Large Format Landscapes

[scm]

Canyon de Chelly National Monument - Chinle AZ

[David Lobato]

San Miguel Mountains, Colorado, 1988. Toyo 45A, 210mm Nikkor, Fujichrome

[img]San Miguel Mtns 001 2500 by blazingshutters, on Flickr[/img]

[Corran]

Icy rock wall at Lula Lake

Chamonix 45n1, 150mm APO Symmar, TMX, FX-39:

[chassis]

San Miguel Mountains, Colorado, 1988. Toyo 45A, 210mm Nikkor, Fujichrome

[img]San Miguel Mtns 001 2500 by blazingshutters, on Flickr[/img]

Beautiful!

[CreationBear]

Icy rock wall at Lula Lake

Another scene that reminds me of home... If it's not too much trouble, I'd be interested in your "liner notes" on this one--especially the weather conditions. Yesterday I was banging around streamside here on the Tennessee side of the GSMNP with a P67 loaded with Acros and a light snow coming down, so I found myself wondering how essential directional light is to a good B/W landscape. Can the "underexpose/N+1" approach get you where you need to be, at least tonally, or does the day turn into a scouting mission at that point?

[Corran]

I've been doing a lot of N+1 developing lately...it's either been completely overcast or there's not a cloud in the sky (which means yucky light pretty much 95% of the day). Are you spot metering? Usually on scenes like the above I find the darkest area I want to see some tone in at Zone II or III, and then the bright areas are around Zone VI. So the N+1 developing gets me to where I need to go. When I shoot my Pentax 67 I get the same effect by underexposing in the camera. This scene was in the early morning with overcast sky, and probably could have done with a bit more developing. Scanning it, I did a curve adjustment to get more contrast - so probably need a #3 or 4 filter in the darkroom when I make a print, or longer development.

[CreationBear]

(which means yucky light pretty much 95% of the day).

Thanks for the detailed reply--we've been pretty much in the same boat, so I think I'll develop this roll +1 just to see. (I'm used to mercurial weather that close to Clingman's Dome, but yesterday took the cake--literally three minutes of blue sky with the hoar frost coated ridgetops blinding white, then back to being socked in for the rest of the day...)

[Corran]

I love Clingman's Dome! I need to go back. I want to camp there or something. Are some of the foreground trees still stripped bare and bone-white? When I went up there I had just bought my first 4x5, a Toyo GII monorail, which is 12 pounds by itself. I hauled that sucker up the trail with a huge tripod and big bag full of lenses and doodads. Boy was that stupid! I got home and started shopping for a field camera . Here's an image from up there.

Anyway, here's my favorite shot from my trip to Lula Lake Falls. This will definitely be printed nice and big I think. It might not be visible on screen at this resolution, but there are some wispy, low-level clouds above the falls that I'll try to burn in when I print it. A few minutes later the sun came out - but the lighting was harsh and I'm not sure if I could've gotten a good image (though a sunburst through the trees would be nice, maybe next time).

Chamonix 45n1, Nikkor 90mm f/8, TMX, FX-39:

[CreationBear]

my favorite shot from my trip to Lula Lake Falls.

That is nice--the boulder in the foreground really makes the shot, I think...one thing that jumped out at me yesterday is that there's just no substitute for movements in that environment. Given world enough and time, I keep thinking that a Walker Titan 5x7 (and throw in the 6x17 back while you're at it) might be the ultimate "back of beyond" solution if you could get by with movements just on the front standard and not need too long of lenses.

At any rate, a nice view from the Dome--I'm afraid our "ghost forests" only increase in size these days...the Fraser firs in this case, and now great swaths of hemlocks in the mid to low elevations. Still a beautiful part of the world to explore, though...

[Corran]

Thanks! Yes the small boulder in the front, along with the cascade peaking out behind, made the shot for me.

Personally I don't shoot 5x7, nor am I inclined to. However a 5x7 camera with appropriate 4x5 back + 6x17 back is interesting for sure. Check out the post in the "Lounge" about a 3D-printed 6x14 camera made by a forum member though, for an alternative for panoramic imaging.

Perhaps this spring I'll find some time to camp up in the Smokies...