Re: Need More LIGHT: Should I start PUSHING?
Leave the practice of pushing to drug dealers. It only takes a tiny bit more patience to shoot a scene for 1/2 sec rather than 1/30th sec, for example. We outdoor LF photographers get quite good at reading wind activity, for sake of exactly the right moment. And smaller aperture stops just come with the territory too.
Re: Need More LIGHT: Should I start PUSHING?
“ Shooting Ilford HP5 400 at f/11 (for sharpness on my f/6.8 210mm Calumet lens) for 1/30 in open shade and getting THIN negs!? 4x5 Calumet monorail cam.
I will admit: I've been bad and haven't really used a light meter...but still!”
That right there is your problem statement amd solution.
Learn how to meter and understand light.
And with negative film setting your ISO to a stop sower will improve those negatives’ densities.
Also, make sure you consider reciprocity failure at longer shutter speeds (1”+).
Read, learn, practice.
Buy a copy of Using the View Camera by Steve Simmons. Stick with one developer, film and paper combo at a clip to get a sense of how things work together before changing tons of variables.
Good shooting
Re: Need More LIGHT: Should I start PUSHING?
And f/11? - rarely the sharpest setting for view camera work. Your film doesn't lie perfectly flat in the holder to begin with. Makes more sense to use around f/22 or f/32 in most cases using 4X5 film if you want optimal detail. Just how many yards wide do you plan to enlarge anyway? Large format film has plenty of surplus real estate, area wise, allowing ample magnification even at somewhat smaller stops like those I just mentioned. That's why published image circles relative to specific lenses are generally provided in relation to f/22. You therefore also might need to standardize on this kind of smaller aperture just to get enough image circle and wiggle room for serious view camera movements like tilt or rise.