nicholas_f._jones

Let me add to the preceding post the excellent introduction to the

zone system by Steve Simmons, Using the View Camera, ch. 9 The Zone

System pp. 84-95. Also helpful is Advanced Black-and-White

Photography, Kodak Workshop Series KW-19, "Controlling Your System,"

pp. 48-71.

<p>

Of all the good advice the previous posters have given you, I

personally have found Dan's point about "taking note" of your early

trials to be the single most important thing of all. I mean literally

writing down all the data on each exposure--time of day, position of

sun, lens, meter readings, assignment of zone values to different

parts of subject, any bellows extension or reciprocity failure

corrections, actual exposure setting, film and its EI, and so on.

That way, you can go back and discover what you did right or wrong,

and make more rapid progress as you discard what doesn't work for you

and, by isolating what *did* work for you, develop a technique that

will allow you to express your own unique approach, esthetic, and

style. Good light, Nick.

As in other aspects of LF photography, you'll want to keep the zone

system simple and concentrate on the basics, adding refinements if

and when necessary. The Leica Manual (my copy is 15th ed., 1973)

contained a brief section by Ansel Adams "The Zone System for 35mm

Photography," with an introductory note by W.L.Broecker. Short,

clear, with tables. FWIW, if you have access to View Magazine

magazine, you'll see that when Steve Simmons is writing about his own

b/w work, he sometimes takes the reader through the steps of the zone

system as he sets up an exposure--previsualization, metering, plus or

minus development, etc.

<p>

Ansel Adams compared photography to music, and as a struggling

instrumentalist I have found the analogy to be right on the mark in

several respects. It's not fun at first. In order for LF

photography in all its dimensions to become fun, you first have to

master a lot of at first difficult technical matters, including but

not limited to your approach to exposure. As with a musical

instrument, without that mastery it'll never be fun because no one

derives pleasure from doing something poorly. Behind every

expressive, passionate, free-wheeling musical performance are many

hours, days, even years of disciplined study and practice. When it's

all internalized, automatic, second nature and you don't have to

think about technique, that's when LF photography starts to really be

enjoyable, satisfying, and rewarding. My two cents' worth. Good

light, Nick.

riichi,

<p>

"Which developer ... (except HC-110)."

<p>

Why except HC-110? I'm using it with Tri-X sheets now, with

seemingly satisfactory results. HC-110 is convenient for travel

because, unlike D-76, it doesn't have to be brought to 125F when

initially mixed. Otherwise, I've been happy with D-76 too. Nick.

Paul,

<p>

After long experience carrying fairly heavy backpacks long distances

over high, steep mountain trails, I have concluded that the heaviest

items are most efficiently carried at the top of the pack. I would

place the very lighest object by volume, say a down sleeping-bag, at

the bottom strapped to the frame below the pack proper (or, with a

pack of "expedition" design, stuffed at the bottom). This way, by

leaning slightly forward, the greater part of the weight is brought

over the hiker's center of gravity. Placed lower on the frame, heavy

objects will pull your entire body backwards. At the same time, a

belly band will help to transfer weight from shoulders to hips or,

better yet, on long hikes to allow you to alternately switch the

burden back and forth between shoulders and hips. Correct

distribution of weight and the proper (usually alternating) shifting

of the load between straps and band can mean the difference between

pleasure and agony.

<p>

I haven't hiked yet with my 8x10 field and heavy tripod, but if and

when I do I'll start by putting both as high up as I possibly can.

But everyone has to experiment and find out what works best for them

as an individual. Good light, Nick.

Gary,

<p>

This passage from ch. 4 "A Near View of the High Sierra" in The

Mountains of California (1894), Anchor Books edition p. 45, is the

fullest statement I could find in John Muir's major writings after a

brief search. Nick.

<p>

"Now came the solemn, silent evening. Long, blue, spiky shadows

crept out across the snow-fields, while a rosy glow, at first scarce

discernible, gradually deepened and suffused every mountain-top,

flushing the glaciers and the harsh crags above them. This was the

alpenglow, to me one of the most impressive of all the terrestrial

manifestations of God. At the touch of this divine light, the

mountains seemed to kindle to a rapt, religious consciousness, and

stood hushed and waiting like devout worshipers. Just before the

alpenglow began to fade, two crimson clouds came streaming across the

summit like wings of flame, rendering the sublime scene yet more

impressive; then came darkness and the stars."

According to my personal scheme of things (essentially rooted through

a grandparent in late 19th c. rural protestantism supplemented by a

1950s upbringing), photography (or any other avocation) must always

give way to demands of family, profession, and church, but even so

that still leaves lots of room. If my pursuit of LF photography is

obsessive, it's because it has become my *only* avocation--and that

goes for time, money, and expenditure of energy. But if you're going

to have an all-consuming hobby, you could do a lot worse than LF

since it's potentially so multi-faceted. If you let it, it ramifies

into all sorts of interesting directions. Physics, optics, chemistry

cannot be entirely avoided. My subjects enhance already existing

interests in the natural world, local history, and the formal

esthetic aspects of everyday objects, not to mention new approaches

to the family portrait. The antecedents of the craft allow me

personally to revist my west coast origins, sometimes in a very

literal and direct way. Study of the masters opens up new (for me)

vistas of artistic appreciation and criticism. So, if this is an

obsession, at least it's one with significant compensation for what

I'm giving up, for the other things I could be doing with the time,

money, and energy.

<p>

All our children are well along, and it's getting to be the time for

me and my wife to do things together again, just the two of us but

often with the much-cherished company of our adult downs syndrome

son. Marilyn is very interested in LF photography (after all, she

was party to most of the 10,000 snapshots that wore out our Nikkormat

FTN) and has a very good sense of LF procedure and mechanics, esp.

the movements. Ned carries the tripod and film holders, and often

releases the shutter, necessarily so for the occasional portrait of

Mom and Dad. Not at all a solitary activity to feel guilty about,

not that that would have been feasible anyway since our 8x10 rig is

too big and heavy even for a large man like me.

<p>

Expense is a matter of concern, as I gather it is for most of us.

What protects me (relatively speaking) from over-indulgence is my

photographic orientation. Although I'm entirely self-taught, I still

have mentors: my studio portrait photographer father and the group

f.64 masters whose life stories, subjects, and even life-styles

have such enduring resonances for both of us. They define the craft

for me; I have no desire to go beyond the genre as they understood

and practiced it, whatever the technical merits of the medium (say,

digital) might be. My (unrelated) professional work takes care of any

impulses towards pioneering originality I might possess. All I need

is the wooden 8x10 field, three lenses, and an apparatus for contact

printing that rivals EW's cabin in its simplicity. For me, it's all

about family tradition, nostalgia, subjects, the process, the craft

as it was practiced at mid-century.

<p>

Sometimes a week or more goes by with no field or darkroom work, but

this morning I was up at 5:00 am printing test RC's of the latest

batch of Tri-X negs. After a half day at the office (it's the day

before T'giving for crying out loud, and as it turned out I was the

only the person there), I drove our 14 year old daughter into

Pittsburgh for choir practice. It was late afternoon and we were

headed south with a bright sun sinking to our right. The trees to

either side of the road along with the brilliant highlights on the

utility wires suggested photographic possibilities. "Did you know

that Ansel Adams once shot into the sun. He called it 'The Black

Sun', and if I ever understand how he did it, I'd like to give it a

try." Now, on the left we're pulling even with a church with a

cemetery before it, the gravestones bathed in brilliant

sunlight. "This reminds me of another Ansel Adams shot, his most

famous, called 'Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico'. Did I ever tell

you the story about how he got that shot?" "Countless times," Alice

said. "You get so excited. It's like the Super Bowl for you." She

didn't know how right she was. Best to all and good light. Nick.

<p>

Eric,

<p>

Whatever you decide to do, don't forget to check in regularly with

this forum--and its tremendous archives. I myself came from 35mm

and, without any formal instruction or even so much as meeting a

single LF photographer, in about a year I've achieved some pretty

satisfying results (satisfying to me at least), due in large part to

the many generous contributors to this site. Good light, Nick.