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Any Large Format enthusiasts actually posting LF photos here?


LenMarriott

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Just visiting here from the 35mm & medium format forums, primarily to

view LF photography samples but after 20 or more attempts I could

find few posts at all and those were generally of other formats

(medium & 35mm mostly). Any LF enthusiasts actually posting LF photos

here? I'd like to see what all the fuss is about. I would like to

keep abreast of things by having a few true enthusiasts bookmarked

for follow-up. Best, LM.

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By here do you mean on the LF forum? I posted my first attempt a few months ago, but it's no wall hanger. I do post quite a few LF shots on photo.net. My B/W folder is full of them. However, I've only been using LF for a couple months as I said, so don't let the quality of my work put you off the format!

 

I will say that a maximum 100k file as shown on photo.net cannot show off one of the main benefits of LF photos. Detail and the fine tonal changes that go with it. I think I see it even in 8x10s, and I definitely see it in the 16x20s I print in my darkroom at home. You should be able to see the benefits of the movements capability here, the improved control over DOF, especially in any LF studio or architecture shots. Some landscapes as well. Not mine so much.

 

I've really enjoyed the first few months with my view camera and wish I had tried using one sooner.

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Per, that shot is fantastic. I'd love to see a print instead of a jpeg!

 

Len, I can think of one photo.net member who posts a lot of photos taken with a LF camera. Here is one of his more recent. I hope it's ok to point this out on the forum in this way. I'm sure there are others, but he's had a lot of stuff up recently.

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/2484571

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Mac Gregor, I guess I meant that I expected a lot of people posting on the LF forum to have a substantial number of examples of LF photography in their folders. Yours fits the expected profile, being the exception rather than the rule here. Most have no folders at all. Got you bookmarked. As for quality, I don't expect a LF 800 x 640 pixel post from LF to look substantially better on screen than a similar post from a 35mm shot. What I'd be looking for is subject matter and style. Technical info and the photographer's intro could fill in some of the blanks. We all know that LF demands more discipline & planning than other formats & that story should be conveyed to the viewer along with the corresponding advantages (ie: higher large print quality). Don't sell yourself short, at least you have a folder which, on a quick look, is better than most. Best, LM.
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Edward, Thanks for responding. I think I've been through your folder previously. I particularly liked the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove. Impossible to tell from the thumbnails which format any particular shot was taken on (unless the folder is identified as LF, MF or whatever) & who has the time to view, in depth, every shot in every folder one comes across? Best, LM.
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quite a few of mine are 4x5 or 8x10 but I ageee with others that you can't tell the difference on a computer screen.

 

We are lucky to have some very good museums in my area and that is what will hook you on large format.

 

About 25 years ago I saw an exibition of some prints from wet plates that were about 100 years old. They were from the British Archeological Survey of India. The detail and tone was astounding.

 

I still can't get close but if I ever do it will be an 8x10 contact print that does it.

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Len, all of the mf and lf stuff is in single photos. The rest is 35mm. When I have more than 3 or 4 lf shots I will probably make a folder for them. Most of the scans are either scans of contact prints or scans of transparencies for printing. The lighthouse was scanned for an 11X14 print and then drastically shrunk. I haven't been shooting lf all that long and my composition through the ground glass still needs a little work. I have about 5 trannies that I want to print when I have the money. When I have the prints I will scan them and add them to my portfolio.
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Randy, Both are examples of great photography regardless of format used . Only difference is a 35mm shooter would probably have shot at least half a roll on each scene for less than it cost you for one sheet of film. However, viewing the final print is where you would get your jollies. Best, LM.
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Len,

 

One of the main reasons that I shoot large format (other than the

sheer enjoyment of not shooting "machine gun" style with 1/2 or

a roll of film per scene) is the final image. The monument valley

and Clifden castle images that I have printed are each 50" x 60".

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Len, You're welcome to look at my portfolio - all 4X5 taken with an ARCA-SWISS Field Camera and mostly a Rodenstock 210mm lens. Not much in the way of filters. Worst part of my portfolio is that I don't have the capability to scan and upload with other than my hp officeject 7130xi. The other thing that you should keep quiet is that I've been learning in my spare time for about two and one-half to three years. But, in some cases, you get a different large format perspective from the series. Would love any comments from you or the others. Thanks.

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=399150

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Here's one done with somewhat older equipment -- a ca. 1935 Kawee Camera, Schneider-Kreuznach Radionar f/4.5 13.5 cm, on 9x12 cm Fomapan 100; developed in HC-110 Dilution H and scanned on the glass of a flatbed.<div>008hoz-18594384.thumb.jpg.ada38e7d2c7058b0b58087a782f0eb67.jpg</div>
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<p>I'm also posting scans here, occasionally, but just to delete them after few weeks or

months. Usually, after I made a real print, I'm not satisfied with scans I have posted... so,

as now there are just 3 pictures, which I will most probably change with some fresh shots

after I came back from my vacation... </p>

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2407492">Castle

Lukavec</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2407535">ivy</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2407583">Little

vineyard</a></p>

<p>Janko</p>

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Heck, I'll take the opportunity for some shameless self promotion - you can see well over 150 LF images on my web site, and you may also want to visit QT Luong's Large Format site for a fairly comprehensive list of links to other LF photographers sites.<br>

One caveat I'm sure most will agree with - the web is unfortunately rather limiting. To truly appreciate an LF image you should be looking for venues (galleries, exhibits, etc.) where you can review prints.<br>

<br>

Guy<br>

<a href="http://www.scenicwild.com">Scenic Wild Photography</a>

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Mike, Got you bookmarked. Steve, I knew there had to be some samples, but I was just having trouble locating any. Donald, Collin, Janko, & Guy, thanks, I'll definitely have a look. I can easily find other web sites promoting LF but I thought that THIS site should be better represented. Thanks to all who responded I now have a starting point rather than using the trial & error approach. Best, LM.
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