Flowers and more flowers

[Takizawa]

Let's keep the lens choice out of this discussion. If you were to buy a camera and accessories for use only at home and only on flowers (close up and bouquet) what setup would you have?

Also as helpful is describing what would not be beneficial.

[Alan Gales]

I would want a Sinar P or P2 monorail, a heavy tripod with Sinar pan tilt head, powerful strobes with soft boxes.

Short bellows and flimsy tripod would not be beneficial.

I don't shoot macro so hopefully some who do will add their knowledge.

[joselsgil]

A monorail design would be my first choice. There are many to choose from, it all depends on your budget and what flavor you like

I believe Ken Lee has many flower photos posted on this forum, you may check out his work and see what he is using and recommends.

Myself, I like monorails for close up work. As long as, I don't have to hike a long distance that is.

The photo attached was taken in my backyard with a Zone VI (Sinar Alpina), monorail with a Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm on very old T-Max 100 film.

Outdoors, your worst enemy will be the wind. Indoors, it would be ideal to work with lights that don't generate too much heat.

Growing up, my mother owned a flower shop. So I was around flowers and plants and plenty of florist publications that showcased flowers. Now that I am much, much older I have come to realize that it takes patience and skill to photograph a flower well and show it's natural beauty.

Good luck,

Jose

[Alan Gales]

Ken Lee uses a Sinar P, not like it matters. Like Jose says, any flavor of monorail is fine. I am partial to Sinar because I think it is the best bang for your buck here in the United States. I like the P series because it is a solid and heavy studio camera with geared movements.

Nice shot, Jose!

[E. von Hoegh]

Let's keep the lens choice out of this discussion. If you were to buy a camera and accessories for use only at home and only on flowers (close up and bouquet) what setup would you have?

Also as helpful is describing what would not be beneficial.

A rigid camera (and an 8 1/4" Red-Dot Artar). Camera could be anything from a Graphic View to a Linhof Technika to any of the Sinar, Arca, etc. I'd use natural light.

[Joseph Dickerson]

A monorail design would be my first choice. There are many to choose from, it all depends on your budget and what flavor you like

I believe Ken Lee has many flower photos posted on this forum, you may check out his work and see what he is using and recommends.

Myself, I like monorails for close up work. As long as, I don't have to hike a long distance that is.

The photo attached was taken in my backyard with a Zone VI (Sinar Alpina), monorail with a Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm on very old T-Max 100 film.

Outdoors, your worst enemy will be the wind. Indoors, it would be ideal to work with lights that don't generate too much heat.

Growing up, my mother owned a flower shop. So I was around flowers and plants and plenty of florist publications that showcased flowers. Now that I am much, much older I have come to realize that it takes patience and skill to photograph a flower well and show it's natural beauty.

Good luck,

Jose

Jose'

I didn't know that Fred Picker ever sold the Alpina as a Zone VI camera. Do you know the approximate time frame when he was doing that?

BTW, that image is lovely.

JD

[Peter Lewin]

I'm not sure from the original post whether the question is "what view camera" or "what camera." I know two photographers who specialize in flowers; one has published a well-received monograph on orchids; both have connections with botanical gardens. Neither uses a view camera. One uses a Hasselblad digital, the other uses a DSLR. So if the question is the best way to photograph flowers, I would suggest the digital route (either MF or 35mm equivalent) with a macro lens. If the desire is to use a view camera, I agree with all of the previous posts regarding a monorail, and my own experience (very positive) has been with Sinar. For ease of focus on close-ups with view camera movements, the Sinar P or C variants would be the easiest to work with.

[Drew Wiley]

I'd use what I have and do use - a 4x5 Sinar Norma, for convenience that is. For more serious work, I
prefer 8x10, but do not happen to own the Sinar components that size, so use an 8x10 folder. Sure, if your plan is just to sell magazine shots, big fim is a bit of overkill. But a view camera definitely is easier to focus. And if you do print big, like I sometimes do, then large format gives a giant quality edge. Putting yourself nose-to-nose with extreme detail in a floral print - taking in things that only a
a botanist would conventional notice, counting the legs on an aphid - whatever - it's a different level
of composition and viewing. I was viewing some 8x10 ten chromes under a 10X loupe last nite,
anticipating all that detail in the next big print session (still a couple months away - lots of prep work
first).

[Brian C. Miller]

Let's keep the lens choice out of this discussion. If you were to buy a camera and accessories for use only at home and only on flowers (close up and bouquet) what setup would you have?

Also as helpful is describing what would not be beneficial.

This really depends on how close you want to go with the setup. Recommended: a macro lens. What other people have used: enlarger lenses, 35mm camera lenses flipped around, etc. If you only want to go up to 1:1, then the majority of view cameras will get you there. If you want to go further than that, then either an 8x10 with reducing back, or something that allows bellows extensions. Consider how much magnification you want. There are a few websites with macro calculators and formulas. Take a look, and think about what you want.

What seperates a normal lens from a macro lens is where the lens is corrected. Macro lenses are corrected for a specific range of magnification. Beyond that, colors will cease to converge. If you are only shooting in black & white, then you can limit the spectra with a filter, say red or blue, and then it will be sharp again. Another thing that's a "gotcha" is that your f/stop changes with the extended bellows draw used for macro photography. The f/stop is a ratio of lens opening to distance between the lens and the film, so at macro distances what is marked on the lens isn't your actual f/stop. For the sharpest photos, you may need to open up instead of stopping down. When you start working with this, first photograph a ruler to see if the image on the ground glass matches the focus point. If it is off too much, then you may want to get your camera adjusted, or else just give it some "Kentucky windage" by focusing where you know it will be.
Fuji instant film is great for verifying your exposure, and FP-100C is still being made fresh. Also, you may need to take film reciprocity into account. It's easier focusing the camera by moving it back and forth, but you really want a macro focusing rail to do it. You can also rig up a rail with parts from a lumber store, too.

[pasiasty]

You have to decide on format first. The bigger format, the higher magnification - on 8x10" you may shoot on 1:1 or even higher, so maximum bellows extension would be important. Anyway, a monorail camera would be rather an obvious choice. Huge amount of movements may be useful (this applies to the lens as well). Don't forget about very sturdy tripod allowing tilting the whole camera; sometimes you may need to put the camera rail almost vertically. A (heavy) column stand may be better even better.