Well, I have chuckled at some of the phylosophical (sp?)posts here in the past - you know, the "why do we do this?" kind. But I've got to say, right now I am asking myself the same questions. I have been shooting 35 and medium format for a long time, and still do, but hav e always loved and longed-for the crisp-sharpness of the large format, large pri nt. Several years ago I took the plunge and bought my first LF (5x7)camera. It was a n old B&J that I completely rebuild/restored (and have since sold). Then it was a new lightweight 4x5 wood field. Now the inventory is the field, a Calumet, an 8x10 pinhole (lovingly built of wo od w/spring back), and an old B&J Press. I was very excited and active at first - at least one or two days a week was dedicated to packing off to anywhere to sh oot as much as possible of nearly anything that caught my eye. But what I found out was, that with LF gear in tow, I was an event to be investi gated by every curious passer-by. At the river bank, people would stop just so t hey could watch me and ask questions, stand around or even want to pick up and e xamine the lenses, etc. Along the trail, every hiker did the same. I found it di fficult to focus (no pun intended) on what I was doing. With the tripod set up, lens mounted, and meter et al. sitting about - it is difficult to just pick up a nd move on (away). I have to admit, I have always been a "gear junkie". My house bulges with camera s, bags and stacks of photo junk. There is nearly as much room in the refrigerat or dedicated to film storage as food. So, I have all the LF gear I can use, the wilds of the Idaho Bitteroot Mountains just minutes away, and when I want to shoot - I take the Minolta 6x7 or the 35 because I hate packing all that LF gear (and trying to keep track of it all), an d not having the anonymity (sp) to shoot in peace and the mobility/freedom to mo ve on when I feel the urge. All that gear, and all that investment sits unused for nearly 4 months now. Not one single LF neg! Mostly because I like to move around alot and like the freedo m smaller cameras give me, and hate the hassles of the bigger gear, and the peop le who distract me. The other night I was looking at the images on my walls - the ones in the "publi c areas" of the house. The living room, the family room. And I realized, that th e images that I consider my best - the ones I am most proud of, are all medium f ormat. Not that I have not taken some reasonable photographs with LF, but the be st ones are all MF. So I've come to this question - (GASP!) maybe I'm truly just not a LF guy. Then I wondered, how many people out there are suffering through all the hassles of packing all that gear around - messing around with changing bags, sheet film , film holders, lensboards, huge tripods, heavy backpacks, large lenses, curious on-lookers and all the rest of the inherent problems with LF photography - and having their photographic creativity suffer in the process? All for the sake of a larger neg. What kind of images have you lost, but could have made, because of the logistics of gear?Are there REALLY any of your images that could just N OT have been done as well in 6x7 or 6x9? Honestly? What COULD HAVE BEEN with the mobility of a smaller camera? What did you miss be cause of mobility? <<<Forgive me, Saint AA!>>>>>
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