Over the past couple of years I’ve been doing some black and white 35mm film work with a Leica M6 TTL and Nikon EM. I remember when I was doing all my own film developing back in the 70’s and 80’s and the thrill of opening the developing tank after the final wash and pulling a 36 exposure roll of 35mm film off the spool, holding it up to the light and viewing the results of your efforts. While it’s good to insert a memory card into your computer after a day out shooting, open Lightroom (or Aperture) to import your shots onto the hard drive and then review the results of your shoot on the screen it doesn’t even come close to the enjoyment of looking at the developed roll of film…that’s in my opinion anyway and I’m sure if you ever get around to trying film you’ll get the same buzz.
Enough of the preamble, let’s get onto the purpose of this blog entry. I love absolutely everything photography related but have become annoyed at my inability to stop getting drawn into the latest and greatest advancements in digital kit, even though I’m continually blown away by just how fast digital photography has come in the past 10 years. Look at the quality of what’s now coming out of smart phones such as the Apple iPhone and the new Nokia Lumia…where will it end, it won’t. But digital will never be the same as film and that’s why I find it so enjoyable to mix digital and analogue. Though I’ve been working with 35mm film lately I’ve always been intrigued by large format photography but have found it a bit daunting and really haven’t had the time to focus on learning more about it. A recent rush of blood and some irresistible bargains on eBay have changed that and I’m now starting a journey into the world of 4×5 large format photography and I’d like to share it with you.
I thought I’d start off with a list of what I purchased on eBay to get started on the 4×5 journey:
- Wista 45 SP (I was lucky to find one in very good condition and there do appear to be a few around)
- Nikon W 150mm f/5.6 Copal 0 (I’ll talk more about the investigation I did before deciding on this lens)
- 4×5 film holders (the ones I bought were all Fidelity Elite and they appear to work well)
Here are some pictures of the Wista with the Nikon 150mm attached. Looks pretty neat and it’s amazing how many comments you get when you take this baby out. Kids and adults alike were all saying “look at the cool camera”.
Front view with lens in normal position
Rear view
This is where it gets really interesting…
…and still more flexibility
You’ll need 4×5 film holders and some film
…and if you want to do your own developing