Going out with a camera

[dsallen]

I think all approaches to photography are valid but different approaches can have a big impact on 'success rate'. Format is but one of these. Many of the best photographers using 35mm cite an approach of shooting every day (many people are never without a camera and there is a strong trend amongst a number of contemporary photographers of continuously documenting their every waking moment) and 'shooting one's way to the solution for a particular scene' by which they mean continuously photographing a potential image by moving about, getting nearer and then, when studying the contacts, learning how near/far from the subject produced a good image. However, just as many people using 35mm approach their work as if they are using large format (Lewis Baltz's early work for example).

When I used to do large format landscapes (many years ago) I found that I could easily get through 15 double dark slides when I was 'seeing' well. I think that the key here is how you approach making photographs and not what equipment you are using.

Personally, I only take my camera (Mamiya 7 with 65mm lens) out when I am 'working' - meaning that I am deliberately going to seek out images. How I make my photographs requires me to be concentrated and I practically never see anything when I am not in this frame (please excuse the unintended pun!) of mind. The 'success rate' is purely down to how 'on form' I am. What doesn't work for me is trying to 'force' images to happen (i.e. taking shots to get in the mood or in the hope that it will get the creative juices going).

I think that the most important thing is not how many you shoot/print but that you enjoy your photography and, whatever approach suits you, eventually delivers images that you are happy with.

[Roger Cole]

Originally Posted by DaveP

I think the tempation to take a 4x5 shot just cos you've carted all the gear is minimal when I think of the cost of the film! 35mm is worse in that respect. I clearly remember taking 35mm shots that i knew were shit out of lazyness or an impatience to finish the roll. Whereas after the first few months honeymoon period with 4x5 i never shoot anything i don't genuinely think has a good chance of being a "banger". I've got a digital camera for taking crap photos.

+1.

I find I just enjoy manipulating the 4x5 camera and sometimes I'll know what I see on the ground glass just isn't worth a sheet of film, but I actually enjoying seeing the world that way sometimes. The inverted image under the darkcloth seems to lend an element of abstraction and I think improves my ability to compose, or to recognize a lack of composition. Sometimes it's fun just to see what I can do to improve that image even if I never get it to the point where I want to spend a sheet of film on it.

[cliveh]

“It was the last night of the holiday; I had my Wista with me wandering along a road about a mile from the caravan park. I'd spotted some bog land and old trees the previous day, so went there, set up and made two exposures. The sun had set behind some hills, the mist was rising, the world was utterly silent, and all of a sudden about 10 bats appeared and I could hear the movement of their wings all around me. It was one of those moments (both breath-taking and an affirmation of the how beautiful the natural world is)”

Phil, for a second or two, I was almost there, with you and the bats. If you ever exhibit that picture, your above quote would make a nice caption for it.

Trevor, you mentioned - “It will be interesting, for me, to see how I get on with the more spontaneous photography of a hand-held 35mm camera, after quite a few years of lack of use. I will do my utmost to be disciplined but at the same time I wish to be more experimental, so I'm expecting a higher level of rejects.”

Dsallen – “I think that the key here is how you approach making photographs and not what equipment you are using.”

I am probably as guilty as the next person with lack of photo discipline, but shouldn’t we have the same discipline, regardless of format size? Has this got something to do with finishing the film to develop the shots? When you have taken one shot on 5” x 4” you can process it without waiting to do a batch, but with film, unless you cut it, you have to wait until it is finished. I sometimes wonder if the saying “if you wouldn’t draw it, don’t photograph it” is a sound rule to apply, but very difficult for most photographers to adhere to and with digital, even more so.

Perhaps what’s needed is a partially coated 35mm film, so you don’t know if your image has been recorded or not. A sort of Russian roulette type of photography, but then that may spoil the fun.

Trevor, as to "It" will be realised when the photographer clears the mind of distraction and too much expectation.
I’m still not convinced that even then, “it” is always there.

[Martin Aislabie]

For me there is nothing spontaneous about taking a 5x4 out, its one of the things I became acutely aware of when I moved up to the format

Its not as if I think, I’ll go for a walk and just happen to pick up the 5x4 and its Tripod on the way out of the door.

I would often just grab a 35mm SLR fitted with a 28mm and sling it over my shoulder on the off chance I might see something interesting.

However, having hauled the 5x4 out to a location, I often don’t end up shooting what I had expected but get lured towards shooting something else. Is that spontaneity – well it feels like it is for me.

The biggest factor on what I shoot on any particular day is the quality of the light.

Sometimes the quality of the light is great for say sweeping vistas but not for close-ups, so off I will head to a location likely to give suitable sweeping vistas.

Being in the UK, the quality of the light is always changing, so the subjects I choose have to vary with the light.

I have spent many, many long hours with my camera set up waiting for the light to change to give me the shot I am hoping to capture and often come away disappointed.
When I first moved up to LF I would often just shoot the shot anyway but I have learned that is it doesn’t look “wow” on the GG it won’t look any better as a Negative.

Martin

[DaveP]

Originally Posted by Roger Cole

+1.

I find I just enjoy manipulating the 4x5 camera and sometimes I'll know what I see on the ground glass just isn't worth a sheet of film, but I actually enjoying seeing the world that way sometimes. The inverted image under the darkcloth seems to lend an element of abstraction and I think improves my ability to compose, or to recognize a lack of composition. Sometimes it's fun just to see what I can do to improve that image even if I never get it to the point where I want to spend a sheet of film on it.

Plus even if the shot doesn't work or the light is wrong, its often valuable practice at getting the focus/tilt right.

[Trevor Crone]

Clive, obviously I don't know what is "it" that you are looking for perhaps you could explain this in more detail.

A photographer friend, who sadly died some years ago but during the last years of his life he just took photographs but never processed the film, for him just the act of taking a picture was "it", the thing he cherished most.

[cliveh]

Originally Posted by Trevor Crone

Clive, obviously I don't know what is "it" that you are looking for perhaps you could explain this in more detail.

A photographer friend, who sadly died some years ago but during the last years of his life he just took photographs but never processed the film, for him just the act of taking a picture was "it", the thing he cherished most.

Trevor, if I could explain what “it” is, I would understand how to operate in the higher values of Zen and perhaps take pictures in the same league approaching that of HCB. As you have alluded to the fact that the photographer clears the mind, I would suggest the operation of taking the photograph requires the same negation of thought that you may have when vacuuming out your car. However, I think that is not enough. Just as in “Zen and the art of archery” it takes years and years of practice. If we start early enough and live long enough, we may just get there. Your friend was perhaps practicing this, knowing that he was not yet ready to develop the film.

[Sometimes]

'It' for me is 'mental realism'. I shoot more frames on digital than 35mm and more on 35mm than 120 (even though I may have all three with me). Digital has no 'cost' - it doesn't really matter whether it's crap or not. 35mm has a certain value per shot, spending time developing crap is just a waste of time, a sense of failure is attached to it. With 120, the shot I take is definitely what I want - I usually go to the effort of bracketing my shots.... I want that shot. I'm happy to set the camera up, frame, work out the exposure, filters, etc. and then decide I'll not bother because something is not quite right- it's where mental realism creeps in - maybe it's being honest with myself.