Hi from London/Oxford

[Matt McGrattan]

HI,

I'm a slight fraud, I don't actually shoot large format at the moment, although I do shoot a lot of 120. I've been experimenting a little recently with contact printing 6x9 negatives made on a little folding camera that has some limited rise and fall and at some point soon I'm probably going to sell off some of my less-used 35mm and medium format kit and buy something bigger. Either a 5x4 or just go the whole hog and get something larger. Whatever I get, my budget will be tiny!

I live in London but work in Oxford, although I'm originally from central Scotland.

Anyway, look forward to posting/reading here in future.

Cheers,

Matt

[PAUL O]

Many of us started out on roll film - 6x7 and 6x9! You WILL want to go bigger

[Mike Baluk]

There always seems to be that urge, to go one step larger. WHEN DOES IT STOP!?!
Welcome to the forum

[Matt McGrattan]

Thanks!

I've managed to acquire a brief loan of a 5x4 field camera from work -- I'm not a photographer, but I work alongside photographers and we have a lot of old analogue kit lying around -- so I can experiment a bit over the next few weeks and see if larger formats work out for me. So I expect to ask some stupid questions!

[Joanna Carter]

I've managed to acquire a brief loan of a 5x4 field camera from work -- I'm not a photographer, but I work alongside photographers and we have a lot of old analogue kit lying around -- so I can experiment a bit over the next few weeks and see if larger formats work out for me. So I expect to ask some stupid questions!

That's what we're here for

Is there anyone living in Matt's area who can help him by getting together and showing him the basics?

Or, of course, you could always come over to France during the next couple of weeks, for one of my introductory workshops Just think… learning about LF photography, exploring the rugged coastline of Brittany, and good French food and wine/cider, all in the same deal

[Matt McGrattan]

Hopefully I can figure things out! I'll probably tray develop at first, at least, and see what happens. I already have the stuff to contact print the negatives. I expect the tricky bits are likely to just be the mechanics of the particular camera I have on loan. I've shot a lot of medium and 35mm format cameras, but the only large format cameras I've used have been DeVere 8x10s on wall-mounted columns which aren't _quite_ the same!

[Trevor Crone]

Hello Matt, pleased to read you've found your way into LF. My first view camera was a tiny 6x9cm field camera and needless to say it has led to bigger things over years, so be prepared

[Matt McGrattan]

I shot a couple of sheets of FP4 at the weekend and made some contact prints. Result: not good. I'm not sure if I underdeveloped the negatives. They looked dense enough by the standard I am used to with 35mm and MF negatives, but the prints were very low contrast compared to a set of 6x9 negatives I contact printed in the same way a week or two ago. Also, I managed to make at least one of my two sheets out of focus. The Canham I borrowed has fairly loose locks on the front standard and I think I managed to shift it just in the process of loading the dark slide and cocking the shutter.

Still, it's a learning process.