Don't take a friend when you go shooting LF ... now I believe!

Keith

Keith

The best camera is one that still works!
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May 5, 2006
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I went off on an LF jaunt with the Graphic and a bag of loaded film holders yesterday to a favourite location at an old abandoned farm a few hours away and took my dear friend Carol with me who was going to do some sketching ... she is extremely talented and I figured one person shooting large format and one drawing would be an interesting and fairly compatible artistic activity.

One thing I have to say about Carol is as much as I love her dearly she talks constantly which is her way and to be honest I generally don't mind ... too much!

BUT ... as we all know shooting large format takes concentration and rythm and by the time I'd lost the plot and asked her to 'put a sock in it' the damage was done. I'd plucked the dark slide out of a holder before closing the shutter after focussing :bang: and then managed to forget to reverse some dark slides after shooting so that I knew which negatives had been exposed in their holders and also managed to mix them up with film holders which hadn't actually been used to totally add to the confusion!:(

I came back with a bag of film holders that may have some double exposures, no exposures or who knows what ... a valuable lesson about large format shooting was learned yeserday.

CB (Carol) was very quiet on the drive home ...... ! :p
 
I shoot alone, yeah, with nobody else.
I shoot alone, yeah, with nobody else.
Yeah, you know when I shoot alone, I prefer to be by myself.

Now, every morning, just before breakfast,
I don't want no coffee or tea.
Just me and my good buddy Tri-X.
That's all I ever need.

Cause I dev alone, yeah, with nobody else.
I dev alone, yeah, with nobody else.
Yeah, you know when I dev alone, I prefer to be by myself.

- With apologies to George Thorogood
 
Whenever I go out with my 4x5 it is always by myself...
My reason is that I wouldn't want to bore the poor friend to death...

My guess is that you now owe Carol a nice dinner...
 
I agree for all forms of photography excpt maybe for tourist type snapshot "snapping".

Although I almost always have a camera with me, I find I get best results when I am in the right frame of mind - ie not distracted by someone who wants to talk or even just sight-see. There is a need to concentrate on the job in hand and sometimes to spend a lot of time "circling the target" looking for a good shot. Its hard to do this with someone who is commanding your attention. This is especially so when its a "better half" who wants attention - A LOT! Or who wants to be the subject of your photos - A LOT! Or who gets bored if you take more than 15 seconds to "snap" the photo. "Surely it can't take you THAT long - all you have to do is press the button after all." Or who wants suddenly and inexplicably to tell you at infuriating length about their friend's second cousin's huband's neice twice removed who....... blah blah blah blah blah. You get the message.

Photography and wives, girlfreinds etc should not mix. Correction. Do not mix.
 
peterm1 said:
I agree for all forms of photography excpt maybe for tourist type snapshot "snapping".

Although I almost always have a camera with me, I find I get best results when I am in the right frame of mind - ie not distracted by someone who wants to talk or even just sight-see. There is a need to concentrate on the job in hand and sometimes to spend a lot of time "circling the target" looking for a good shot. Its hard to do this with someone who is commanding your attention. This is especially so when its a "better half" who wants attention - A LOT! Or who wants to be the subject of your photos - A LOT! Or who gets bored if you take more than 15 seconds to "snap" the photo. "Surely it can't take you THAT long - all you have to do is press the button after all." Or who wants suddenly and inexplicably to tell you at infuriating length about their friend's second cousin's huband's neice twice removed who....... blah blah blah blah blah. You get the message.

Photography and wives, girlfreinds etc should not mix. Correction. Do not mix.
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Oh, So true...
 
The really annoying thing is that she produced a couple of stunningly detailed fine pencil sketches that made a total mockery of my days efforts. :p

BITCH! ... not really! :)
 
Marry her, and then take her shooting.

It will not matter how much she talks, the Filter will be in place. And you'll have the nods sync'd up at the appropriate points as she talks. And get the shots.
 
When I was dating my wife, she mentioned how she had complained to her first husband (deceased, but of a real illness, not frustration!) at how long he took to "snap" a photo. Taking that cue, I've never included her on anything but the most casual of photo pursuits. I might ask her to schlep the tripod a few meters, then have her go away for a coupla hours. :D
 
I took a girlfriend (former) to a major photo exhibit in San Diego only to find when we got there that she "didnt like the confined space of a gallery." She asked to wait outside. Needless to say I was disappointed because I couldn't spend the hour studying the photos of a very famous photographer.
 
There's a term in North Queensland here in Oz that some lesser unliberated men use to describe wives and girlfriends ... 'handbrake!' :p
 
Double Negative said:
So true, so true... I find photography for me to be best when I'm flying solo. No distractions, no rushing, nothing to worry about except what's in front of you.

Bill nailed it, heh! :D
Click to expand...

Very true.

The wife looks at me like Im nuts with the endless boxes of gear and film arriving on my doorstep. I'll drive to a photo op along the coast and she tells me she'll wait in the car, which gives me all of 15 minutes to climb down the mountain to the beach, brainstorm, get the shot, and get back to the car. I finally had to get rid of my Technika Master 4x5. I miss that cam.
 
I was lucky to have a shooting partner for awhile, an oldtimer, who had two rules that had to be obeyed: "Stop the car!" And, never get in a rush when shooting or waiting. Sure miss him.
 
Keith said:
I came back with a bag of film holders that may have some double exposures, no exposures or who knows what ... a valuable lesson about large format shooting was learned yeserday.
Click to expand...

I took a friend out to let him use my Speed Graphic today so he could have a shutter for the barrel lens he mounted on a board. We came back with four exposed film holders and a shattered ground glass. He somehow managed to unlock the focussing screen and hood from the Graflok back before picking up the camera after the first exposure. Fell off and smashed on the concrete.:bang:

Oh well. At least the Fresnal didn't bust as well.
 
Gheh, my photo-buddy uses a DSLR and he can fill up a flash-card in the time it takes me to set up a single shot. I'm usually the one lagging behind when visiting events or exhibits.... :(

Tough luck Keith, some earplugs might be in order...or a checklist.

Last time when I was using my polaroid back on my SG to sell snapshots of the public at a WW2 event.. keeping track of time to the peel-apart point is rather difficult when people are badgering you with questions. :)
 
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