Preparing for 1st LF Trip

[kevin gulstene]

First, this forum has been a great asset in getting me started in 4x5. I am now the

loving owner/user of a Shen Hoa, 135 sironar-s, 210 sironar-n, polaroid back, and a

500lb tripod. A minimalist set-up to be sure but more fun than I ever imagined

possible.

 

Thanks to all who have contributed to to this lurkers knowledge!!

 

I am preparing to go on my first extended (2 weeks on the Oregon coast) 4x5 field

trip. This will exceed my longest outing so far by, oh say, about 13 days and 20

hours. I am approaching my usual planning horizon of 48 hours and have heaps of

questions -- I hope some of you can help with some of them:

 

1- I know I will forget something that is very imprtant or need something new. Where

should I buy one of these in Portland ( or anywhere north of the California border)?

 

2- How wide angle can you shoot with a lee filter system screwed on to the front of a

lens?

 

3- Do people really "manage" their film and film holders on long trips or do they buy

ready-load / type 55 film?

 

4- Any suggestions regarding locations for photography of rugged shorelines, those

stack thingy's in the ocean, would be appreciated.

 

Thanx,

[ralph_barker]

1. make a list. Check it twice.

 

1a. Don't forget to include the color film in the fridge on the list

 

2. Best to test it on your lens with a Polaroid before you leave.

 

3. Yes, it's possible (add multiple empty film boxes and a changing tent to the list in #1), but dust can be a big problem when reloading - particularly with color films. ReadyLoads or QuickLoads minimize the problem - but add significantly to the film budget.

 

4. Big Sur and Pt Lobos in CA? ;-)

[dave schlick]

rises and shifts coupled with f stop and filters make an endless list of vigyetting edge problems.. you need a base to go by. that is what rise, f stop combo can give you a clear shot a filter... that way if you need to have lots of rise youll know your max before yhou have to drop the filter..and then what exposure f stop will be needed to give max rise within reason without using stop watch for long exposures..then you need a good reciprocity film for that.. velvia comes to mind.. . you didnt mention note book,, buy them and ddate photos and books in order, and date your negative/posotive sleeve so you can go back to exposure, rise, filter, and youll get all the info you need with good records.. this helps from repeating mistakes... you also did not mention a good meter.. a must.. good luck on your trip, august is the best time for avearage days of sunshine on the coast, as spring can be weeks of drizzel at a time... but every day is a new day... good luck dave.

[ken_schroeder]

Kevin, enjoy your upcoming trip! Your "minimalist " equipment is well chosen. A couple suggestions......

 

1) I don't feel dressed unless I am carrying spare lens caps. I've never lost one, but feel better knowing I have a spare for each size in the case.

 

2) Do a "shakedown" session before leaving home. This makes sure everything is in working order.

 

3) Spare cable release and lens cleaning material.

 

4) Before you get out your light meter, set the shutter and aperture for what you think it should be. Note this in your shooting notes. Then compare with your meter. This is a good habit, and invaluable should your meter mail.

 

5) Consider a simple bookpack (you probably already own one) for carrying your gear on longer walks from the car. Wrap the camera in your focusing cloth.

 

6) Enjoy.

[bruce_barlow]

Take twice as much film as you think you'd ever need. Film is cheap compared to running out. Change film holders in the dark bathroom of your motel. Stuff a towel under the door and sit in the bathtub if you have to. Buy a decent 2" paint brush and dust the holders and slides after you've emptied them but before you reload them. Take empty film boxes for your exposed film and MARK THEM for what they contain.

 

Or, take only Polaroid... One-of-a-kind images. Immediate feedback. The best picture I ever made is a Polaroid. It's very special and I'm not at all sad that I don't have a negative. Especially if you're new to large format, Polaroid is a great learning tool.

 

Slow down, take your time, and really look hard. If it's a new place for you, it will take a while to really see it past the "postcards" that are the easy ones to make.

 

Eat well. A friend and I went to Maine last September for a week and ate lobster every night. It's a good reward after all the hard photographing. Enjoy your trip!!

[bob.]

As said by others: make a list. I have mine on a PDA so I can add to it as time goes by. Lay all your gear out and ask "do I need to take that" (answer=almost certainly YES...) and write it in the list.

 

I tend to use T-55 mostly when away from home for a while, but that's just me, being a relative newcomer too. T-55 simplifies things as you don't need darkness, tempetrature control or lots of different chemicals to process 'em.

 

If I recall correctly, Tuan's site has details of managing film on a trip and there are suggestions in the archives here.

 

Have fun,

[scott_peters]

Don't forget extra batteries for your meter :) and more film than you think you will need.

 

Have Fun.

 

Scott

[james phillips]

Hi Kevin,

 

Good choice of equipment for such a holiday. I would suggest before going you do a day trip near home. While on the day trip write down everything that you have with you and things you might have brought out had you planned a bit better. Being in the field is the best time to verify you requirements. Lacking that...just do a simulated set up and shoot as if you were in the field, at home in your hobby room.

 

Three things that I have missed in the past are dark cloth, light meter (replaced the battery and did not put back in pack), and filters. (cleaned but left out of backpack). A loupe is also very easy to forget. So go with the written check list and verify as you are packing the car.

 

Have a great trip.

[ed_pierce2]

Spend as much time as possible walking & looking; not driving. Find an area that feels interesting and really explore it well on foot.

[Troll]

Leave the wife/girlfriend/buddy at home!

[ken_lee11]

Bring music for your car that puts you in the appropriate mood for making art.

[peter_galea]

My first choice would be Beethoven's 6th "Pastoral". Or, on the other end of the spectrum, "The Planets" by Holst.

[brian_ellis3]

With respect to "where to buy something I've forgotten to bring or that's broken on my trip," when I've encountered these kind of emergencies I've called Calumet (1-800-CALUMET) and had them ship it overnight to my motel. I don't think you're likely to be close to any photography stores that sell anything large format related on the Oregon coast.

 

You'll have a great time, my one week trip from Portland over to the coast and then down to the California border was one of the best photography trips I've ever taken. I didn't try the coast to the north but with two weeks you'll have plenty of time to do that too. Oregon has done a wonderful job of keeping the coast accessabile to the general public. All you really have to do is start driving down the coast from the area that's due west of Portland and you'll see plenty of the kind of things you're looking for along the way. You might also contact Paul Butzi and ask him for specifics. He lives somewhere near the coast. See www.paulbutzi.com or www.butzi.com, I forget which, for contact information.

[kirk_keyes]

Qustion 1) A good source for photographic equipment in Portland is Pro Photo Supply on NW 19th and Marshall. Excellent selection of films, both 4x5 and other sizes.

 

Question 2) I have no idea.

 

Question 3) I use a combination of Quickloads for color and Readyloads for B&W. I don't have to worry about loading holders, and there is never any dust. It costs more, but I think they are worth it.

 

Question 4)Special Points of interest:

North OR coast -

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach - Oregon's Premier seastack

Devils Punchbowl

Darlingtonia Wayside

Ecola State Park

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport

Cape Meares Lighthouse, Tillamook

 

 

South OR coast - Oregon Dunes south of Florence

Shore Acres State Park

Cape Blanco Lighthouse, Port Orford

Haceta Head Light House, Florence

 

 

Check out http://www.traveloregon.com/region.cfm?theRegion=1

http://www.visittheoregoncoast.com/

http://www.oregon.com/

http://www.orcoast.com/

http://www.ais.org/~lsa/oregon.html

[tedharris]

Just two more things:

 

1) Some sort of a multi tool/swiss army knife

 

2) gaffer tape gaffer tape gaffer tape .... oh yeah gaffer tape .... never go

anywhere without it. It can hold things to things, it can hold other things to

things, it is easy to tear, it is strong, a couple of layers of it (even one usually)

are lightproof and are good to seal boxes, also good to seal door frames of

bathrooms where you are loading film ...... and on and on and on ....

[darin_cozine]

1. bring a few extra lens cloths. Carry (and use!) lots of film. Make sure to bring some rain gear ( lightweight poncho and a plastic garage bag you can throw over your pack ). Keep all your film in ziplock bags.

 

3. If you are going to use sheet film, bring an extra box you can empty your exposed negatives. Use a changing bag or one of the collapsable tent-like bags. Get a wide brush for your film holders (like 3-4 inches wide).

 

4. The shoreline around the astoria area is one of the most photographed in oregon.

 

Lastly, dont forget a clean pair of underware =)

[richard_rau]

Oversized Zip Locks!!! A must for sandy/dusty conditions for film

holders and lenses, but may not be good for humid conditions if

condensation is a problem. Also, a little tool kit, such as a small

screw driver set for eyeglasses and needle-nose pliers can

come in handy. Not familiar with Shen-Ho cameras, but

cameras like Canhams are held together with allen screws, so

the right size allen screw driver for the knobs of your camera is

good, because they can come loose with a lot of use. Good

luck!

[marv]

Check everything twice. I left my tripod mount bushing at home. It could have been a disaster but we ended up making one that worked for two weeks and over 75 exposures out of a carriage bolt. Not elegant but fully functional.

[stevewillard]

Hi Kevin,

 

Sounds exciting. Your first LF trip. Mine brings to mind great

memories. This is a little bit off topic, but a good thing to do is

keep a living list of everything you bring on your trips. Living

means it is kept current as items are sold or added.

 

Last season I did 11 5 day trips into the field with my llama. He

carries about 90 lbs. and I carry about 50 lbs. going in. Lots of

gear for both camera and life. I cannot remember ever forgetting

anything. I owe this success to my living list. Hail to the list!

[kevin gulstene]

Wow - thanks to all for the great info. The lists are made, and the bags are packed.

One dry run tomorrow and I'm off.

 

A llama !?! -- I wish I was cool enough to get a llama!

[reinier_de_vlaam]

Just make sure that if you chage film in a bathroom, all holes are blocked. Stay in there for 5min before you open your holders. It takes your eyes time to adjust to the low light. So what seems dark doesn't have to be.

 

It happend to me once that I thought I was in a completely dark room and started changing film. After 5min I could see what I was doing, so much light was present. Resulted in a lot of wasted film.

[neil_poulsen1]

I have a few suggestions to consider:

 

1) A spare ground glass is worthwhile. A broken ground glass can bring a quick end to an LF vacation.

 

2) Consider arranging your backpack so that each major item has it's own cubby-hole. That way, if anything is missing, then it will be obvious. Before moving onto the next spot, check the ground thoroughly where you were working.

 

3) Do you have a bellows lenshood? Overcast days on the coast can result in a lot of flare.

 

4) Beware salt spray and wind that can blow sand onto your lens coating. Do you have UV filters that you can use? I usually leave them on for focusing, and if the conditions are OK, remove them briefly for the exposure. Also consider taking a piece of plastic that you can lay on the ground where you plan to park your backpack while photographing.

[runkel]

Although not "sea stacks", two other sites to check out are Cascade Head, a pristine, hikeable headland owned by The Nature Conservancy and Cape Kiwanda, an orange sandstone headland. Both are on the central coast between Tillamook and Lincoln City.

 

No sales tax or self-serve gas in Oregon. Have a great trip.

 

Cascade Head:

 

http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/oregon/preserves/art6796.html

 

http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/oregon/preserves/art1541.html

 

Cape Kiwanda:

 

http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_180.php

 

http://www.ohwy.com/or/c/ckiwanda.htm

[praveen murthy]

Two things I have found helpful, especially for LF are:

 

1) A photogs vest. Great for keeping all of the things you need like loupe, filters, caps, cable release, and lenses. Especially true if you are going to be standing on rocks at a beach hoping the waves don't rise too high, and you have left your photo backpack on the shore or on your back where it can't be reached easily and you need to change lenses for instance.

 

2) Some way of securing the darkcloth to the camera. I tried with velcro strips but it eventually came off. I need to sew it to the cloth rather than just sticking it on. Also, a good darkcloth that's really dark is very helpful in low light conditions and one that stays on the camera despite the wind. Shooting in the field, especially on the coast where it's cold, windy, and constantly causing worries about sea spray and salt, is quite a trying experience sometimes, and these two things make life easier.