Shooting Ilford FP4+ in Large Format

One of the best images I’ve taken on large format so far. The City of London is captured in all of it’s rich detail. 1s 180mm F22 with polariser.

My early steps into large format photography certainly had a few mishaps. I broke part of my camera and ruined a few sheets of film through human error. But getting further into my second box of sheet film (Ilford FP4+) I tried to put what I’d learned in the earlier days to good use. FP4+ has long been a film type I’ve shown ambivalence to, in my (previous) view lacking the versatility of HP5+ or the detail of Pan F+, but after spending time with it here I’ve finally come around to like it. The extraordinary tonal depth of large format really shines on this finely grained film, with very impressive details that rival my Nikon D850 and it’s more modern lenses even with quick and dirty scans. Just imagine what I would be able to see with an expensive and top of the line drum scan.

Had the mist not been here there wouldn’t have been as much focus on the swooping branch in the centre. 12s 90mm F32 with polariser.

The tonal separation in large format continues to amaze me, it’s far beyond that of what I’ve seen in medium format. 9s 90mm F32.

The images in this blog come from two different outings, one on a misty walk through my local woods and the other along the Thames during a recent Photo Battle London event. Mist is the best friend of a woodland photographer. Normally you are greeted by a complicated scene with lots of distractions, giving you a hard time creating an image with a clear and compelling subject. This situation reverses when the mist rolls in, simplifying the scene as well as adding mood and drama. Monochrome can further add to this drama, although the mist can also really bring out the strong colours of Autumn.  

This freestanding tree made for the perfect subject on a misty morning. The mist also shrouds the background and gives a greater sense of infinity, the viewer can’t see where this snaking hedgerow ends. 1/4s 180mm F22.

Whilst I was happy with the photos I took on this walk, the highlights of this box of film are definitely the urban landscapes I captured in London. Ever since I bought my Intrepid I’d looked forward to taking it to London, and although it’s the wrong time of year for long exposures at night, I was pretty happy with what I managed to capture. I shot seven images in just under two hours which is not bad going for a format as slow as this, though it certainly helps to have so many great subjects stacked closely together. My main struggle was trying to deal with the security outside of London City Hall, as the area has a no tripods policy, and this is not something you can shoot handheld. However, with a bit of politeness you can usually get away with finishing your shot before moving on.

HMS Belfast marked by first encounter with security, but being polite often means you can finish what you are doing before moving on. 1/2s 180mm F22 with polariser.

Tower Bridge always makes for an obvious subject but you’ve got to shoot it at least once, right? 1/2s 180mm F22 with polariser.

Both trees and buildings made great subjects for large format as they don’t have the habit of moving very quickly, and you can really capture all of their small details (as the close-up of the Walkie-Talkie shows). As all my images were shot in daylight (with the exception of the last image at St Katherine’s docks) so ISO 125 was perfectly adequate, even when using the typical small apertures of large format. If I was dealing with consistently low light (indoors or after sunset) then HP5+ would definitely be a lot easier to live with, as those almost two stops of extra ISO would make the shutter speeds much more manageable when considering reciprocity failure.

This close-up crop of the Walkie-Talkie from the headlining image (yes that is the Sky Garden up there), gives you an idea of how much detail is being captured. Bear in mind that this is only a low resolution output of a quick scan as well, there’s a lot more this negative could output.

Of course, you may still want to keep the higher levels of details and even finer grain (which is almost imperceptible here, whereas it was still a little noticeable on HP5+ when cropping in), and you may want to put those long exposures to good use to smooth out motion in the water or create light trails. If I am bringing out my big stopper ND filters, there’s little point in shooting a high ISO film unless I was stuck with nothing else to hand.

This composition of One Tower Bridge framed by structure of Tower Bridge itself caught my eye. The big and bulky Nikon SW 90mm F4.5 lens is a little bit difficult to live with at times due to the lack of movements, but it really shines in the right circumstances. 1s 90mm F22.

This was an experiment that didn’t quite work as the bridge was just too busy, and dare I say it, 90mm wasn’t quite wide enough. I did have two impromptu subjects but unfortunately only one managed to stand perfectly still as I took the shot. 1s 90mm F16.

I’d happily shoot another box of this again, but I will continue to circle through different types of sheet film as I explore what works and what doesn’t work, and perhaps more importantly, what I like and what I don’t like. Next up is Ilford Delta 100, and it’ll be interesting to see how this T-grain film compares to this cheaper alternative.

The Shard is perhaps London’s most photographed landmark these days. As I said before, you’ve got to shoot it at least once. 1s 180mm F11 with polariser.

My final image is one I am really happy with from St Katherine’s Docks. I just love the levels of contrast and the lights on the water. Bear in mind also that I had to compose all of these images upside down due to the nature of a view camera. 40s 180mm F11 with polariser.

Here are a couple of bonus images of me actually using the camera (taking the photo of the HMS Belfast). Courtesy of Philip Chadwick who you can check out on Instagram here.

Making the final adjustments.

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