Why do you use ULF?

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Well,I like 11x14 sized prints. So I built and 11x14 camera and it comes in at 16lbs. I also have a 250 sheet box of Azo to print on. Doesn't explain the 8x20 though. I do love contact printing though.

Jim

[scott_6029]

I like the 7x17 format...tonality of a contact print and the opportunity to 'paint' the large ground glass. There is also a 'tactile' feel and look of a contact print that I don't see from enlargements...

[Geert]

And I say, so what. I still like to work with the big cameras. There is something very relaxing and comforting about not being rational and logical in everything we do.

Sandy King

Sandy, that's exactly why I use the format.
It's like stepping away from the rush of everyday life.

Geert

[Clay Turtle]

As a novice, having barely gotten my feet wet with the 5x7 format, to me the drive toward ulf is basic to the nature of these formats. Coming from the 35mm format, where quick shots using zoom lens to compose your shots & computer chips to set focus & exposure, I naturally developed the habit of snapping pictures. LF & ULF require setting up the tripod (something I would seldom consider with smaller formats) & spending so much time to set up brings with it a greater focus on composition & taking the time to get it right. As you learn the elements of getting the exposure, etc correctly then you tend toward the more artistic (?) aspects of composition.
I tend to be my own worst critic . . . for example, I once built a long bookshelf to act as a divider to separate a longish room into separate areas. My brother-in-law, thought it was great, in fact he wanted it. Every time I looked at it I saw every detail (defect) such as misalignments resulting non symmetry or convergent lines, etc. You can buy a paste board cabinet that looks good but they don't compare with a finely crafted piece of wood furniture.