Bigger and Better? Perhaps....

I recently acquired a Wisner 4X5 Technical Field Camera. This means I am now experimenting with large format film photography. Oh my!

This is an entirely new set of skills to me. My camera is basically a box where the lens is separated from the film plane by leather bellows. The camera can be adjusted in the front and back: front rise, tilt, swing, and shift; back rise, swing, and tilt. This means that perspective lines can be adjusted before exposing the film.

There are many challenges aside from simply setting up the camera, adjusting the movements, and figuring out the exposure of the film (and reciprocity failure - another topic entirely). The image is composed on a ground glass plate on the back surface of the camera. You can only see the image when the glass is shaded, so I have to attach a dark cloth to cover my head in order to see the it. The image presented is also upside down and backwards.

Here are some of my first images from this wonderful camera.

Slate Run Historical Farm: Wisner 4X5 Technical Field Camera, Ilford HP+ film. Photo by Andi Wolfe ©2015 - all rights reserved

Slate Run Metro Park: Wisner 4X5 Technical Field Camera, Ilford HP+ film. Photo by Andi Wolfe ©2015 - all rights reserved

Slate Run Historical Farm: Wisner 4X5 Technical Field Camera, Ilford HP+ film. Photo by Andi Wolfe ©2015 - all rights reserved

Slate Run Historical Farm: Wisner 4X5 Technical Field Camera, Ilford HP+ film. Photo by Andi Wolfe ©2015 - all rights reserved

Inniswood Metro Park: Wisner 4X5 Technical Field Camera, Ilford FP4 film. Photo by Andi Wolfe ©2015 - all rights reserved

Phillips 66

I had one of the busiest summers I can remember, beginning in May. The new semester has started and so my travels are done for a few months, which is a huge relief. Most of my travel was for field work - first to Utah, then northern California, and, just last week, to southern Mexico. I've been working on a huge photo project for our Penstemon grant, but during our field work, I was also working with my medium format film camera when the opportunity arose. Here is a series of photos from Utah where we came across an old Phillips 66 station, which appeared to be an outdoor museum. All the photos were done with my Yashica Mat 124G twin lens reflex, and Ilford Delta 100 or 400 film. (©2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved).

First film venture in Washington, DC

I had a long afternoon of walking in DC last week, which was the perfect opportunity for doing some street photography with my Yashica Mat 124G twin lens reflex camera. Here is a sampler of some of the photos I made. All were with Ilford HP5 film.  All photos ©2015 - Andi Wolfe; all rights reserved.

In the Metro station. Long exposure and aperture open as wide as possible. The shallow depth of field, combined with the long exposure gives this an impressionistic feel.

I love these kinds of opportunities - when a group of tourists are doing a self portrait with a cell phone. The Washington Monument is a dominating landmark of the National Mall.

The Vietnam War Memorial. This monument is always an touching place to visit. Over the years, fewer and fewer visitors have emotional outbursts as they find the names of loved ones, but there is always a touch of the wall as a name is recognized.

Shades of gray (256, not 50)...

Last week we had a bit of snow, and I wanted to take advantage of the sunny day with all the light reflections on the buildings around campus. I took a half hour walk to my favorite places, saw how the light was filtering through the trees onto the side of the building and sidewalk along University Hall, and just waited for a student to walk into my frame. This was during the time between classes when the campus is really hopping with activities as students are rushing to get to their next class.

This photo is a film shot - using my Yashica Mat 124-G twin lens relfex camera with Ilford HP5 film (ASA 400). The bright light situation meant that my aperture was probably f/16 to f/32 - somewhere in that range. I like the wonderful depth of field and range of tones in this image. I was really concentrating on getting the subject into the golden ratio spiral position, and patience was to my advantage here. I really love it when everything works as I have envisioned it. There's no instant feedback for film, so I was doubly delighted when the negative revealed the shot I had in mind as I clicked the shutter.

After the snow - Photo by Andi Wolfe ©2015 - all rights reserved.

If you would like a print of this image, or any of my other fine art film prints, check out my zenfolio site: http://www.wolfe.photography/p422743281 - sizes for these unsigned prints are 8X8 to 20X20. If you would like to purchase a signed print for a size up to 24X24, please contact me.

Adventures with film

A little less than two months ago, I walked into a used camera store to support Steve in his search for a 35 mm rangefinder film camera. I walked out with a Yashica Mat 124-G Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera (Steve did get his camera, too, which he broke on one of its first outings). The TLR is a medium format film camera, and I've been experimenting with different brands and ASA ratings of film.  I think I'm done with the film trials and will settle on just a few favorites: Tri-X 400, Ilford HP5 400, Ilford FP4 125, and Fuji Neopan Across 100.  I also like the TMAX films, but these others edge it out by a slight margin.

I'm really enjoying the challenge of film. There is no instant gratification with this medium. I have twelve shots per roll of film. It takes me a couple of minutes to change a roll.  With the price of film somewhere between $4.50 – $7.00 per roll, each click of the shutter costs some money.  What this translates into is that I really think about each photo before clicking the shutter. I check all my settings: ASA, f-stop, shutter speed, and light meter, plus really spend the time to carefully compose the shot. This process of slowing down and putting real thought into my work has helped me develop my skills as a photographer. I'm spending more time "seeing" the world, as compared to just simply "looking" at the world.

With digital photography, we often get into the habit of "spray and pray." What that means is that the shutter is constantly clicking - sometimes on rapid fire - and one hopes that something in that series will turn into a good photo. After investment in gear, computers, and software, the only real cost of digital is the time invested in sorting through way too many images and having to winnow a shoot down from hundreds of files to dozens of usable images. If one is working accurately in terms of photo exposure, shutter speed, and ISO, processing time is usually minimal. But, in the "spray and pray" mode, one might be spending way too much time to salvage potentially usable photos.

Working with film has made me think more about my digital workflow, too. I'm taking fewer photos, and thinking about them more carefully as well. With digital photography, there is instant feedback in terms of examining the image on an LED screen and having the ability to check histograms as you go. With film photography, the rolls are tucked away (I number each roll in a sequence) until I get home and can develop the film. It takes about half an hour to develop each roll of film, several hours to dry the film after processing, and then another hour or so to scan each roll's worth of negatives. It's not until I see the scanned image that I know whether a shot has worked the way I intended it to, or not. I like the anticipation of waiting to see what gems are there on the roll of film. I don't think film will replace my color digital photography, but it's a path that is well worth traveling. I have been spending most of my energy on urban scenes. Downtown Columbus, Ohio has so many interesting buildings, alleys, and districts that I will be busy with this project for a very long time, I'm sure.

Here are some examples of my film photography (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved):

Fire hydrants: Fuji Neopan Across 100 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

Columbus skyline: Ilford HP5 400 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

High Street: Kodak TMAX 400 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

Whetstone Park: Kodak TriX 400 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

Wyandotte Building: Kodak TriX 400 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

Waterman Farm: Kodak TMax 100 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

Leveque Tower: Kodak TriX 400 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

Greenlawn Cemetery: Kodak TriX 400 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

Greenlawn Cemetery: Kodak TriX 400 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

Greenlawn Cemetery: Kodak TriX 400 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

Street photography on the Scioto Mile: Ilford FP4 125 film (©2014-2015 Andi Wolfe - all rights reserved)

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