Large Format Photography – an Introduction

C’mon, you know you’ve always wanted to try it!

Back about 30 years ago when I was a young photographer, I was mainly interested in 35mm and medium format. And as you’re probably quite aware, I’m still VERY interested in those formats. But back then, I really gave no thought at all to large format. I’m not sure why it didn’t interest me. Maybe the prices had something to do with it? But I just never really explored that area at all. I did have a Busch Pressman Model D camera in my “mostly just for looks” collection. Like most of the others at that time, it was inoperable and I just didn’t have the motivation to do anything with it.

But, the university where I worked had a catalog of film negatives that dated back to the late 1960s, and the oldest ones were 4×5 format. And one day I decided to pull out one of the earliest ones and scan it at the highest resolution I could at the time. It was a studio portrait of a professor. And the results blew me away. I had never seen a sharper, more detailed photograph in my life. And beyond the sharpness and detail, it seemed to reproduce tones in a way that were plainly stunning to look at.

So, I started eyeing this Busch that was sitting on my shelf. And just like that, I found my motivation to dip my toes into the world of 4×5. I had a lot of fun restoring the camera to working condition and thus began my large format journey.

Now, I imagine there are at least several of you film photographers out there who have entertained at least a passing thought about large format but wouldn’t have the slightest idea about where to begin or what to look for. Large format cameras, lenses and workflow are a good bit different than 35mm and medium format. But, I hope to lend some clarity in this episode. So let’s start by looking at some of the camera types and terminology.

So first…what is a view-camera? And how does it basically work?  Well, a view-camera has three basic parts: it has a front standard where the lens is mounted, a rear standard where it projects the image directly on a ground-glass focusing screen, and a flexible bellows that connects the two. The front and back standards can be positioned independently of each other. And focusing is achieved by moving the two standards closer together or further apart. And the photographer focuses and composes the final shot on the ground glass in the back – usually underneath a focusing cloth so it’s easy to see. The image is reversed (like a medium format waist-level finder) but it’s also upside down. So it can be a little discombobulating if you’re not used to that.

Check out the video for a much more detailed “rest of the story” with a photo shoot and some examples of some of the view camera movements.