I have mentioned here before that I worked for my father’s large format camera business for 20 years. During that time, I learned a lot about building large format cameras. Another result of me working for the company was that I was able to build a camera and use it for myself.
I use a DLC45. This is the all-metal 4×5 camera that the company produced for a long time. It has gone through changes over that time, and my version is a middle version of the first style. I had little photography knowledge going into using one. Yes, my father taught photography for many years, but he never taught me. I did take a photo class at Scottsdale Community College in the late 1990’s when I was in college mostly so I could get the needed general education credit to graduate (which was an ordeal as well, but that is a whole other story though).
I have been taking pictures with it for nearly 20 years now. I don’t use it a lot to be honest. I tend to get out once or twice a year and take a handful of pictures. I try to take it on vacations if we are going somewhere that I think could present me with something I would like to take pictures of. But I don’t always take it with me. With the changes in airlines and the lack of film availability and processing ability in most places I won’t take it if I am flying anywhere anymore. Well, I say that, but I might again if I really think the place is worth it. I also always try to take my family into consideration.
I love to take pictures with it, but it is a time intensive process. If I see something that catches my eye, my wife knows it could easily be 20-30 minutes at that spot before I am all packed back up and ready to move on. So, when the kids were younger, I didn’t use it as much. I think I would be more incline to use it more now that they are older.
I like doing it because it is different. My wife likes to say that when I get out the camera the crowds follow. There have been any times when I have been setting up my equipment and people will start to gather and try to figure out what I am taking a picture of and then take a picture as well. They must think that I must really know a good picture is there if I have this kind of equipment, but of course I don’t. I would say I am an ok picture taker, but not anything great. I like that I can hold onto my negatives once they are developed. That is different now. So much is just done on a phone that there is nothing there to appreciate. I am guilty of this too, to a very small degree.
I like it because it takes time and effort and money. As I stated above, I can’t snap a quick picture. It takes me time to set things up and compose my picture. I have sat for an hour waiting for light or clouds to get just right to make me happy. I have setup pictures and then changed my mind and torn it all down without taking a picture at all. My wife doesn’t get that, but sometimes I think I see something, but once I look at the ground glass (where you can see it image before you take it) I don’t see anything I want a picture of. I tend to carry my equipment in a backpack on my back and so there is effort involved. I tend to carry around 30 pounds of stuff with me when I go out with a full load (that does include a full water bladder). So, hiking 8-12 miles is fun, but I am certainly tired when I am done, and sometimes I never take a single picture. And yes, it cost money. The equipment I have mostly gotten from my father. I have purchased a few things along the way (I will talk equipment in a different post). But film is not reusable, and it isn’t cheap. A single sheet of film can cost around $5 a piece and then to get it developed (I don’t do it myself at the moment) can cost another $5 a piece. So, that means just to take the picture there is $10 per picture. And you still don’t have a picture, you just have processed film. I scan my own negatives to save money.
So why do it do it? It is fun. I enjoy it. Doing this has allowed me to really watch what is around me when I am out in nature. That is a blessing to me. I am not nearly as observant to my surroundings when I am not carrying my camera equipment. I enjoy thinking about the lighting of the area and what it might look like when I take a picture of it. I have some good picture and I have lots of meh and bad pictures. I have learned what I like and don’t like taking pictures of (that is for a future post as well). This is something that I truly enjoy doing.