Beginning LF in the tradition of Alec Soth, Stephen Shore

[Drew Bedo]

Welcome to the LF world and the LFP community. The pool of knowledge, experience and talent here is deep and wide.

Jump-In? Two ways to go there. Either go all-in with a brand new high-end outfit (Canham, Linhoff, CVhamonix, Schneider, etc.) and that will be in the thousands . . .or slide in with a kit of used and/or ower end components (Speed Graphic, Burk & James, Ansco, Kodak 2D and so on).

Either way, there will be a learning curve in technique (EVERYTHING is manual) and a significant adjustment in creative process. However much you think you want to create images in the style or spirit of an established LF photographer, in the end you may not enjoy the continual direct manipulation of the gear (I do) or managing all the moving parts of a LF outfit. I have, myself, forgotten some small, essential and expensive piece of gear and walked off irretrievably leaving it in the tall grass. That's a hard lesson to learn.

Whatever you do, please post here and let us know what direction you take and how it is going.

Cheers

[Bill_1856]

Don't waste your time and money. Color is better done with a digital camera.

[Luis-F-S]

Don't waste your time and money. Color is better done with a digital camera.

+1!!! I'm trying to remember was it Paul Strand who said that color and photography have nothing in common?

[Luis-F-S]

Christopher is correct. Alec Soth used a 300mm lens on 8x10 for his early work such as "Sleeping by the Mississippi".

Do you know what stove Julia Child used? She was such a great cook, I'd like to get the same stove!

[Richard Wasserman]

Do you know what stove Julia Child used? She was such a great cook, I'd like to get the same stove!

I don't know, but judging from how good a cook she was, it must have been a very nice one...

She once told a story of when she was doing a demo at a department store and the hotplate she was supposed to cook on didn't work. She used a clothes iron instead. Might there be a lesson here?

[Luis-F-S]

I don't know, but judging from how good a cook she was, it must have been a very nice one...

She once told a story of when she was doing a demo at a department store and the hotplate she was supposed to cook on didn't work. She used a clothes iron instead. Might there be a lesson here?

Maybe she used an iron all the time. Sort of proves my point! Thanks for the insight! L

[JMO]

Don't waste your time and money. Color is better done with a digital camera.

After about 5 years with my Linhof Master Technika Classic and related gear; where I thought (like the OP) at the beginning that I would shoot landscapes and other subjects maybe 50 to 70% with color film; I have found that I like my digital gear, process and results better for color work. And so, I am seriously considering selling most or all of my 4x5 color film. However, since establishing my darkroom about 3 years ago I've become more and more enamored with B&W photography using my Linhof MT and 6x7 MF cameras. I still shoot lots of digital for color, but the B&W and its process (leading to traditional silver gelatin prints) has become an enjoyable addition to my photography hobby. I have always enjoyed challenging myself with learning curves, and it helps that I have been retired now about 2.5 years so have the time to devote to this traditional B&W process. I don't know the OP's age, or stage in life, but for me I wish I'd started on this journey with B&W film photography much earlier in my life so I'd be that much further up the learning curve, and have enjoyed the journey that extra time. ...

[Peter Lewin]

On the other hand, most professional chefs do use professional stoves, which for example offer higher BTU burners than the typical domestic ones, and definitely more BTUs than a clothes iron. Obviously the point is that a great chef or photographer can work wonders with almost any functional equipment, which isn't to say that they wouldn't prefer better. Do you think Weston would have turned down a well-equipped darkroom, saying he just loved his bare lightbulb?

[Luis-F-S]

My point is that it's not the stove, or the camera or lens but the knowledge of the "operator". I suspect that Weston was perfectly happy with his bare bulb because even to this day, if I understand it correctly, that is how his contact prints are made!

[Alan Gales]

My point is that it's not the stove, or the camera or lens but the knowledge of the "operator". I suspect that Weston was perfectly happy with his bare bulb because even to this day, if I understand it correctly, that is how his contact prints are made!

Be careful where you are treading. Ken Rockwell was raked over the coals for saying that the camera doesn't matter.