later and I'm definitely hooked. Over the last 10 years I've shot 35mm and 120 but neither is as satisfying as working in large format is proving to be - despite some of the mishaps. Last Saturday I stood in the cold for an hour or so thinking I was making 3 great photos. In fact I'd neglected to remove the darkslides! DOH! An expensive error - but I've learned my lesson!

I've been most pleased with some of the colour riverscapes I've been shooting by the Thames at that magic hour around sunset. Most of them on a eBay bargain ancient Rodenstock - the lens has really visible balsam discoloration but it doesn't appear to affect the image on the neg at all.

I'd really like to scan a couple of these and post them up here. After mulling the idea of buying a scanner I've decided against it for the time being. I can hire access to an Imacon and will probably post some stuff in the next few months.

I'm now eager to try a 6x12 roll film back and am on the lookout for one of the Horseman ones. I have a stack of Fuji Reala to shoot - I like this film for landscapes and it's a shame it's unavailable in 5x4.

I haven't used a black and white darkroom since 2003 and have never done any colour darkroom work but I've resolved to sign up to a darkroom course for colour and b&w in Feb so that I can start printing my own stuff again. I note that a lot of users here scan and digitally print their colour work. Are there many of you doing your own colour darkroom printing?

[eddie]

i am glad you are having fun!

i bought a very cheap HP scanner that i use just for quick scans. it cost like $80. a fun thing to have to play on different forums.

eddie