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I have been an amature photographer for about 20 years. Having studied the techniques of Ansel Adams and others I always had the desire to own a large format camera to work with larger negatives and do contact printing as well as alternative printing. So, I recently purchased a view camera from ebay. It is a 4x5 Calumet CC400 with a 180mm Schneider lens in a copal shutter. Since large format photography was new to me, I enlisted the help of a fellow photo enthusiast (Al Schrank) to try it out. The following pages are a description of what we learned the first time out.
Knowing nothing about a view camera, I read as much as I could on the internet and in several books before heading out to the first shoot. I gained a minimal understanding of what the tilts, swings, rise, and fall would do, what film choices are available, and alot of other stuff that will be useful in the future. Based on my reading, I decided to purchase some Polaroid Type 55 (P55) positive/negative black and white film and some Fuji Velvia slide film. P55 film requires some chemistry for clearing the negative and a coater for the prints. In addition to film I also needed some accessories for the camera. A cable release (had one), a bag to carry it, (NOTE: custom camera bags for 4x5 systems run $300+, so I purchased a $35 duffle and two small bags to hold accessories), various filters (had some), a polaroid 545i back (also purchased on ebay), a dark cloth (an old t-shirt for now), a loupe (had one), some viewing cards with 4x5 inch holes and 3.5x4.5 holes for polaroid size (these aid in pre-visualization), a sealable tray to hold chemicals (rubbermaid), pen and notebook to record exposures, and a light meter. All fits nicely in the large duffle bag. Before heading out I loaded 6 sheets of the Velvia in the 4x5 film holders that came with the camera. Loading film in the dark for the first time was a daunting task. Note to film manufacturers, "Please put detailed instructions in your product." For P55, I had to download intructions off of the polaroid website (www.polaroid.com). Next Al and I selected a location. Our initial location was a spot by the chattahoochee river but the mud was soft and not suitable for the amount of time needed. We then chose a historic house in the Roswell GA area and set up on the lawn in front of it. After a few minutes of showing Al the camera and its movements, explaining all the functions of the lens and shutter, and preparing the chemistry for the poloroid negatives, we set up to take the first shot. |