Getting in a 35mm frame of mind

[Phil]

Hi Folks - I am probably just the same as most of you, in that when I started out taking photographs, I used 35mm and that was absolutely fine because I had no chance to use anything else, and it was exciting this new photography lark, and look how many pictures you can take! Then I discovered the delights of a Mamiya C330F and the whole gamut of medium format opened up for me, resulting in me using (in recent years) little more than my nice old Rolleiflex T. I've also acquired a Sinar F, and the joy of large format has set me thinking maybe I should try and go 8x10, because I like that fact that I don't have to take a set number of photographs for a trip to be worthwhile. Basically my picture taking frame of mind (if you'll excuse the pun) is becoming narrower.
But I digress; a friend's father-in-law has decided that his Nikon F2S and Nikkormat FTN and kit of 6 Nikkor lenses, ranging from the 35mm f2, to the 500mm f8, are no longer for him, and, knowing how much I love cameras, felt that they should go to a good home – in other words me :D
Now I do actually have an old Nikomat FT and the 55mm Micro-Nikkor already, but I don't use it as much as I should because these days, I find it really difficult to think 35mm.
I've spent quite a number of years now, maybe only taking a single roll of 120 FP4 or TXP 320 into the field, knowing that I only have a certain number of shots to play with and my photograph making has become, how shall we say, very careful and studious. This has been exacerbated by LF where 4 sheets of film is a worthwhile cause! Now, suddenly, I have 24 or 36 exposures open to me and a whole new world of having to think in quantity :eek:
As if that isn't enough, I also worry about quality. You know, I've been spoiled by the Rollei – yeah the Tessar isn't quite a Planar or Xenotar, but it is a really great little lens. It's been there to capture some interesting times, and more to the fact, I've never really had to think, oh yeah this is going to be grainy and lacking huge amounts of detail, because it gives such superb results. And now, again, using 5x4 has made my 120 negatives look tiny, so that I am thinking I wonder what an 8x10 contact printed would be like!
The gift of the Nikon kit is quite wonderful, and I suppose my point is, how do I make the most of it? I tend to take photographs of anything I find interesting to look at, so this ranges from weird abstracts right the way through to studious landscapes to weird juxtapositions etc etc.
Is it really easy to jump around different formats, especially moving back the way as it were? Do any of you lot have the same struggle as I am having of regarding the tiny 35mm frame as completely insubstantial ;) compared to 6x6 and larger?
Or, is all this just a non-question; should I quit worrying :slap: load a roll of Tri-X and go out and see what I can find?
Any helpful hints in getting my tiny mind around this would be most helpful.

[Dave miller]

I would say just go out and shoot. The composition and framing aspect is not so very different after all. The negative handling is another matter! Each format has it's strengths and weaknesses, it's up to you to exploit the former and minimise the latter.
Enjoy the challenge.

[Daud]

Phil,
Nikon F2…. Wonderful camera (but then I would say that having just spent money with Sover Wong giving it TLC).
I would think that if you avoid the idea of ‘I now have 24 or 36 shots’ but think more along the lines of ‘This can go anywhere with me’; then I am sure you will appreciate that 35mm equipment can be just as creative as the Medium Format gear you normally use.
I can still use my Pentax spot meter along with a tripod and according to some of my friends “take an hour to press the shutter just once !”…….

David.

[B&W Neil]

As they say: "A good big one will always beat a good little one!"

So if you are after out and out quality there is the answer. However, 35mm is great too and has many uses, and advantages, over the larger formats. Cost, portabillity, number of lenses availabe, range of shutter speeds availabe, weight and size to name just a few. I use 35mm, MF and LF cameras but if you look at my website about 75% of what you see will have been done with 35mm gear. My wife ony uses 35mm although she has access to the other formats. What you do need to do with 35mm, especially if you are after top quality, is to choose film / dev combination carefully and make sure it suits what you are trying to achieve and for critical work always use a tripod. We are just out for a landscape shoot today and my bag will contain a Mamiya 7 (Delta 400) and a 35mm camera with infrared (Kodak infrared). The infrared camera will probably get used most :-). Most of all though don't think size = quality. It is what you see and how you make the image really counts in the end.

Take the 35mm cameras and enjoy - but don't forget to use the others as well :-)

Neil.

[Neil Smith]

I wouldn't worry about thinking 35mm isn't as high quality as medium format or 4x5. I have always switched between formats and don't find it a problem. Though I would tend to pick the format which best suits what I am trying to do, if you were out to get every last bit of detail and be using the zone system large format would be the obvious choice, but if you were shooting reportage or trying to use grain for effect then its not going to be 4x5.
I used to get bogged down with how high quality the image was, you can get stuck with a technical head on, its easy to slip into this mode, so every now and then I look through my photography books at photographs taken by some the greats, Steichen, Doisneau, Stieglitz some of there work is certainly not pin sharp or full of detail, but the images are fantastic, sometimes quality in a photograph is not about detail or sharpness. It depends on what your trying to achieve.
As for 35mm, I think most people would be happy to have taken photographs by a big 35mm exponent by the name of Bresson.

Neil

[Alan Clark]

Phil,
There is absolutely no need for you to worry about anything. None of this is compulsory! If you don't like the "quality" of 35mm photographs, just stick to the larger formats.

Personally I have always enjoyed making gritty grainy atmospheric landscapes, and find that 35mm is perfect for this, with HP5+ or Tri x developed in Rodinal.
I also like doing more close-up things; rock formations, roots, old sheds,farmyard junk still life pictures, and so on. For these I like lots of detail and sharpness. I can't get the look I want with 35mm, so I use 120 or 5 x 4, and, since last week,half-plate format.

So I choose the format for the "look" it will give me, though of course this can be varied within each format. When I started photographing life on hill farms on the North York Moors I began with 35mm, HP5+ and Rodinal -the same as I use for landscapes - but found that the grain got in the way of the subject. So I switched to ID11 at 1+3 (laterly I have been using Perceptol at 1+3) and find I can make prints on 8 x 12 inch paper that are very crisp and grain free. I use an OM1 mostly with 35mm lens, shutter set at 125th and no tripod.

Even on 120 I find I can vary the look. I use Hp5+ developed in Rodinal, which gives remarkable perceived sharpness and a certain "bite" which I like a lot. Delta 100 developed in Pyrocat HD or Prescysol EF gives a very different look which is far too smooth for my taste, though I can see why others would love it.

Perhaps I am fortunate in that I have a clear idea what I want my pictures to look like before I take them, and choose format film and developer accordingly.
Give your 35mm camera a try. Experiment, try different things. Have fun! And then make a proper evaluation of your photographs.

Alan

[Phil]

Thanks for all the tips folks!
I guess it is a matter of wearing different format hats for different tasks and then balancing what you want to do with what you've got. I must admit I hadn't thought that way before, having been of the 'I've only got one camera (which was the case for a loing time) so I'll use it for everything' school of thinking.
My only qualm about all this is when I head off on long marches into the hills I have to get the format right. In recent times it has been the Sinar (with the Linhof tripod and gorilla arms at the end of a day) but before that it was Rollei all the way (apart from a foray into Pentax 67).
I could envisage taking the Nikon into the hills, but when you get to where you want to go, have climbed about 3500 ft only to find an incredible bit of atmosphere/light and you've only got a 35mm frame to fit it into . . .do you see what I mean?
I have seriously thought about a 6x9 camera for lightness and quality and maybe will go that way in the future, but I guess for now I'll view the Nikon as a wonderful gift, and go and have some fun and see what I can bring home, and, more importantly, try some different subject matter that suits the capabilities of 35mm.
As usual with this forum - thanks for all the incisive answers!
Phil

[B&W Neil]

Phil, and don't forget to let us know how you get on :-)

Neil.