Someone once said you can't shoot wildlife on a 4x5 view camera. So I did.
Well, to be completely honest I did it, but not very well. Cos it's quite hard you see. Alas, what those nay sayers were referring to was the inadequacy of the view camera for shooting wildlife in the wild. If you could bring the wildlife into a studio, or work with them in a controlled setting, that would be easier. Or actually, if you had whole year to take one frame. That would also work.
But shooting wildlife in the wild, in a completely uncontrolled setting, even with 4-5 hours to play with, is pretty tough. More so if you're trying to shoot small animals.
There are two issues. One is really obvious - it's that with a view camera you have to set up the shot, the close the shutter, load the film holder, remove the dark slide, then make the exposure, by which time your subject has probably moved.
The other issues is also, supposedly, really obvious, although it didn't really occur to me. Focal length. My wonderful Stenopeika Air Force 4x5 has a max lens length of 360mm. Which sounds like a lot. But like for like coverage, a 360mm lens on 4x5 is the same as a 120mm lens on 35mm. Which as any of you will know, ain't enough for wildlife.
Aaaaaaanyway, it doesn't work. Have a watch, see me fail, and then tell me how badly I failed in the comments below. Thanks.
15 июл 2023
