LARGE FORMAT PHOTOGRAPHY IS FOR BEGINNERS! (PART 2, STARTING TO USE THE CAMERA) By Roger Daines This is the second of 3 articles; Part 1 appeared in the May Newsletter and Part 3 will appear in the July edition.
Film My colour film of choice has always been Velvia 50, but it’s hard to find now and very expensive, a pack of 10 sheets of 4x5 costs around £100.00. It Makes you stop and really think of the composition and exposure! But the resulting image pretty much negates all that concern. Velvia is a great film for low contrast situations and brings out the colours beautifully. In high contrast situations the shadows can get blocked up and the highlights too bright, this can sometimes be seen in a sunset image.
Loading Film Holders Film holders for LF cameras hold 2 sheets of film, one sheet in each side, which must be loaded in a light tight area, either a blacked-out room or a changing bag. I highly recommend you practice loading the holders with some exposed sheet film in the light; it will pay dividends when it comes to loading in the dark. If you are using a room to load film or unload exposed film just stay in the room for 2-3 mins and let your eyes get accustomed to the dark. This is when you will see if it is “light tight”. If it’s not, then you can seal up the areas where there are light leaks before you open the film box. Film will fog with the slightest amount of light. Changing bags are great for loading or unloading film in the field and putting the film back into the boxes. Sheet film comes in a box with three sections which allows you to have a light tight environment for the film. The film holder has a darkslide in each side and at the top on one side is a black strip: on the other side it’s white. First thing I do with a new holder is give the white strip a number that is sequential and permanent, this way you can track your exposures. The white side also allows you to write on it the type of film you have in the holder. The white edge of the darkslide in the holder signifies its unexposed film, or empty. After you have exposed the film you then reverse the darkslide when you replace it. The darkslide with black edge showing tells you have exposed film in the holder. How do you know if the holder is empty? There is only one fool-proof way and that is to pull the darkslide out!
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June 2021 Volume 6 Number 4
