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Thread: Presence in 8x10 photography

  1. #21

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    Re: Presence in 8x10 photography

    Dave, you are an excellent printer. Why not concentrate on whichever format is most comfortable for you and don't worry so much about the negative size. As Bernice said, 5x7 is an excellent compromise for both enlarging and contact printing. If you stick to 8x10 and need holders, I've got 3 wooden ones I'll give you. Just text me. 8x10 is typically not for the budget conscious. 5x7 is a much better compromise of cost vs image quality. Your 8x10 lenses will all cover 5x7 with room to spare!

    Best,

    Luis

  2. #22

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    Re: Presence in 8x10 photography

    Remarkable number of 4x5 lenses work good on 5x7.

    Of the film sheet formats, 5x7 13x18cm has the largest selection of lenses that will work good and easily available at modest cost.


    Bernice


    Quote Originally Posted by Luis-F-S View Post

    Your 8x10 lenses will all cover 5x7 with room to spare!

    Best,

    Luis

  3. #23

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    Re: Presence in 8x10 photography

    I have a few of Andrew Moore’s books.
    Of course the reproduction in even a fancy coffee table book could never hood a candle to an exhibition print...

    My 2c is that Moore’s look is a conjunction of large format film, the dynamic range of his particular film of choice, and lenses that don’t have quite the contrast of modern multi coated formulas.

    On the other hand I know that he has used digital for his Dirt Meridian project and the images still carry his signature style...

    To answer OPs question, I would give a shot (pun intended) to using color negative and older less corrected lenses on the 4x5 before switching to 8x10...
    "I am a reflection photographing other reflections within a reflection. To photograph reality is to photograph nothing." Duane Michals

  4. #24

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    Re: Presence in 8x10 photography

    Quote Originally Posted by Rod Klukas View Post
    8x10 is easier in many ways to compose. . . [/B][/B]
    Many excellent points made. I especially like Rod's comments on how contact printing can expand the number of stops that display detail, and his observation that, in viewing the ground glass, it's like one is viewing the actual print.

    I favor 4x5, but I've been doing some 8x10 as well. One big difference, is that it's so much easier to dodge and burn, which is to say optimize, a projected print, versus a contact print. With the latter, it's difficult to even discern the image well enough to effectively dodge and burn. So, this becomes a tradeoff between that beautiful quality of a contact print, and the degrees of freedom one has to make a better print.

    Another thing about a projected 4x5 negative, if one wants to crop, it's easy to "enlarge" the print to a desired size. Of course, this isn't so much a comment about the difference between 4x5 and 8x10, as it is an observation about the lack of affordable 8x10 enlargers.

    One advantage of 8x10, instead of having to deal with an enlarger, having the right lenses, negative sag, etc., one can do quite well printing 8x10 with a hanging light bulb.

    I enjoy viewing an image on an 8x10 ground glass. But, I also like the "conciseness" of viewing an image on a 4x5 ground glass. I like the "economy" of that.

    Photographing in 8x10 brings one further into the world of long exposures, and reciprocity failure. This can get messy. One can't trust their meter. And then, how does one determine exposure without the benefit of reciprocity? Taken further, how does one determine how one determines exposure without reciprocity? As a result, 8x10 can being with it a huge loss of depth of field.

    So, in view of all these considerations, I go about my routine of photographing in 4x5. But once and a while, I may run across a scene that lends itself to 8x10, and I can return with my 8x10 camera.

  5. #25
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Presence in 8x10 photography

    I happen to like both formats. Unless you are printing very large, the technical distinction is minor. And contact versus enlarged printing is a supplementary topic. For example, many of Edward Weston's images would be quite disappointing enlarged because he didn't have that in mind, nor was his gear or methodology quite up to par for that. Once you get into 8x10 work, there's more of a new learning curve than you might imagine coming from a 4x5 background, esp with depth of field issues. But composing on that bigger ground glass is sheer joy, and tends to entice one to look at the world even more acutely. Otherwise, there are obvious logistic differences in terms of greater bulk, wt, and expense.

  6. #26
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Presence in 8x10 photography

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Noel View Post
    Texture is produced by the lighting, not the camera.
    Plus 1.

  7. #27

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    Re: Presence in 8x10 photography

    Quote Originally Posted by neil poulsen View Post
    One big difference, is that it's so much easier to dodge and burn, which is to say optimize, a projected print, versus a contact print. With the latter, it's difficult to even discern the image well enough to effectively dodge and burn. So, this becomes a tradeoff between that beautiful quality of a contact print, and the degrees of freedom one has to make a better print.
    Personally, after nearly 40 years of pretty regular use of 8x10 I've always found that the negatives "print themselves." That is, very little dodging and burning is necessary to reach a final print. Perhaps, I'm not a discerning enough printer, but I've got some really nice contact prints in my portfolio that required little effort (in the darkroom, anyway) to create; IMHO, of course.

  8. #28
    Armentor1
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    Re: Presence in 8x10 photography

    oh I've def been thinking about it but the ratio feels too long

  9. #29
    Armentor1
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    Re: Presence in 8x10 photography

    Quote Originally Posted by lenicolas View Post
    I have a few of Andrew Moore’s books.
    Of course the reproduction in even a fancy coffee table book could never hood a candle to an exhibition print...

    My 2c is that Moore’s look is a conjunction of large format film, the dynamic range of his particular film of choice, and lenses that don’t have quite the contrast of modern multi coated formulas.

    On the other hand I know that he has used digital for his Dirt Meridian project and the images still carry his signature style...

    To answer OPs question, I would give a shot (pun intended) to using color negative and older less corrected lenses on the 4x5 before switching to 8x10...
    do you recommend an older less corrected lens? I landed on solely Fuji CMW pretty early on and used it in 125 and 180.

  10. #30
    Armentor1
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    Re: Presence in 8x10 photography

    Quote Originally Posted by Luis-F-S View Post
    Dave, you are an excellent printer. Why not concentrate on whichever format is most comfortable for you and don't worry so much about the negative size. As Bernice said, 5x7 is an excellent compromise for both enlarging and contact printing. If you stick to 8x10 and need holders, I've got 3 wooden ones I'll give you. Just text me. 8x10 is typically not for the budget conscious. 5x7 is a much better compromise of cost vs image quality. Your 8x10 lenses will all cover 5x7 with room to spare!

    Best,

    Luis
    Thanks Luis, I'm going to do some comparisons tomorrow.

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