Ansel Adams considered it a successful effort if he got one printable image a month. How many sheets of film did he shoot a month I am not sure but it wasn’t even in the hundreds. No he did not practice pray and spray. He like most large format photographers practiced contemplating the composition and visualizing the final print.

Twice a year I travel the southwest with several of my photographer buddies. It is interesting to see how we each see things and how different the amount of photographs we take. I shoot with a large format 8x10 camera and shoot on average 3 sheets a day. Another who used to use a large format camera and now shoots with a medium format digital camera averages ten shots a day. And another friend who never shot any film shoots, well I don’t know how many a day, I can’t count that high. The funny thing is when we get home and process a final image to share all of us have about the same number of images worthy of hanging on the wall.

You mentioned Phoenix not Arizona so I will just say the street building art in the Phoenix downtown area is beautiful if you like shooting that kind of stuff. There is so much of it with diverse themes you could spend days at it. I would start in the alley at 4th Street and Roosevelt and walk around this area known locally as Artists Row. You can also drive around and find other building art. I often take my wife and enjoy a cup of coffee or lunch or dinner. Some of my favorite images have been from this area. Have fun!

Shoot film for the sheer joy of analog photography. No batteries necessary. The mystery of the latent image. The alchemy of the wet darkroom. The elegant beauty of a silver gelatin print. The total immersion of heart and soul into an art form that mixes science with human creativity. There is a great sense of personal satisfaction to carrying an 8x10 large format camera into a remote location and not knowing if it was worth the effort until you see the image in the developer. That’s why I do.

To each his own. That is what makes the world go round.

Where did you go?

Beautiful image Bob.

Some of us do have fully functioning wet darkrooms. In fact I shoot film exclusively and mostly large format 8x10. Been doing large format for 20 years and don’t own a digital camera other than my iPhone. I am just as happy doing this as most everyone here is doing the digital thing. There is nothing like the amber glow of the safe light, the hum of the enlarger and the solitude of a wet darkroom to stimulate your inner creativity. To each his own.

One thing I would suggest is to learn as much as you can with film while in school. Many of my photography friends who have given up large format for digital do excellent work from the beginning due to their mastery and understanding of the basics of photography.

Cheetos

(And hello by the way!)

Thank you for the backup Architect 1776! I have been a member for about 8 1/2 years and seldom respond to posts because of ignorant responses from supposed experts. I don’t even own a digital camera shooting all film formats from 35mm to 8x10 but enjoy the discussions here (most of the time). There are people here that know their stuff and we all can learn from them. The principals of photography and capturing light are the same no matter what cameras we use.

Hold on there cowboy. Don’t be one of those. This entire discussion has been about taking portraits. I assumed the readers would understand that we were talking about those distances. I and a group of photographers several years ago spent hours experimenting with various focal lengths at portraiture distances and discovered/proved to ourselves that they do have different impacts on facial features.

I am sorry to tell you this but focal length does control more than cropping and even when not taking portraits.

The reason the 85mm lens is considered a good portrait lens is because it renders the facial features in the most natural manner. A wider lens tends to exaggerate facial features and a longer lens tends to flatten them no matter the distance from the subject.

Jerry this one really got to me. As I was reading it Duke the Airedale looked up at me at just the right moment. Jerry

Agree Freestyle. I get chemistry, paper and all film from them. They ship the same day. I can order Monday morning and have everything Wednesday shipped to Arizona.

I shoot exclusively with b&w film. All formats from 35mm to 8x10. I don’t even own a digital camera save for an iPhone. The darkroom has two enlargers one for 8x10 and another for all other formats, it is a magical place to get away from the world.

I have transitioned from Tri-X to Ilford HP5+ several years ago. I did so initially because of the rising cost of Tri-X sheet film but soon discovered that HP5 with its more modern emulsion is not only way cheaper it is sharper,
has longer latitude, and shorter reciprocity times.

There was a post here a few days ago that was aimed at contrasting the differences between film and digital. I didn’t comment but I will make my opinion here. I believe digital imaging will put into question wether photography is an art form, where as this was fought and won almost 100 years ago with analog photography. There is nothing like a handmade well done silver gelatin print. A one of a kind work of art. Enjoy the whole film experience.

This is off topic but I have to tell you that is one magnificent shed you guys are playing in. There was just something about it that made me instantly relax when I saw the photo. I loved watching some of your video too. The area of the Catskills you live is one of my favorite places and holds many great memories when growing up. You are one lucky man!

Thank you creating the new folder. It made me so happy. Bird photos are not my cup of tea. I did not enjoy clicking on a bird image that was cleverly titled to not look like a bird image.