Shooting Large Format with the Intrepid 4x5
The nature of large format photography lends itself well to static, detailed subjects like landscapes. 8s 90mm F32 Ilford HP5+.
Bigger is better. That’s the common mantra, but is this true with film photography? Having started out, like most people, with 35mm I had moved on up to medium format on 120 roll film, but there was another leap I could make. Large format. Remember those big wooden cameras with the bellows you’ve seen in the movies? The ones where the photographer asks everyone to stand really still whilst he peers through the viewfinder under the dark cloth? Well, that’s the kind of photography I’m talking about.
My Intrepid 4x5 large format camera that I customised with green bellows.
Now having only shot about a box of sheet film so far, I don’t feel qualified enough to really give the reader a full review of my Intrepid 4x5 camera or a how to on large format photography. So instead, I’ll take you through my first experiences into this even slower and more considered realm of film photography. First of all, as I just mentioned, it shoots individual sheets of film instead of multiple images shot on a single roll. Each sheet must be carefully removed from its light tight box and loaded into the film holders in a dark bag. I’ve bought five holders which all hold two sheets each, one on each side, so I can bring a total of ten with me on a day out. That may not sound like a lot, but it is when you consider how slowly you shoot.
The first image I ever took on large format from the comfort of the back garden. 1/60s 180mm F16 Ilford HP5+.
I used a shallow depth of field (yes F11 really is shallow) to highlight this flower growing out of the hedge. 1/125s 180mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
But why is it so slow? Well first of all you have to set the camera up every time you want to take a photograph, unfolding the camera and screwing in all the standards to make it level. Not like a normal camera that’s ready to go once you take it out the bag. The advantage is that you have far more control with movements to correct for distortions and sometimes perhaps manipulate them to enhance your subject. Tilt shift lenses available for full frame digital cameras do have some of these features but there’s much more control here, though it does vary depending on the camera body. Unsurprisingly more expensive cameras have more movements.
Shooting wide open renders most of the image completely out of focus. 1/400s 180mm F5.6 Ilford HP5+.
I wasn’t particularly happy with this image but the trees in the background really highlight the fantastic tonal range that large format can produce. 1/8s 180mm F32 Ilford HP5.
Initially setting up you can be a bit overwhelming with what the camera can do but it is best to keep things simple. Set up, zero everything off and make small adjustments to get as much in focus as possible. With such a large piece of film the depth of field is tiny, and you will often find yourself shooting at F stops that don’t even exist on most lenses you use on smaller formats. Though changing your plane of focus with movements can help you overcome this. It’s still something I’m yet to master so for now I am more reliant on closing down my aperture, but as with everything practice makes perfect. It’s also worth bearing in mind that your focal lengths come out much wider than those in medium format. My 180mm lens is equivalent to about 60mm and my 90mm lens about 28mm. This is what creates the ‘large format look’, a wide angle of view that still has a shallow depth of field.
The multicoated lenses do an impressive job of managing flare, allowing me to shoot directly into the sun without a significant loss of contrast. 1/2s 90mm F64 Ilford HP5+.
This was one of those moments were I had to drop everything and quickly set up my camera to capture the dramatic sunset after I didn’t think it would happen. Monochrome doesn’t do it justice but still looks very angry. 1/2s 180mm F22 Ilford HP5+.
One of the real difficulties is that if you see something interesting you really have to be quick in getting set up, as the light could easily change and disappear before you are ready to shoot. On top of that you don’t want to be shooting willy-nilly as each shot costs a decent bit of money. Black and white is normally between £1-2 a shot but with colour you are looking at £6+. It definitely requires a very considered approach and best saved for only the very best subjects the photographer is most sure about.
One of my favourite images from the summer, I love the big leading line left by the tractor through the crops. 1/2s 180mm F45 Ilford HP5+.
Close-up work is difficult with large format as you need a lot of bellows draw. Even if you can fill a decent portion of the frame you have to take into account the shallow depth of field. 1/4s 180mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
The rewards though are fantastic, with stunning detail in film. Even my quick scans provide at least as much detail as my 45MP Nikon D850 and I’m sure it would be even more if done with greater care. Grain is barely visible even on high ISO films and the tonal range is much greater and more visible when compared to smaller formats. Hard to pull off but when you get it right you feel a real sense of satisfaction, especially when you hold that large piece of developed film in your hand. Its size is almost as big as the standard 6x4 prints people used to pick up from Boots for 35mm.
An image that should be familiar to all of those who saw last week’s blog. I took this image on the Isle of Arran in large format as well as digital. 1/15s 180mm F45 Ilford HP5+>
Architectural photography is one of the very best things to do with large format as you can correct all the usual problems with distortion through camera movements. 1/30s 180mm F22 Ilford HP5+.
There’s definitely an art and craft to large format photography that isn’t there with other kinds of photography. It’s a much more involved process even over other kinds of film shooting just to take an image, and the slowness as times can be frustrating. But I’ve fallen in love with it very quickly and you can certainly expect to see more in future blogs.
Using a polariser to darken the water really made it stand out with all the white swirling foam. 6s 90mm F32 with polariser Ilford HP5+.
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