Shooting landscape with RF

Rangefinder 35

Rangefinder 35

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Today I decided to put my trusty, but long-overlooked Nikon F5 to use shooting the landscape photographs at dawn in the valley not far from home. By the time I got there it was a bit after sunrise, but the sun was hiding behind the mountains, so it was still semi-dark. I mounted my F5 on a tripod, put on manual focus lenses and I tried to focus, but even though F5's focusing screen is pretty bright, I had to use scale-focusing to do the job, I guess I had gotten used to the Contax and Leica's brightness of the viewfinder, that lets one see even in dusk. Anybody else thinks rangefinders are OK for landscape?
 
With a tripod, I'd use scale focus on either type of camera in most landscape situations, so it doesn't matter much...
 
Have you studied HCB and GW work. Landscape is very where. And I’m sure none of them used tripod.
Rangefinder landscapes still could be done as anything else with rangefinder.
It is kind of killed by tripod. I have done me RF landscapes handheld even with f156 pinhole.
Might show one later on.
 
Rangefinder 35 said:
Anybody else thinks rangefinders are OK for landscape?
Click to expand...

Here are my personal favorite scenic/landscape film cameras:

Calumet CC-402 wide field/short monorail 4x5 inch view camera with Fujinon 90mm f/5.6 SWD #0 Shutter

Fuji GSW690 III 6x9cm rangefinder with fixed 65mm f/5.6 Fujinon lens

Contax G1 35mm rangefinder with 28mm f/2.8 Zeiss Biogon lens

Please note that two of the three are rangefinder cameras.


Landscape Cameras by Narsuitus, on Flickr
 
Don't have a problem using the RF for landscapes, on the rare occasion that I do. The main issue is close focus and framing. That's the real issue.
 
Ko.Fe. said:
Have you studied HCB and GW work. Landscape is very where. And I’m sure none of them used tripod.
Rangefinder landscapes still could be done as anything else with rangefinder.
It is kind of killed by tripod. I have done me RF landscapes handheld even with f156 pinhole.
Might show one later on.
Click to expand...

Ko.Fe is right about HCB. This shot is one of my favorites of his landscapes.

https://monovisions.com/henri-cartier-bresson-landscapes/


henri-cartier-bresson-landscapes-08.jpg


Henri Cartier-Bresson Brie, France. 1968.
 
I love the simplicity of this shot and the wonderful composition and print.

There is so much going on here and I love how my eyes wander across the composition scanning vertically, horizontally, left/right, foreground/background; the interplay of tones and shades with emphasis on the darker tree group in the foreground against the pale sky the micro-detail of objects on the horizon-line.

So much to take in in a seemingly simple shot.
 
It’s a light proof box with a lens on the front… what more is needed to take a picture of anything?

All the best,
Mike
 
Rangefinder 35 said:
... Anybody else thinks rangefinders are OK for landscape?
Click to expand...

Yes, why not?
I think any cameratype will fit for landscapes.

By the way, Telelandscapes, Wideangles, Panos and various lightsituations make landscape photography such a
manifold thing that it is too superficial to combine the two points landscape and camera in general in my
opinion.
 


Leica M4-2, PinHole Cap.
Kentmere 400 in HC-110 B 8 minutes.
8x10 Agfa Brovira #2 print.
ON. 2016.



Leica M3 ELC, Industar-22.
Kentmere 400 in hcB.
8x10 Ilford Ilfomar I in Arista AB Lith developer.
2017. Oakville, Ontario.


Both are handheld.
 
Any camera can be used to photograph anything at anytime...Its up to the person to make a choose what makes sense to them...
 
About the only problem I can think of is slightly less accurate framing than with something like a Nikon F which has 100% accurate view. Having said that it has never stopped me from using my M6 which some dislike for frame line accuracy. Joe
 
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