Large Format – a large step forward

Last time I was complaining about missing possibilities with 35mm and medium format cameras. For me there is just one tool to overcome those limitations. A large format camera. To be honest, I was flirting with that format since a long time ago. But incedental expanses were discouraging, not to forget the dimensions and the additional weight, plus the tedious workflow. Despite those “small negative” facts I could not resist anymore.

To make it short, I decided to work with a Horseman LS, the same camera that Ansel Adams had worked with and created some of his stunning landscape artwork. The LS, a optical bench camera, comes with all parts interchangeable, it allows all kind of movements, swing, tilt, shift, rise and fall, all on both, the rear and the front standard. Lots of movements which should also fit perfectly for my architectural work (that was one of the main reasons for a optical bench camera). And it’s upgradeable to 8×10 format.

Praia Marinha before sunrise, Rodenstock Grandagon 90mm

My workflow is very slow now, every step required to capture a photograph is work and requires even more concentration & patience. It starts with bringing the camera into the field. With tripod and lens the cameras weight exceeds 10kg easily. Like Ansel Adams wrote, it requieres a lot of physical stamina to use a large format camera. He also wrote that asked which camera he uses, he always answered “the largest one I can carry!”. There is another quotation from Andreas Feininger, he said that the workflow with large format cameras is tedious and time consuming, but the biggest camera you can barely handle satisfactory is the best.

Praia Marinha sunrise, Rodenstock Grandagon 90mm

Enough about theory, Saturday morning, Silvio and I decided to go to the Praia Marinha, to see if we can catch the sunrise with some fog, which would add a nice touch to the two arches. I have had a few film holders with Provia 100F and some Velvia 50 quickloads in my backpack. Unfortunately there was no fog , just a plain sunrise, without much color. But already there we kept on shooting. The first image was captured at 6 o clock, half an hour before sunrise.

Odelouca, Rodenstock Sironar 210mm

The resolution and image quality is tremendous, from a high quality scan I am able to resolve about 150-200 megapixels, which gives enough room for later high res printing. Another great advantage I really love is that I can change the film independent, color or black & white, just change the film holder or grab another quickload, thats it. Something which had always caused me headaches with rollfilm. I now can develop every sheet of film independently, allowing individual adjustements in exposure and contrast.

Beliche & Tonel

In the last few weeks we were teaching two on location workshops and have been busy with scouting new locations in the field. The summer time here is offering different opportunities. No big landscapes, the light is very boring. So I concentrated on details, smaller scenes.

Praia do Tonel, Reflections, Zeiss Sonnar 100mm

And that brought up some interesting questions. How far could I go with different gear? Equipment is giving me headaches, you have to buy it, take care of it. Every piece needs special care and cleaning after working close to the sea. Even after a few minutes, spray and salt will cover most of the parts of your lens and camera. Then you need plenty of room to store it. And of course, you have to carry all the needed tools in the field, not funny at extreme temperatures.

To keep that simple, I shoot most of the time with the Zeiss Ikon ZM. But there is a small big problem. The image quality is outstanding, no doubt. But getting closer to subjects, limitations will be introduced. The depth of field, the overall sharpness. You can work with smaller apertures and this will introduce diffraction, taking away the overall sharpness. Special movement is needed, the tilt movement for the Scheimpflug principle. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheimpflug_principle)

Low Tide, Beliche, Zeiss Distagon 21mm

This is almost impossible with 35mm cameras. Yes, there a a few 35mm tilt-shift lenses from japanese/chinese lensmakers. But I want quality, built and image wise. One solution, the contax bellow system. I own the S-Planar 100mm f4. One of the sharpest lenses I have ever seen. But there is still a problem. The bellow only allows a tilt with the front standard, the back standard is almost fixed, only allowing a few millimeters tilt, no shift. 

For quite a long time I was thinking about getting a large format camera. They are bulky and slow to operate. Totally different. I’m still not sure about which kind of LF camera I want, there are optical banks and field cameras. The optical bank is even more heavier than the field camera. A pack animal might become neccessary. Arca Swiss released the Rl3D, a large format camera, but handy, compared to other LF systems, very interesting.

I have seen very talented landscape photographers, daring to move to large format and film, without regret. Tim Parkin is offering large fomat workshops (UK) on his beautiful website: http://www.landscapephotographyworkshops.com/

Praia do Beliche, Sunset, Zeiss Distagon 21mm

Praia Marinha Arcos

Praia Marinha is well known for its uniqueness and beauty, the two famous arcs and the dangerous rocks. We have been there many times, for different perspectives, different light, with different equipment. The arcs are the main elements of the Praia Marinha. This time we wanted to get closer to the arcs, even closer than other people.

A difficult task because you have to take care of many things. Rocks can fall down to the ground, the powerful tide and there are many wet and rocky obstacles on the way to the arcs. You will need a tide calculator(!), ladders, ropes, waterproof rucksacks and the most important – you will need some friends to get there.

Praia Marinha, Arcos

Marco, Silvio and I met at 6 o clock in the morning, after a 10 minutes drive to the beach we made our way down to the water. Climbing over the first rocks on our way to the arcs. The most difficult part is to climb over the last platform in front of the two arcs. It’s more than 3 meters high and very slippery from the water with very sharp edges – an evil combination. We have left half of our equipment on the platform, including shoes and other useless material. With the ladder we went down into the water. Holding our rucksacks and tripod above our heads, we made the last fifty meters to our target. Even if the tide is falling, there are some big waves, trying to discourage you.

Praia Marinha, Arcos

There is a big cave below the rocks, home for hundreds of birds. We had to hurry because at 8 o clock the tide started rising already. I did not shoot with my Zeiss Ikon camera, the widest lens I have is the 25mm Biogon, which is not enough to cover the whole Ponte with the Arcos. That’s why I had the 5D and the Distagon 15 with me.

Camera EOS 5D, lens Zeiss Distagon 15mm, f3.5

Arrifana

Summer time in the Algarve and also time for Black & White images. The sunlight is too harsh, especially in the afternoon. The colors will look dull with very hard contrast, not pleasing the eye.

We can’t change neither the light nor the weather and we have to live with consequences.

Praia Arrifana, near Aljezur

Zeiss Ikon, Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm f1.5, Rollei ATP1.1 at ISO12 

It was the moment when I was thinking about my 20 fresh rolls of Rollei’s new ATP1.1, a superpanchromatic film. I have tried a few rolls in last summer, a very interesting film. But I’ve found out that Rollei’s RHS, the high speed developer did not work properly, blown out highlights and no details in the shadows, flaws I would like to avoid in landscape photography.

Pedra d’Agulha, near Aljezur

Zeiss Ikon, Zeiss Biogon 25mm f2.8, Rollei ATP1.1 at ISO12

So I’ve ordered Rollei’s RLC developer, recommended by Rollei for the pictorial photography. The ATP1.1 is rated at ISO32. When working with the RLC devolper, Rollei recommends the ISO setting between 10 and 16 and expose to the shade. The RLC developer is a one shot solution.

Praia Arrifana, near Aljezur

Zeiss Ikon, Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm f1.5, Rollei ATP1.1 at ISO12

Later, just before sunset, I switched over to Fuji’s Velvia 50, the light was better now, but still far from perfect. The sun was sinking without a nice red glow. I wonder if the clean air from the atlantic winds might cause the “problem”.

Praia Arrifana, near Aljezur

Zeiss Ikon, Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm f1.5, Fuji Velvia 50

With very few or no dust particles in the air and atmosphere, the sunset will look kind of unimpressive. Winds from the south, might help. A very rare constellation can bring desert sand from North Africa to the Algarve, usually in the summer time.  

Camera: Zeiss Ikon ZM, lenses Zeiss Biogon 25mm f2.8, Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm f1.5, film Rollei ATP1.1, Fuji Velvia 50, self developed and scanned.

Waves!

It’s the Praia Evarista again, yet I’m not done with this beach. The rocks are offering a wide opportunity for various compositions. So I was jumping from rock to rock. A tripod was no option, the waves were too fast and without I could move and hide faster from angry waves.

Creating perfect exposures was challenge, the light was changing so fast, because every big splash put the important parts of the scene in the shade for a few seconds. So I had to add some dogding and burning in the post process.

The colors are true, the Contax Distagon 21 renders such vivid colors that some people were asking which filters I have worked with. To tell the truth, there was one in front of the lens, a Zeiss P-Filter. The “P” means protection, nothing else. Sold by Zeiss to avoid scratches, dust and much more important for me – protection from the sea water, the salt will cause abrasion, which is very bad for any lens.  

I was very careful, had a little plastic bag wrapped around the Distagon from the step up ring to the camera body (pretty bad for focusing) and protected the whole camera with my jacket.

Camera EOS 5D, lens Zeiss Distagon 21mm f2.8