8"x10” View Cameras

The last film images I made in 2005 were created on 8"x10" film.

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After working with 4x5 for a decade, in 2000 I started questioning if 4"x5” was the best format for my work. I started working with large format in 1991 as a reaction against the “machine-gun” approach of smaller formats. The larger negative (53 times larger than a 35mm negative) and cameras demanded more effort in the field and, in turn, placed more focus on the technical elements of photography, pushing up the exertion (both mentally and physically) required to make an image. By 2000, however,I was frequently making 30-60 images a day, where I had initially focused upon 12-18 images a day. I began reconsidering working with 8"x10” cameras, and in 2001 made the decision to purchase a 8"x10” Toyo 810G, to see if my hunch that this larger, more demanding format would better suit my workflow.

 

It was the Cassandra, the Nova Scotia Portfolio in 2001 that proved to me that stepping up to 8"x10” as my main camera was a positive evolution. Over the two weeks of working with Cassandra, I worked back and forth between 4"x5” and 8"x10”, and the over all conclusion was that the larger format worked better for my way of seeing; the pleasure of composing on the larger ground-glass, the extra discipline required when there can only be 12-18 images made a session, and the slowing down of the process that becomes inevitable when working with such a large camera all helped focus my work more clearly, and lead to very striking results. By the spring of 2002, I had sold all my 4"x5” equipment, and had begun refining my Toyo 8x10 equipment to better reflect my needs and desires as a photographer. I used the Toyo 810G for three years, making a little over 1200 images.

 

At the end of 2003, I purchased a Zone VI Ultralight 8"x10” camera to replace the Toyo 810G. The reason for the change to the Zone VI camera was weight - as a wooden field camera it weighs less than 5 kg - half the weight of the Toyo. Initially I had planned to keep the Toyo as a studio camera, but common sense prevailed, and I sold the Toyo 810G in early 2004. With the change to the Zone VI Ultralight, I finally managed to get the three lens system I had longed for; a 150mm, a 300mm, and a 450mm lens. I carried carry 10 film holders with me, permitting me to expose 20 sheets of film before reloading (which is not the easiest thing to do in the field).

 

Ultra-Large Format View Cameras

In 2001, I worked with a Korona 12"x20" camera, and over the summer made eighteen images with the camera; the possibilities were somewhat limited by the fact the camera only came with one lens, but after making the images, I knew that this was an approach I could get used to in time. Unfortunately, because of the prohibitive cost of ULF (ultra-large format) photography, which runs as much as $17 per photograph, this was my only experience with such cameras.

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4"x5” View Cameras

My first view camera was a Busch Pressman D, purchased in 1991. This camera worked well as an introduction to large format, and was a real workhorse, being a metal camera. I used this camera for much of my fine art work until 1994, when I purchased a Nikkor 210mm lens, only to discover it would not fit the camera. As a result, I bought a used 4"x5” Wista, a light wooden field camera with more movements then the Busch Pressman and almost half the weight. At the same time as I was focusing on working with the 4"x5” format, I purchased a used Burke and James 8"x10” camera, to start exploring the possibilities of a different format.

 

From 1994-1998, my main camera was the Wista; a light, flexible camera, this served to help me create many of the images that are the foundation of my current work. When, in 1998, this camera fell victim to an accident in a river, I had to replace it, upgrading it to an American-made Wisner 4x5 Traditional. The reason for selecting the Wisner was manifold - it had more bellows extension (21” as opposed to the 12” on the Wisner) which helps when working with longer focal length lenses and, as I was using more and more wide-angle lenses, the ability to use a bag-bellows on the Wisner was also particularly attractive. The bag bellows permits more flexibility when using wide angle lenses - the movements that are often needed with these lenses can kink bellows, or even be totally restricted by them, where the bag bellows permits almost total freedom of movement.