How would you set this picture up?

[verbier123]

I was having a hard time getting everything in focus for this photo, using nikon 90mm on 4x5 chamonix. I'm new to the LF, but didn't see how any movements would help the focus. Ended up giving up and going to f32. What would you have done?

[Robert Hughes]

A little front tilt would help get the lower foreground and upper background in focus. Review AA's "The Camera" for instructions on camera movements.

[Ken Lee]

Unless the subject is a flat plane with nothing protruding, movements alone can't accomplish everything.

However, with movements and a small f/stop, (and a comparatively short lens) we can get by in most cases.

[Heroique]

Hi Verbier123,

I’m in agreement with the comments above, but in addition, can you provide a little more information? Generally, what were your compositional aims – such as principal subject of interest (if any), focus priorities (if you had to choose), or degree of water motion?

What camera movements did you finally use? Which portions of the scene did you find most difficult to focus? Was it a windy day?

There may be some easy, original and revealing tips in store if you can offer just a little more about your objectives, and where you think you fell short.

[Mark Sawyer]

The foreground at the bottom is closer to the camera than the background at the top of the frame. Remembering that the image is upside down on the gg/film, I would tilt the rear of the camera, with the top of the camera back (foreground) moved slightly farther away from the lens for closer focus, and the bottom of the camera back (background) moved slightly closer to the lens for farther focus. I would still set the aperture very small, as the subject isn't on a flat plane.

[climbabout]

Ditto what Mark said - and realize that the amount of back movement that you can use in this situation is very small indeed - something on the order of 1/4" or less - much more and the tree branches in the upper right will go so soft that a small aperture will be unable to bring them back. You could also accomplish the same thing by tilting the lens slightly forward.
Tim

[tgtaylor]

Since the stream is the subject, I would try to set-up a plane of focus that encompasses the top of the fall to the water foreground using front tilt.

[willwilson]

A little front and/or rear tilt as other have suggested would help, but f22 or f32 would probably be required. You might have to be careful not to throw the close bit of branch in the upper right out of focus.

Sometimes with movements you don't have to go all the way and have everything in perfect focus with the lens wide open. A little front/rear tilt in this case would have helped bring the plane of focus closer to matching the subject which would let you stop down a little less., which is the general idea (trying to use an ideal aperture).

Anyways, I shoot at f32 all the time, don't worry too much about it. f32 is very useable and often needed with 4x5.

PS. Don't forget about the fresnel issues with the chamonix.

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[ki6mf]

I shoot B&W only and don't know if longer times compensating for reciprocity failure would help with color images. If it does work a longer exposure you could get f45 f 64 with more depth of field.

[percepts]

use a shorter lens and/or move back and accept that you will need to take a crop from the film area. Moving back and/or shorter lens will give much more DOF before using some tilt to get fore and aft in sharp focus without dramatically putting those close branches out of focus.
Sometimes you have to accept the subject has the wrong spatial shape for fixing just with lens movements.