This is a step-by-step guide, so take it from the beginning if you need to, or pick through it a topic at a time. This is a work in progress, so check back every so often.
0. Loading Film
While not part of using the camera, loading film is a prerequisite to actually taking pictures with it. Here are a few more thoughts on the subject.
Cleanliness at this stage can be worth many hours later on at the spotting stage. Do everything you can possibly do to get rid of dust. A compressor is your best choice if you are going to continue with this for more than this course, because it allows you an unlimited supply of air. You can use it to clean under each film channel, under the loading flap, and probably most important (and very difficult to do well with your lungs or a blower ball) through the light tight slot where the dark slide goes. Blow through this slot to dislodge the pieces of dust that would otherwise get pushed through when you insert the dark slide after loading your film. There is no other way to do anything about this problem.
One corollary to the Remove All Dust rule is the Try To Prevent Static Charges rule. In the winter when the air is dry this is a particular problem. A damp lint-free cloth made of cotton can help kill static on dark slides. Don't rub with wool or synthetic cloth. If you dress in cotton and have damp arm pits, you are equipped with the classic means for cleaning darkslides. If not, take whater precautions you can.
Keep your film emulsion-side down in the box, flipping it as you load it; leave the little cardboard sheets in there; keep your film holders in a ziplock bag.
While not part of using the camera, loading film is a prerequisite to actually taking pictures with it. Here are a few more thoughts on the subject.
Cleanliness at this stage can be worth many hours later on at the spotting stage. Do everything you can possibly do to get rid of dust. A compressor is your best choice if you are going to continue with this for more than this course, because it allows you an unlimited supply of air. You can use it to clean under each film channel, under the loading flap, and probably most important (and very difficult to do well with your lungs or a blower ball) through the light tight slot where the dark slide goes. Blow through this slot to dislodge the pieces of dust that would otherwise get pushed through when you insert the dark slide after loading your film. There is no other way to do anything about this problem.
One corollary to the Remove All Dust rule is the Try To Prevent Static Charges rule. In the winter when the air is dry this is a particular problem. A damp lint-free cloth made of cotton can help kill static on dark slides. Don't rub with wool or synthetic cloth. If you dress in cotton and have damp arm pits, you are equipped with the classic means for cleaning darkslides. If not, take whater precautions you can.
Keep your film emulsion-side down in the box, flipping it as you load it; leave the little cardboard sheets in there; keep your film holders in a ziplock bag.
1. Start with a Friendly Tripod
The first step in using your view camera is to set up your tripod. The more you care about composition and design, the more critical this step is for ease of use and a minimum of frustration when making the minor adjustments that are part of why you use such a cumbersome camera. Take the time to set the legs up in sturdy terrain, and adjust the legs so that the center column is vertical from all directions. The goal is to have a camera platform that can be rotated without throwing your hard made camera adjustments out of whack when you need to re-frame your image. This may seem like a needless extra step, but as you become more aware of what you are looking at through the ground glass, and as you spend more time composing and re-composing, you will meet your share of frustration if you continue to ignore this step.
The first step in using your view camera is to set up your tripod. The more you care about composition and design, the more critical this step is for ease of use and a minimum of frustration when making the minor adjustments that are part of why you use such a cumbersome camera. Take the time to set the legs up in sturdy terrain, and adjust the legs so that the center column is vertical from all directions. The goal is to have a camera platform that can be rotated without throwing your hard made camera adjustments out of whack when you need to re-frame your image. This may seem like a needless extra step, but as you become more aware of what you are looking at through the ground glass, and as you spend more time composing and re-composing, you will meet your share of frustration if you continue to ignore this step.
2. Start in Neutral
Like your car, a view camera is best started in neutral, meaning that its movements have all been returned to the zero movement state. If you get in the habit of returning the camera to this state when you put it away, that is how you will find it when you use it again. Rarely are you in as much of a hurry to put a camera away as you are to set it up when the light is just right, clouds are moving fast, and the sun is moving behind a nearby building. At times like this, when you are in a hurry, you will not be thinking about where you left the camera movements last time you used the camera. You will just find yourself wasting precious time, and very often, confused at the difficulty of getting your image to do what you want it to do.
Set each movement, front and back, to the click or visual mark that indicates that is is in neutral.
Like your car, a view camera is best started in neutral, meaning that its movements have all been returned to the zero movement state. If you get in the habit of returning the camera to this state when you put it away, that is how you will find it when you use it again. Rarely are you in as much of a hurry to put a camera away as you are to set it up when the light is just right, clouds are moving fast, and the sun is moving behind a nearby building. At times like this, when you are in a hurry, you will not be thinking about where you left the camera movements last time you used the camera. You will just find yourself wasting precious time, and very often, confused at the difficulty of getting your image to do what you want it to do.
Set each movement, front and back, to the click or visual mark that indicates that is is in neutral.
3. Know What You Are Trying To Photograph
This seems much simpler than it is, but given the awkward nature of the view camera, any work you do in this direction before working with the camera will pay off in time and frustration. Ansel Adams describes the cut-out card method for roughing in a shot. Film directors have done this with their hands for generations. Whichever method you choose, try to get a good idea in your head of what the picture will look like and where you need to be to make it most successful. This will help with your choice of lens and vantage point.
This seems much simpler than it is, but given the awkward nature of the view camera, any work you do in this direction before working with the camera will pay off in time and frustration. Ansel Adams describes the cut-out card method for roughing in a shot. Film directors have done this with their hands for generations. Whichever method you choose, try to get a good idea in your head of what the picture will look like and where you need to be to make it most successful. This will help with your choice of lens and vantage point.
4. Work From Roughness Toward Refinement
Once you pull out your camera and set it up, make course adjustments first, save fine adjustment till the end of the process to keep from having to do them twice (or more). Work through the composition before you worry about fine tilts for focus. Make sure you have the lens coverage you need before you lock down the level on your back. The main reason for this is efficiency, but the secondary reason is for you not to invest too much time before you have spent the time making sure you have the best image you can make under your given circumstances. It is much easier to change your mind early in the process than it is at the end. By all means, make it easy on yourself to change your mind when a better opportunity arises!
Once you pull out your camera and set it up, make course adjustments first, save fine adjustment till the end of the process to keep from having to do them twice (or more). Work through the composition before you worry about fine tilts for focus. Make sure you have the lens coverage you need before you lock down the level on your back. The main reason for this is efficiency, but the secondary reason is for you not to invest too much time before you have spent the time making sure you have the best image you can make under your given circumstances. It is much easier to change your mind early in the process than it is at the end. By all means, make it easy on yourself to change your mind when a better opportunity arises!
More, later...