This is the sort of image I'm thinking I'm having trouble with:
Stomp Festival, 2011, Harvard Square by Paul McEvoy, on Flickr
It was a hazy day, all the open sky in the distance seems to have fogged my subjects. I can sort of pull them back with photoshop but in general they're a little dissapointing.
That said, don't necessarily imitate compendium shades with their big openings - they're far away from the best efficiency for a lens shade, for many reasons. To give you an idea - for your 180mm lens, used on 4x5 film format, try with an opening 65x80mm and depth of 60mm (measured from the lens surface)...Originally Posted by GPS
I can't tell what version from your pic. How is it marked?
The original Symmar was an uncoated Dagor type, in the teens or twenties of the last century. I've used both, they aren't flarey.
One man's Mede is another man's Persian.
Not necessarily. A paper (plastic) lens hood can be attached to the lens and detached in a matter of seconds. The advantage is that it doesn't need any additional construction attached to the camera standard. Again - compendium lens shades are the worst mechanical constructions for a lens shade! Lee lens shades are better, amateur paper/plastic lens attachments the best...
If you're shooting an inherently hazy subject, you can expect haze.
A modern multi-coated lens will help, but the real solution is to shoot a subject that you know, in advance, will look nice.
In other words, when you see a shot that is going to look bad, just say no.
I don't mean to sound sarcastic, but simply move the tripod to point your camera where the photo will look nice. The film you save will be your own.
Or, do what the old Speed Graphic guys used to do: shoot with a Flash at all times.
Ken, do you think the above shot is impossible to take well? I didn't think it was?
Not impossible. But a lenshood or new lens won't help. You have a backlit subject. Try fill flash, or a reflector. (edit) Or do an incident reading of the subject, expose for the subject.
This is not lens flare.
One man's Mede is another man's Persian.
One of the advantages of Large Format in particular - and film in general - is that we often have to work slowly and then wait for the results. Because of that extra effort, we tend to better retain the lessons we learn, and our photos and vision can improve more quickly.
It's one thing if we are on assignment and have to adapt to conditions "on the ground". It's another thing if we're out with a beautiful vintage camera and making Fine Art photographs. In that case, we can set things up in advance to maximize our chances of making a bunch of keepers.
Over the years we learn to "just say no" more and more - because we remember the results of previous "experiments". Ironically, this improves our photographs. It is, after all, largely a process of selection.
I experienced horrific flare for the first time last winter with both my Nikkor 300 and Fuji 180 lenses, shooting in the same general conditions I've always shot in. Same camera and lenses I've been using for years, without excessive flare. I normally shade with the drawn dark slide when necessary, and haven't used lens hoods, even in bright sun. But suddenly, no dice. So I went back to Adams' The Negative and found a brief reference to unexplained flare that both he and Weston were experiencing. They were only able to tame it with the application of lens hoods, as I am now.
There's a lot of light coming through LF lenses, traveling long distances to the film plane and then dancing around on large pieces of acetate. Ah, the joys of LF...
If you're doing the Weegee thing, use your fedora for a shade.
or if you don't like your fedora you can even cut a hole in the crown for an even better shade
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
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