Does anyone determine their focus point by focusing on the farthest part of the image one wants in focus...make note of the amount of bellows extension. Then focus on the closest part of the scene one wants in focus...make note of the bellows extension...then place the bellow extension halfway between the far and near points. Then close down the lens until all is in focus? I believe some cameras are marked for such use. It seems to work for me when low light or other factors make my usual way difficult to use.
PS...my usual way and used in the above images: I place the plane of focus where I think it should be, then slowly reduce the aperture. If the far and near points come into focus at about the same time, then I know I have the plane of focus well placed. If the foreground all comes nicely into focus, but the far distance is still out of focus, then I know to move the focus plane a little further into the scene (using movements if needed, of course). Just the way I learned to work in the tight quarters of the redwood forest. It is certainly can be a different story photographing in the wide open spaces of the Southwest (or High Sierras)...focus at infinity, no movements, f16 and actually don't have to use B or T!
PS#2...On the wharf image above, the tide was receding so fast that by the time I framed and focused the image, I had to pick up the camera, advance one or two pilings, and set up the camera again. But I knew the composition by then and the focusing needs, so I was able to make the image quickly enough without having to keep chasing the water! I was also was on a time limit with the wharf's shadow on the sand. I used a red filter to reduce the difference between the light values of the open sky and sunlit sand and under the wharf, but at the same time keep the sky light (my usual preference, but here it helps to dramatize the wharf against the sky). Those clouds on the horizon came in each night, and I had to use big pieces of driftwood to keep my tent from blowing away at the beach campground by the wharf.
I looked at my field notes for the wharf image. 1 Dec 1986, 4x5, 150mm, Royal Pan 4141, ASA 400, 10 seconds at f/64 with a 25A (red) filter, and slated it for normal development...whatever that might have been. My memory is not dependable...I thought I used TMax100 on that trip.
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