4x5 Photography Melissa Burr
Special thanks to my 4x5 photography assistants Nancy Burr (Mom) and Erik Ahlin, and to Miami University faculty Helen Armstrong and Jon Yamashiro for all their help and support. Nothing would be possible without the grace of God.
4x5 Photography Melissa Burr
The 4x5 Camera The 4x5 camera
has been in use for over a hundred years. For some famous photographers it was the only tool available for taking images. For modern photographers the use of the 4x5 camera isn’t the only choice but in many cases it is the best choice. The 4x5 name is derived from the size of the film used with the camera. Each image is captured on an individual sheet of film that is 4 inches by 5 inches. Most 4x5 photographers use the camera to create landscape images with large depth of field (focal length) or work in a studio setting to capture a wide range of detailed subjects. The main advantage of 4x5 photography is the quality of the image captured. 4x5 and large format cameras (Another common film and camera size is 8x10. Many photographers through the ages have created custom cameras that hold even larger sheets of film.) provide great detail in the printing process because the ratio from film to paper is smaller. The 4x5 camera is heavy to carry around and difficult to use at first, but once the process is mastered the results are worth the effort.
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Bellows, create an adjustable light tight box.
Glass Viewfinder, can be turned to create a horizontal or vertical image.
Lens, opening that controls the exposure.
Focusing Knob, expand and contract the bellows.
Three 4x5 camera views and film carriers
Tripod, adjustments made with knobs and extendable parts.
Brief History of Photography The basis of photography branched from scientific and artistic use of the camera obscura, the principles of which were discovered by Aristotle while observing an eclipse of the sun. In 1839, the basis of camera obscura was used to create the first “printed” image — a daguerreotype. Invented by Louis Daguerre, daguerreotypes are “fixed” images on a sheet of silver-plated copper. When the polished silver is coated with iodine it becomes a light sensitive surface.
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a French artist and chemist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography.
The silver plate is placed in a camera, exposed to light for a few minutes, taken out and bathed in a silver chloride solution. After being emerged in silver chloride the image on the silver plate is no longer light sensitive and can be viewed in the light. The picture produced on the daguerreotype is shiny and inverted showing the “negative” of the image captured. The image can be made into a positive once. The positive print is very fragile because the imprinted layer is very thin. Daguerreotypes were presented and kept in velvet lined cases in order to preserve the fragile treasure.
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Daguerre had been searching since the mid1820s for a means to capture the fleeting images he saw in his camera obscura, a draftsman’s aid consisting of a wood box with a lens at one end that threw an image onto a frosted sheet of glass at the other.
Daguerreotype example
The principles of the camera obscura were discovered by Aristotle while observing an eclipse of the sun.
Original 1839 Daguerreotype camera
Louis Daguerre Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre born on November 18, 1787, in Cormeilles, France. Daguerre was trained as an architect, but turned to scene painting in 1804, becoming a pupil of I. E. M. Degotti at the Paris Opéra. Daguerre used a camera obscura to make sketches for his stage designs while with the Opéra. He wished to create a method that would fix the image seen in the camera obscura onto a glass plate. Unable to create a fixed image on his own, Daguerre teamed up with J. N. Niépce who was working on a similar project. Niépce had developed a heliograph which created an image through the hardening action of sunlight on bitumen and the subsequent dissolution of the soft shadow parts of the image. The key ingredient missing to create a lasting, photoengraved plate was a fixing agent.
J.N. Niépce had obtained and fixed a photograph from the camera obscura in 1826.
Niépce died in 1833, two years short of Daguerre’s discovery of a silver iodide plate. When exposed for 20 minutes, the silver iodide plate could be developed in mercury to produce an image. In 1937, Daguerre achieved the final step, a fixing agent. Daguerre felt he had improved Niépce’s heliograph process beyond recognition and named the process and result after himself — daguerreotype. Daguerre presented his processes to the French government and revealed his discovery to the world in 1939. 10
Daguerre revealed his discovery of the daguerreotype process to the world on August 19, 1839.
After using a camera obscura for scene painting, Daguerre wished to create a method that would fix an image seen in the camera permanently.
Daguerre acquired a patent for the invention of the daguerreotype from the French Government. On August 19, 1839, the French Government announced the daguerreotype was a gift “Free to the World.”
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (November 18, 1787 – July 10, 1851)
Photography Through the Ages
1871: Richard Leach Maddox invented the gelatin dry plate silver bromide process. Through this process negatives no longer had to be developed immediately.
1839: Louis Daguerre creates the first daguerreotype.
1841: William Henry Talbot patents the Calotype process. The Calotype process was the first negativepositive process making multiple copies of an image possible.
1851: Frederick Scott Archer invented the Collodion process which required only two or three seconds of light exposure to create an image.
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1913: First 35mm still camera developed.
1884: George Eastman invents flexible, paperbased film.
1900: First massmarketed camera, the Brownie.
1948: Edwin Land markets the Polaroid camera.
1963: Polaroid introduces instant color film.
1984: Canon demonstrates first digital electronic still camera.
1978: Konica introduces first pointand-shoot, auto focus camera.
1990: Kodak announces Photo CD as a digital image storage medium.
4x5 Advantages There are many advantages to using a large format camera. First, the larger image size: Pictures are sharper, have a better tonality, and are grain-free. A 4x5 has 13 times the area of a 35mm frame. Second, there are more camera movement options. The photographer has more control of the final geometry of the photographed object and of the object’s perspective. The movements also allow for a shift in the areas of sharpness. Third, each picture is taken on an individual sheet of film. The photographer can use as many types of film as he or she like and process each sheet of film individually for optimum results. Finally, when using a large format camera the photographer uses a contemplative approach. One must take his or her time for each image. One spends much more time on a single exposure. When the photographer invests more effort, he or she is more compelled to think it through carefully and do it right.
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4x5 is just one of the many sizes of large format film. Another common size is 8x10.
Large format photography is sharper, uses single sheets of film, allows for geometry in images and slows down the picture taking process.
Yosemite Valley Clearing Winterstorm 1942, Ansel Adams
With the 4x5 Camera everything takes longer: l Loading/unloading film holders, each picture takes a single sheet of film l Moving around the heavy case and tripod l Setting up the camera l Composing the picture l Focusing, all images are upsidedown and backwards on the viewfinder
How to Use a 4x5 Camera Equipment The equipment required in the 4x5 process includes: individual sheets of film, film carriers (hopefully you have more than one! Each carrier holds two pieces of film), a tripod and a camera. Not shown are two other pieces of equipment: a black cape and a light meter. All the equipment in the camera case is bulky and heavy — find a lackey to carry your gear on your picture taking adventure.
Load Film in Carrier Each 4x5 picture is taken with an individual piece of film. The first step in the process is to load the film into the film holder in a pitch black room. To load the film, slide the sleeve half way out (before you turn off the lights make sure the sleeve has the right color facing out — white represents unexposed film and black stands for exposed film — you’ll thank yourself later), hold down the bottom flap, insert the piece of film — making sure the grooves on the film are on the bottom right and that the film makes it under the 2nd ridge in the holder. Let the bottom flap snap back into place and slide the sleeve back in. Repeat for each piece of film you want to take. Pray you got every piece of film in the right spot! If this process looks and sounds confusing try completing it multiple times in a completely dark room!
Find Location Finding a location might seem like the easy part of the process, but after putting so much effort into loading your film, you want to make sure each picture you take is the best picture you’ve ever taken. This requires a plan or else you’ll be toting the heavy equipment for miles (or find an “assistant” so he or she can carry your heavy equipment while you search for the perfect unplanned location).
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Set Up Tripod To set up the tripod, predict the height from which you’d like to shoot your image, adjust the legs of the tripod to that predicted height, adjust and re-adjust. It is easiest to adjust the tripod before the heavy camera is put on it, but alas, you can’t really know what an image will look like until you have a view finder to look through.
Set Up Camera To set up the camera, pull the camera out of the case and lift onto the tripod. Align the center of the camera on the tripod and line-up the pieces that fit together. Once everything is lined up, tighten the tripod screw until tight. Make sure the camera is on securely before letting go!
Look Under Black Cape Once the camera is set up and steady, grab the black cape, drape it over your head and look at the image from underneath the cape. The image you see in the viewfinder will be upside down and backwards from the scene seen in reality. If the viewfinder is black— open the shutter. Then if the image is dark and hard to see, open up the aperture to let in more light.
Focus the Image While under the black cape, adjust the camera knobs to focus the image. Turning the knobs moves the front of the camera or the back of the camera forwards and backwards stretching out or compressing the bellows. You can also change the perspective of the image by moving the front and back of the camera. This process takes time to get used to, so take time to play with the image to figure out the possibilities of the camera. Make sure the focal point of your image is in crisp focus.
Composition The ultimate goal of the process is a good and interesting composition. To create an interesting composition, pay attention to the edges of the frame — this may require tripod and camera adjustments after initial focusing.
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Adjust the Aperture and Shutter Speed The most important part of the process is figuring out the correct aperture and shutter speed. The aperture is how big the lens hole is, which determines depth of field or what in the picture is in focus. The shutter speed determines how fast the shutter opens and closes. A light meter is used to help determine the aperture and shutter speed ratio appropriate for the light present while taking the photograph.
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Load Film in Camera To prepare to take the picture, insert the film carrier in the back of the camera. Be careful because the camera often moves when shoving the carrier in the camera. If it does move you’ll have to reposition the composition.
Pull Out Slide As long as the lens is closed it is safe to pull the slide out of the piece of film facing the lens. The camera is a light tight box and will not expose the film until you take the picture. The slide is a part of the film carrier that pulls out completely so the film is uncovered. The film does not leave the carrier during the picture taking process.
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Cock Shutter
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In order for the shutter release to work, you must first cock the shutter. Push the circular lever from left to right and it will spring back to it’s original position. You are now ready to take the picture!
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Take the Picture It’s time to take the picture! The shutter release or plunger is on a cord that extends from the lens, just as you imagine it— the crazy photographer reaching out from under the black cape to click the picture. Push down on the plunger— the shutter opens and closes and the film is now exposed.
Re-insert the Slide Re-insert the slide you pulled out of the film carrier. Once the slide is in, the film is no longer exposed in the camera. Remember the slide has two sides — one side has a white bar and the other has a black bar. Put the black bar facing out. This way you can easily tell which film is which and prevent double exposures.
Remove Film Carrier You can now take the film carrier out of the camera. If you have taken pictures on both sides the carrier is ready to be stowed away until you return to the dark room. Be careful the slide is all the way in the carrier before taking it out of the camera!
Repeat to Take More Images One image down, more to go. Take more images in the same spot or pack up and find a new location. Then it’s time to start all over again.
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Return Home After the creative juices have run out or you’ve used all your film, which ever one comes first, it’s time to return home to the dark room to see what you’ve captured on your adventure.
Develop Film Once home, it’s time to develop your film. To develop by hand you must be in a completely pitch black room. The development process includes 6 steps: a water prewash that acclimates the film to the temperature of the chemicals, a developer solution which creates the image on the film, a stop bath which causes the Water
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development chemicals to stop creating contrast on the film, fixer which removes the silver from the film and fixes the image to the film so the film can be taken into the light, a water wash, and finally, a fixer remover solution to end the process.
Dry From the fixer remover, hang the film to dry. Be careful to clip enough of the film so it will not fall, but be warned the clothes pins make a mark on the film!
Make Print in Dark Room Once the film is dry it’s time to make a positive image. Take your negative (the film you just developed) to the dark room, line it up in the negative carrier (a different carrier from before, this carrier fits into the enlarger and allows both sides of the film to be seen), turn on the enlarger and the enlarger light, insert the negative carrier in the enlarger, and voilà an image appears! Focus and crop the image to your liking. Turn off the enlarger light — it’s time to take out some paper! The first step in printing is to create a test strip which will help to determine the appropriate timing for your print.
Develop Print Developing a print and developing a test strip is the same process. You use similar chemicals to the film development process: developer, stop bath, and fixer. Developer
Stop Bath
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Also, fiber based paper requires two more steps — fixer remover and a water wash. After washing thoroughly in water, let the paper dry and it’s time to continue.
Continue Work Towards the Perfect Print Based on the test strip, make a print that corresponds with the best looking part of the strip. Hopefully that print looks pretty good — if not, go back to your test strip and try another time — there will most likely be areas you can improve in the print. Improvements, like lightening or darkening certain areas, are done through a process called dodging and burning. Like the names suggest, you dodge or cover for less light to make sections lighter and you add time to burn in light areas (usually areas of sky need to be burned in to create an edge to the print or to add in more detail that is present on the negative).
Final Print After all that work you now have a final print! The burning and dodging timing is done. Continue printing from that negative for multiple copies, if you like. Once you’re done 22
with one print there are still the other negatives waiting for you to make their perfect positive. The process never really ends.
Downtown Cincinnati Backstreet, 2010 Melissa Burr
4x5 Example
Still Life with Gladiators, 2009 Melissa Burr
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4x5 Example
All About the Shoes, 2009 Melissa Burr
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4x5 Example
Severance Hall, Cleveland, 2010 Melissa Burr
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References: Generic images were found from internet image searches The Agony and the Ecstasy, By Alain Briot A Brief History of Photography, Major Leaps in Photography, By Liz Masoner Encyclopedia of World Biography Large Format Primer: Basics, By Q.-Tuan Luong Mountain Photography, By Jack Brauer