Thanks for the input from everyone. I guess I gave the wrong impression when I mentioned my gear- addiction. I have a lot of stuff, but I only take what I consider the essentials with me - -4x5 wood field camera (about 4 lbs.),one Scheider 210 and a 90mm, tripod, spot meter, a couple of filters and 5 or 6 holders, and a loup. That's about it. It all fits nicely into a LowePro backpack. So I don't really carry any more stuff than any of you would, it just seems like a lot sometimes. Rob - Your right. I am not the type to be able to function with LF in an urban setting. It's all a matter of perspective - if I run into 4 or 5 people during the course of a day in the country, I feel crowded. That's one of the reasons I have stayed away from Nat. Parks. Chris,Wayne and ED - I DO love it! But I also hate it at times. Maybe it seems that way because after all the effort and time involved in getting a few negatives, that they don't quite equal my expectations. I am not a professional by any definition, so everything I shoot I shoot for myself. Thanks again for all your responses - I'm not going to quit -
Matt: So if you take your best photos with a medium format camera go take some medium format photos. It's the pictures that count.
PS: Possibly interesting observation on this thread...when I first discovered this site there was a long thread about famous LF photographers and how friendly or grumpy they were when you bumped into them in the wild. People don't now seem to be so interested in extending that same generosity and spontaneous friendliness to those who seem at least vaguely interested in LF photography. ("Hey would you mind putting those Prest-o-logs a little further to the right? A little more. A little more.") There certainly is no end to the innane comments people on the trail can come up with, and I had a guy (who had no idea what I was packing) on a 104 degree day half way up the Canyon de Chelly trail lecture me on what an idiot I was for using a tripod which is "way too heavy." I've never had somebody start touching my stuff, which is going a bit far. I've invited many kids to take a look under the cloth, and they find it exciting. It can't hurt to create a positive impression about what we do, since 99.9% of people have no idea there is such a thing as a modern LF camera.
I go back and forth a lot between Pentax 6x7 and my 8x10. Every time I get a good shot with the P67 I take a look at the print and think, "you know, that's a good picture, but it's too grainy and the focus isn't quite right. I'll have to go back there with the 8x10 . . .."
And every time I get a good picture with the 8x10 I think "You know, that's a good picture, but the exposure's just a little bit off and that film holder seems to be leaking a bit on the one corner . . .."
You might try the Lemhis for a little diversion. And there are some real good opportunities north of Howe this time of year in the Lost River Range, too. Once the passes open up it gets even better.
Fnally, you will always be unsatisfied if you second guess. Use the gear you like to use and appreciate your results for what they are. These days, I shoot only 8X10 and larger, much of the reason simply being that I enjoy using those cameras, they suit my personality and approach to photography, and I am consistently enough pleased with the results that I don't ask "could I get better shots with (Fill in the blanks: a Cirkut camera, digital back, a Holga, etc)?"
If you want a "practical" reason to shoot 8X10 and ULF (I'm shooting 90% 12X20 these days), try Platinum printing and any other "alternative" or contact printing process. Pt/Pd is what keeps me wedded to 12X20 for the foreseeable future. That, and the horizontal aspect ratio, which I am falling in love with.
If getting bothered by people in the mountains is stopping you from shooting LF then try shooting LF in a place where there are no humans: the studio.
Illustrative still life and table top photography is ideally suited to LF and can be very solitary and very, very challenging. For inspiration try this URL:
http://www.tilt.ca
Dominique Malaterre (cool name :-)) does some very complex work and was recently profiled in the Jan/Feb 2002 issue of Communication Arts.
What you said about being noticed. I feel that way about even medium format. I used to have a Pentax 67 with the wood handle affair. This is not something you can just carry around like a 35mm and be spontanious in shooting when something catches your eye without being noticed. Even a Mamia RB that I also had; by the time you get a prism and handle trigger on it, everyone thinks your a newsreporter on something.
I'm talking about carrying the camara around in public, not in the woods. I've always felt that I had to go for the shot I was after knowing pretty much what I wanted to get. Get in and get out.
The quantity vrs quality issue you have is very much why most of my shooting is now 35mm. Its a true catch the mood or moment or seen record thing for me.
Strangely enough I'm a darkroom nut and believe even in 35mm most of the quality in in the printing. MF for me is important for studio. I'm no longer a pro but a 2x3 roll gives you a huge quality jump and a good amount of workflow advantage compromise with the less time and cost vrs LF.
I would not consider a darkroom w/o 4x5 enlarger. Though I don't currently have 4x5, I will again. For me its the ultimate for studio.
I plan and gather and set up a still life for days and then I shoot. Is it spontanious?... Very. Even after all the set up and the planning. I get goosebumps knowing that with a good frenel reflex view finder I will be not only be in total control but can come very close to visualizing the finished print. And, knowing that I always wish I had loaded more filmholders at discovering yet another variation or framing. I usually end up with the best shots much different that I originally planned on. Its great.
So consider the large format for controlled indoor or enclosed outdoor or available light. Schedule some time. Set it up a still and leave it up for a while. You'll get new idias each time you come back to it. B/W will give you a renewed interest if you need more reasons for LF. Or, try positive transparency printing paper in your film holder. I may even try 8x10 for contact printing if I can find the time. Keep the camara!
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