lindsay
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Recently we decided that we would start a TP Blog, where we Admin’s, the Mods and invited members could opine about a photography subject as we see it – a sort of Photography Hot Topics (although the topic can be as cold as a cold bowl of cold suet on a cold day in a cold climate if it gets the author excited enough to share!). What whets one person’s appetite doesn’t have to whet another’s, because photography can be all things to all persons on this site. So hopefully on a more or less weekly basis, we will post a short piece and see what people think about the subject (not commenting here but in a Talk Photography thread)..
So, my big thing at present is the amazing availability of Large Format Film Photography gear. Companies have sprung up like Intrepid and Chroma, making old-fashioned equipment using very modern processes and materials, but compatible with and indeed requiring to some extent the old kit to make a complete camera (old lenses on new bodies, for example). I’m starting off with a brand-new Chroma Snapshot on my journey of LF discovery, but it has been fascinating to watch @Asha’s restoration and installation of an antique French 13cm by 18cm camera too. I have an old “Patent-Etui” plate camera with sheet film holders that was my Dad’s, I now need to dig that out and check its condition and the size of film required as well, now that I’ve ventured into this branch of photography.
There’s something existential about film photography, and large-format in particular, to my mind. The necessity to take time with the exposure planning and manual focusing (unless it’s a auto camera) means that each shot, each frame, counts arguably more than if shooting digital; we must have a degree of faith in ourselves at getting it more-or-less right when we press the shutter release. Of course, on a more modern film camera we may be able to auto-bracket, but usually pre-1990s it would be a case of shooting several frames manually bracketed. This becomes gradually more serious as your film frame size grows – 35mm then 120 6x4.5cm, 120 6x6cm, 120 6x9cm, 4x5in sheets and up. At each stage the cost and value of a frame increases, and thus the care that we invest in each frame. This is an interesting thing that forces us to see carefully and really know what we are looking for in the shot.
However, interestingly, that makes me think about the fantastic liberation of digital photography – the freedom from worrying about the cost of a shot, the freedom from worrying about manually bracketing and exposure-compensating. The usefulness of being able to set Continuous-Hi exposure to get a bunch of shots of a fast-moving subject. The ISO range available without having to think about push-processing. Etc.
The trouble is, I’m struggling to find the time for any photography at all right now – how the hell can I find time for both film and digital? Well, that’s for another day. Suffice to say I am far from running out of ways to enjoy photography…
So, my big thing at present is the amazing availability of Large Format Film Photography gear. Companies have sprung up like Intrepid and Chroma, making old-fashioned equipment using very modern processes and materials, but compatible with and indeed requiring to some extent the old kit to make a complete camera (old lenses on new bodies, for example). I’m starting off with a brand-new Chroma Snapshot on my journey of LF discovery, but it has been fascinating to watch @Asha’s restoration and installation of an antique French 13cm by 18cm camera too. I have an old “Patent-Etui” plate camera with sheet film holders that was my Dad’s, I now need to dig that out and check its condition and the size of film required as well, now that I’ve ventured into this branch of photography.
There’s something existential about film photography, and large-format in particular, to my mind. The necessity to take time with the exposure planning and manual focusing (unless it’s a auto camera) means that each shot, each frame, counts arguably more than if shooting digital; we must have a degree of faith in ourselves at getting it more-or-less right when we press the shutter release. Of course, on a more modern film camera we may be able to auto-bracket, but usually pre-1990s it would be a case of shooting several frames manually bracketed. This becomes gradually more serious as your film frame size grows – 35mm then 120 6x4.5cm, 120 6x6cm, 120 6x9cm, 4x5in sheets and up. At each stage the cost and value of a frame increases, and thus the care that we invest in each frame. This is an interesting thing that forces us to see carefully and really know what we are looking for in the shot.
However, interestingly, that makes me think about the fantastic liberation of digital photography – the freedom from worrying about the cost of a shot, the freedom from worrying about manually bracketing and exposure-compensating. The usefulness of being able to set Continuous-Hi exposure to get a bunch of shots of a fast-moving subject. The ISO range available without having to think about push-processing. Etc.
The trouble is, I’m struggling to find the time for any photography at all right now – how the hell can I find time for both film and digital? Well, that’s for another day. Suffice to say I am far from running out of ways to enjoy photography…