Man wish this was today. I'm in dire need of a 4x5 lens. I finally steeped up to large format. But I only have the camera. I need holders and a lens or two.
Ben love you man! Don't take this the wrong way but instead of digging on yourself for shooting in the same two main locations, Zion and DV, explain why continuing to return to these places makes you a better photographer. Its a good thing to return to the same areas time and time again! Keep inspiring the comunity!
Such beautiful work!!! and what a great idea to show the results that certain movements have on the final image....I have been playing around with my Tokyo 4x5 for a number of years now but never got really seriously into it - basically, I simply enjoy shooting portraits of interesting people, friends and strangers alike, in my studio space.....I just love the quality of the large print which results from these huge negs.....how it brings out such fine subtleties in the skin, and the tonal gradation.....I've been shooting in nothing but B^W and getting creative with my lighting...using everything from a standard three-light strobe setup, to a solo fresnel with some reflectors, to natural daylight, to even yellow gelled LED lights..I have produced more than a few portraits which I am quite proud of, though much the reason for that, I must contribute to the subject's unique appearance ... I admit I have never really known too much about the technicalities of shifting and tilting a lens other than using it to make a large high rise building appear square; devoid of converging lines - I want to learn more so I do hope you keep up this idea! cheers and again thanks for exhibiting your wonderful work! - though to truly appreciate the craftmanship involved, one must be holding the final print in his or her hands and drinking in the image as it was meant to be viewed!
As a 35mm guy I can actually take quite a bit way from that one. To be honest these were things that I had noticed in the past, but failed to sit down and analyze why they were that way (in reference to the low perspective). I kinda just said, "eh.. not what I wanted" and just moved on. That explanation goes a long way to clearing it up and making the perspective more of a tool than a lucky guess. Appreciate it.
Wow, I'm honestly speechless that I won. Thanks so much Ben. Hopefully I can remember which email I submitted in the raffle. Either the one that begins with a C, or the one that begins with a D. I'll be anxiously awaiting your email!
Ben - so great to have a bit of tutorial. I hardly ever use rear tilt but will from now on. If you have some front tilt for deep focus how does that combo affect focus ? This is worth my subscription!
When I set up a shot, I usually experiment with rear tilt it to see if I like the effect. Sometimes it is needed, other times not so much. I start by setting my composition and using some front tilt so I can get everything as sharp as possible -- then I play with the rear tilt. If I like what I see, I'll readjust the front tilt just a bit to bring it back into focus the same as before using rear tilt.
One of the things I miss on smaller cameras is back swing/tilt. We can get Tilt/shift for lenses (minus swing)) but their use is limited to only focus. Great video... and I wish my Deardorff was in such nice condition. It shows a lot of wear from use for 30 years.
Dang! How did I miss that giveaway!?? No worries! I learned something, so this video was the prize. I've studied and played with movements, but it's still not second nature to me yet. I'll get there. Thanks for this video!!!
"I know, Zion, Death Valley" At least you do them justice each time. Like I said on IG, i went to Joshua Tree this month and was really blown away by it.
Awesome images Ben. I use tilt shift lenses with my DSLR... Never used large format. These movements sound similar to using shift along with adjusting the roll on the tripod head(?), never tried that before but will give this a go now for sure!
Maybe someone who lives out that way & goes to Zion or DV might say again, but being from the Mid Alantic area, I could look at those 2 photos all day. Great vid.
Thanks Ben, that was a great tutorial on rear movements. I was guessing the rear movements as you were describing the scene and kept getting the bottom and top of the frame on the ground glass reversed. I got it once I got to the third photo. Some of us take a bit longer. ;-)
I love that large format makes me take several minutes or longer to make a shot. Today I shot in my dark shed. It took ten minutes to focus and set up tilt, shift etc. The exposure alone was ten minutes Deep stuff
There's something so very soothing about the process. You forget about everything else going on in the world, and concentrate only on the task at hand. It sure makes for a wonderful escape in that sense. Thanks for watching and commenting Nicholas!
I really like that leading line photo in Death Valley and the tilt really helps the foreground stand out. Also, does rear camera tilt effect the focus of the image?
Yes, whenever you use rear tilt, you will need to realign the plane of focus with front tilt. I typically start with the front standard to set the plane of focus for the shot, then I will adjust the rear standard for tilt if necessary, then readjust the front standard. It will feel a bit clumsy at first, but once you get the hang of it, you don't even think about it.
Thanks for the terrific episode, Ben! Have you ever shifted the rear standard sideways? I suppose it has the same effect of expanding one portion of the image and compress the opposite. Would it be possible to even tilt and shift the rear standard at the same time? Have you ever tried it? What would be the technical implications? Looking forward to the next episode, G.
Thanks Guido! Yes, it would do exactly what you say. It will enlarge one side, and compress the other. One could certainly combine the movements but it would certainly get a bit confusing at a certain point!
Yes, you will need to adjust the front standard as well. The usual procedure is to tilt the front downward slightly so that you are focused from the foreground to the distant mountains, then tilt the rear for desired effect. When you do this, it will throw off the focus, so you will need to readjust the front standard so that you once again have the plane of focus skimming across the salt flats.
Technically yes, but you would need to do some significant rearrangement with the front standard to compensate, and the process would be far less straightforward. I can also see how it would be difficult to experiment and see how the results change with subtle changes in rear movements.
@benhorne I had seen this when it went live however saw it again and have a question regarding your workflow. So you use rear movements to get correct composition/perspective and then use front tilt to get everything in focus, right?
I'm pretty sure tilt-shift lenses only allow equivalent movements to the front standard on a large format camera. To achieve a 'rear standard movement' on a DSLR you'd need some way of tilting the sensor itself..
Dominic is correct. A tilt shift lens is essentially the same as front movements. You can use them to to tilt the plane of focus, or help correct for perspective by shifting the lens but keeping the camera level. To have the effect of rear movements, you would need to be able to tilt the sensor as well as the lens. You can certainly stretch the image on the computer to enlarge a foreground or background, but it will come at the expense of lost resolution. That's why large format cameras allow so much control over the image making process.
You can achieve rear tilt on a DSLR - simply tilt the camera body via the tripod head. Readjust the TS lens if needed for focus. Its the same technique used for large format camera that don't have rear tilt. You may have to stop the aperture way down and/or tilt/swing the lens to get needed depth of field.
If you want to emphasize the foreground, do you focus before or after you do the tilt? When you meter the scene, do you have to compensate for the tilt?
Focusing depends on the design of the camera. The most common type of front tilt is axial, which is where the front standard tilts on the center axis of the lens. In that case, you focus for the foreground, tilt so the foreground and background are equally out of focus, then refocus so everything comes into focus. It sounds a bit strange, but makes sense when you do it. It sometimes takes a couple go-arounds to dial it in just right. Exposure compensation is not necessary with front tilt, but if you happen to be photographing a subject that's close to the camera, you'll need to compensate for that. The easiest way is to use a Quick Disc, no math required.
Joseph Delgadillo you could probably get some degree of the effect, but it would be awkward. If you angle the entire camera upward to tilt the rear backward, then lower the front standard and tilt for the plane of focus, it might work, but it would be really tough to fine tune it. Also, many cameras don't have a lot of front fall, which is what you would need.
Just going through some older footage (this one) and I’m wondering about your process of printing images. I hadn’t done a full search to see what videos you shared that but of the process, but if you can recall when/where you have, please link me.
Now that I think about it, I’m referring to developing and C printing, as opposed to printing. I’m working on doing cyanotypes and platinum prints, so while you aren’t doing that, I was thinking that there may be some process queues that I can pull from.
I did C prints a while back, but kind of fell out of love with them for my work. A lot of it has to do with the papers that are available, and being able to achieve the exact look that I wanted. That is why I have gone more toward inkjet prints. I would love to do some Platinum printing at some point though. That process really fascinates me.
No idea how I missed this video :) 6:00 - I'd have approached this shot with a front fall, which to me feels more intuitive to get more of the lower foreground into view. Given I'd want to use a front forward tilt to keep everything in focus anyway, the front fall would have the double effect of also ensuring the tilt doesn't take me out of coverage (critical with a wide lens). Wish I could see the same image with the two techniques side-by-side, to gauge the effects on the geometries of the patterns in the salt!
Hi Sam! Yup, that's the natural vignetting from my Nikkor SW 150mm lens. In some photos, I will compensate for it in photoshop, but scenes like this seem to benefit from the natural vignette.
Hi Yul! I use the averaging technique when metering with my Sekonic 758. I meter the brightest area I want to maintain detail, log it into memory, then the darkest area I want to hold detail, and log that into memory. I then hit the average button which splits the difference. At that point, I'm then able to hold down the metering button, look through the scene, and see how bright and dark the tones are. If it is within the range of what the film can handle, I go with that setting.
