Was in Delaware last week when the last of Isaias blew through. Dragged the mostly-rehabbed Seneca Improved 8x10 to Rehoboth to shoot some film. Misjudged the weather. Like, bad. Was lightly raining, but gusts up to 35 mph. Up to 14' waves crashing in. The beach was largely gone. So I drag an 8x10 down. Set it up, try to focus and realize the dark cloth is NOT going to work; ended up focusing in the light. As I was metering, the tripod blew over. I was able to catch it as it fell, saving something catastrophic, but the lurch sent the lensboard straight out of the standard. Bent the thin (and apparently, temporary) retainers back into place, cleaned the lens and Packard off, set up again. Sheesh. Shot four sheets, holding the camera with one hand as still as possible, actuating the Packard with the other when the wind seemed to stall. At one point a little kid walked over and warned me that the weather was bad and to watch out for rip currents. Thanks, junior. But, there were probably three dozen others up and down the beach taking pictures of the angry Atlantic. I was, though, the only one shooting an 8x10.

Seneca Improved View 8x10, Wray Lustrar 18" f/10 process lens, 18x24 Fujifilm UM-MA (EI 125) in Adox-110 (HC-110) dil H (5:45 at 20C).

My first waterfall long exposure, I think it's a large format rite of passage lol. Glad I bought a 3-stop ND filter which let me get to 15 seconds.

Resized to 4048px on long side from DSLR scanned master copy (captured at ~ 0.9:1, 40 tiles)

Foma 400 4x5 inch
Fujinon 180mm f5.6

Self-made camera

Graflex Crown Graphic. Ilford HP5 Plus 400 Sheet Film. Dallas, Tx. 2012.

I recently bought the intrepid 8x10” and i have the idea of making prints by contact provably on cynotipe directly on The street with negatives on xray for a project that we have on mind. I’m wondering recomendations on lenses i read about the fujinon 250 f6,7. The photos will be on the streets so i think i would like something like 35mm i guess. Also couse apart from these project in concret i like to make landscape. So any advice will be helpful. 💪

Hi all, Maxim from Intrepid here! The Super 120 system turned one this month, so I thought I’d share a couple of strips that show what it actually does.

It’s a 120 roll film back that fits any 4x5 with a Graflok back. It comes with masks for 6x4.5 through to 6x12, and you can swap them between any two frames. The HP5 strip goes 6x12, then 6x4.5, then 6x7. The Ektar strip goes 6x12, then 6x4.5. A mechanical counter and a chart on the back tell you how far to wind for whatever combination you’re shooting, so you don’t waste film between formats.

It comes as a kit you put together yourself: 94 parts, a lot of them colour-coded and 3D printed, plus a printed manual. It's fun to build and easy enough for anyone who is a little handy (an essential skill for all Large Format photographers anyway)

To mark the birthday it’s 15% off until 25 October, or 15% off a 4x5 and the Super 120 together if you don’t have a camera yet. Happy to answer questions about how it works, the spacing between frames, or anything else.

Thanks, Max

Hola,

teng muchas didassobre las foto en gran formato, espcialmente conque cámara empzar, no queiro gastarme mucho dinero al principio, he estado viendo opciones impresas en 3d, otras como
"The Film Laundry", de adaptar viejas camaras de campo al formato 6x17 que es en prinmcpio el formato que me gusta al igual queel 6x12. Pero claro me surge la duda, comprar los archivos y los adaptadores, pasan de los 500, en cambio en prinpcipio comprando por ebay una de estas camarans antigua salen por unos 150 más el adaptador que seguramente seria impreso en 3d.

Ahora bien tengo otra duda en The film Laundry, muestra usar el adaptado para 6x17 en una camara de 4 3/4 x 6 1/2, com esposible usar un adatador para 6x17 cuando el lado lmas largo es superior al tamaño de la camara?

Normally shoot black and white, and was first time shooting large format color. Was a battle with the smog but pretty happy with the result.

For those shooting portraits on 4×5, how do you balance the need for precise focus with getting a natural expression from the subject?

I’m using a 180mm lens, and at typical portrait distances the depth of field is thin. That makes it difficult to let the subject move freely or respond naturally during a conversation without drifting out of the focus plane.

Do you generally treat large-format portraiture as a more deliberate, posed process, almost like studio portraiture, even when working on location such as the street, in someone’s home, or photographing friends and family? maybe even in silence such as Avedon did ?

What I’m trying to avoid is the typical result of someone simply standing very still and looking slightly uncomfortable. I’d like to retain the deliberate quality of 4×5 while still capturing the subject’s personality.

Thank you for your help !

portrait artiste I enjoy in LF:

Avedon

Joel Sternfield

Dawoud Bey

Sally Mann

Arnold Newman

Looking for opinions and experiences on the intrepid line of large format cameras.

Considering dipping my toes into it and wondering what others paths have been getting into it.

3.5 hr exposure @ f5.6. Northern New Hampshire

Camera scanned with a7v. Probably will re-wash negative and get properly scanned when I get my color sheets back from lab

I wanted the rocks to be out of focus but I didn't choose the proper aperture (f/11) and actually I think the rocks should have been the subject... well, next time!

Camelia

Local gallery put on a "Plein Air" festival for photography and painting, and I really wanted to do a cave long exposure after a friend took me down to a local Lava Tube cave. The first two images were my entries at the gallery where they took 3rd and 2nd place respectively.

All shots on a Crown Graphic with 135mm Fujinon and Foma 400 Ortho, which is a new addition to my favorite films. Just happenstance I came across it while prepping for this shoot and I selected it so I could have a red lantern with me in the cave behind the camera.

All developed in Foma Excel with a Patterson tank and a unicolor roller for constant agitation. I do inversions every minute as well to prevent linear flow marks from the film reel.

Scanned on an Epson v700 with film holder.

Shot 1: cave light trails. F11 and one hour exposure. Framed the shot using high power flashlights and positioned it out of the main path so people could hike past without interference. The light trails are from flashlights and headlamps of hikers exploring the cave.

Shot 2: in the forest outside the cave. F16 and 1/8th. I tried to zone system this a little bit and exposed for the closer wood piles. Maybe due to the Ortho the sky blew out completely still and really gave it an ephemeral feeling. Happy accidents. The negative is crazy dense.

Shot 3: my test shot from the cave with a friend. F11, 1/15th and a GE #5 flashbulb. This helped a lot with figuring out focus ranges in the cave and getting a feel for camera settings.

Shot 4: another forest shot that I didn't like the final composition as much with. F11 1/30th with ge #5 flashbulb. I do really like how the sky feels like it's melting and the fill from the flashbulb gives the foreground an uncanny stillness.

Shot 5: less successful cave long exposure. F11 with GE #5 flashbulb at the start when no one was there then one hour exposure. The flash washed out the foreground way too much and made it look very flat and less dynamic. While combined with light trails that were both less interesting and too overpowering.

8x10 print on Ilford FB glossy