Currently, I shooting 4x5, 5x7, 4x10 color landscape LF photography like many of you (but not all) on this site. I also shoot high-end weddings in a completely candid manner with my professional 35mm/medium format systems. No stagging what so ever. I intend to retire my wedding photography business and shoot landscape and documentary LF photography full time now.
I love shooting people in a very fluid and candid manner and wedding photography filled that bill. Now that it is gone, I have just purchased an all metal 4x5 Crown Graphic camera with flash and speed sports finder, and I am in the process of acquiring all the flashbulbs I can get my hands on. This camera is in mint condition and does not use a focal plane shutter, so it is smaller and lighter than most speed graphics.
My intent is to use the camera exactly for what it was designed for. Fast LF press/sports shooting. And yes, all in b&w with flashbulbs either as the principle light source or as fill flash (to reduce the contrast). Flashbulb photography has a completely different feel than electronic strobes, and my hope is it will add a vintage quality to the images. I will be using chromogenic RA4 b&w papers because of the very rich blacks, pure whites, and creamy tones for printing. I intend to control contrast with the flashbulbs or unsharp masks.
Has anyone out there done this kind of thing before? Can you offer me any advise or methods for shooting these type of cameras in a more candid setting? Is anyone out there doing flashbulb photography in this manner?
Thanks for any considerations offered.
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