Another problem that arose when 35mm cameras replaced the Speed Graphic was bad backs. The Speed with a couple of film holders and flash bulbs was all the photographer carried. Not a lot of weight. Along comes the 35mm and suddenly the load increased with extra lens, spare bodies and other gadgets. The additional weight caused some photographers problems with their backs.
An interesting twist on the Mies Van Der Rohe idea of "less is more"! But not everyone went that way immediately.
About 20 years ago I worked for a very cheap newspaper, the old-fossil managing editor of which would always tell us his memories of the old days in the '30s, when he would be sent out on photo assignments with a Speed Graphic,
one film holder (two shots),
one flashbulb in the gun, and
one extra flashbulb in the pocket. If you had to use the second flashbulb and/or film sheet, you'd be expected to explain why!
Of course, by the time I was there, the Speed Graphics had been retired to a shelf in the photo lab (I jury-rigged a 35mm back onto one and used it for copying wedding photos) and the reporters (who were expected to shoot simple photos themselves) were sent out on photo assignments with Konica Auto S2 cameras and Vivitar electronic flashes.
But that old managing editor, remembering that two shots had been plenty for him, insisted that the darkroom staff bulk-load short rolls of film for the reporters: a
three-exposure roll for a single-picture story, or the ultimate luxury of a
ten-exposure roll for multiple-picture stories.
No bad backs among that crew from carrying 35mm gear... but not a lot of good pictures, either!
