It has been few months since I bought the Ebony 4x5 camera and I have been quiet busy learning how to use it since then. For my personal education I borrowed the famous Jack Dykinga’s “Large Format Nature Photography” book from Marek, and I bought “View Camera Technique” by Leslie Stroebel on Amazon. Both of these books are proving great introduction to large format camera system, but the latter gives more technical details, to which I personally begun to understand just after I started to use my camera and be able to test all the tricks in real life. I am still quite far away from mastering the large format camera technique, but I am slowly discovering the amazing potential, which such camera can provide to landscape photographer. I am especially impressed by the possibility to get the ultimate control of the “Depth of Field” even with wide angle lenses, which is quiet difficult to achieve with any other camera system I have used yet. What I actually mean is that I am now able to get just very small area in focus, while the rest is remaining blurred or out of focus, something like the lonely bench in this photograph.
Title: View Point, Camera: Ebony RSW 45, Lens: Rodenstock 45 mm, Filtr: Cokin Red and 0.9 ND, Film: Kodak Tri-x 400, Exposure: 180″ , f 8
This particular photograph is part of mine ongoing “Lac Leman” project and I took it near Preverenges in Switzerland. I have discovered this place just recently and it is already becoming to be one of my favorite spots on the lake. There is very nice sandy beach, small natural reserve with a variety of wild births and a really nice park with a lot of opportunities to sit down and relax. My intention with this photograph was to show you this very ordinary spot where thousands of people sit down and enjoyed the beautiful view on the lake and the Alps before me. I used long exposure together with selective focus on the bench to give kind of timeless meaning to the photograph and to me very rare opportunity to stay still, do nothing and just enjoy this spectacular view. I will be returning to this place from time to time during the upcoming winter to capture some other spots, which I have already in mine mind, and also to continue to learn how to use the large format camera, which I have to say is becoming a real fun for me these days.