Show us your first ever Large Format photograph

Jonathan Woods

Jonathan Woods

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Hi All,

So I'm quite curious to see what everyone's first ever large format frame was (if known!), be it colour or B&W. I'm interested because people no doubt get into LF at various stages of their photographic career/hobby progression. It also serves as a nice reminder for just how far people have 'developed'* over time.

So I'll start. This was taken after finally getting into LF following a good few years of shooting mixed digital and smaller film formats. Taken in Port Gaverne, Cornwall.

Large Format 101 by Jonathan Woods, on Flickr

Shen Hao HZX-45IIA
Schneider 90mm SA
Adox CHS25
Yellow filter
 
My first outing with a large format camera was to some woods near the RSPB reserve at Pulborough Brooks in Sussex. I photographed two subjects, moving the camera a few feet between them, from a layby by the road. I made two exposures of each "just in case" and can't guaratee that I've posted the first of each pair, or which came first - though I think it was the three trees that has priority.

LF01-0162.jpg

LF01-0164c.jpg
 
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Very much like that second photo, Stephen. I've been trying to find a similar type of shot for a little while now, but I can never seem to find the right light.
 
Dappled shade in woodland; leaves in very bright sun; underexposed to hold highlights and suppress background. The original, unedited scan follows.

LF01-0164.jpg

The lens was a 1950s Schneider Symmar 150mm, exhibiting flare which was printed down. The light was nothing remarkable. I've an even more dramatic example of altering mediocre light by adjusting contrast and printing down, but as it was taken with a Mamiya RZ67 it's out of court here.

Edit to add:
I don't know if this link will work for you, as the page is flagged as private, but if it does here's the Mamiya RZ67 photo, before and after.
 
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@Ian-Barber, it was taken back in late 2011. Sadly no, I'm not using it any more. I sold it a while back to help fund an upgrade to an Ebony SV45TE.
 
I think @martin henson has just bought the Ebony SV45TE if i'm not mistaken. Was there anything you did not like about the Shen Hao HZX-45IIA
 
There was one thing, yes. Shooting primarily landscapes, I found front tilt to be a common movement to use. On the HZX-45IIA, the front tilt is hinged at the base of the front standard only and has no (discrete) center tilt movement. This means that when the front tilt is used, the combined effects of the tilt and a focus adjustment are coupled and hence one needs to refocus every time a tilt adjustment is made. I've no doubt that even cameras with center tilt functionality also imparts a tiny focus shift when using center tilt, but the effect is much smaller I believe, meaning that it's only tiny focus tweaks that are required after each center tilt adjustment. This was one reason why I moved to the Ebony; the others weren't drawbacks of the Shen Hao. Otherwise, I found the HZX-45IIA to be a great camera. It was solid, light and looked the part as well.
 
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