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THE RELEVANCE OF THE VIEW CAMERA IN THE DIGITAL AGE

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THE RELEVANCE OF THE VIEW CAMERA IN THE DIGITAL AGE

January 25, 2018  |  by Bill Dobbins
By Bill Dobbins http://www.billdobbinsphotography.com
Hermann-Krone-1858
A view camera in 1858. It used wet plate technology with very slow emulsions. But the design of the camera itself has hardly changed since. | Public Domain
Just as cars have gone through various periods of trying to increase sales by offering more horsepower,  nowadays the manufacturers of high-end digital cameras try to promote sales by offering files of larger and larger megapixels and additional electronic controls and bells and whistles.  The result is some very amazing pieces of photographic technology. This is a long way from the kind of camera that was around when photography first got started – a camera design that is still available and not much changed: the view camera.   This kind of camera consists of a flexible bellows that forms a light-tight seal between two adjustable standards, one of which holds a lens, and the other a ground glass with a place to insert a film holder.  Depending on the specific design, cameras like this can use fairly small film sizes or larger including 8X10, 11X14 or 16X20. There are several advantages to this kind of camera.  For one,  you are able to use very large pieces of film and film size equals ultimate resolution.  The traditional 35MM film frame is about 30MM wide.  But you could fit something close to 20 35MM frames into a piece of 16X20 film.  That is a HUGE increase in size, and therefore resolution. View cameras also allow for perspective control.  The lens and film standards can both be rotated left and right (swing) and up and down (tilt).  When the lens and the film plane are no longer locked into parallel you can do things like correct the perspective of tall buildings and create much greater actual rather than just apparent depth of field.  An example would be photos like an Ansel Adams landscape where you see rocks a few feet away and distant mountains both very sharp.
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You are not shooting 35MM anymore, Dorothy. | Source: http://bit.ly/2ryj0N3
There are lenses that have built in shift/tilt adjustments but these don’t work to the same degree as the right kind of view camera. But there is another reason to use large format film and view cameras in a digital age.  And that is that big pieces of film are so easy to scan with even a moderately priced desktop scanner, most probably under $1000 – or even less.  No need to expensive drum scale to create large, high resolution files. Shooting BW film, you should probably familiarize yourself with the Ansel Adams zone system in order to create negatives with the best exposure and contrast range.  But scanning and then adjusting files with Photoshop we have a lot more control over the final print than Adams had during his career.  So making the perfect negative is desirable but not as necessary as in the past.
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A Deardorf field camera like this folds up into a very compact size. I had an 11X14 version of this camera back in the day. | Source: http://bit.ly/2E1onXG
Another benefit of using film is its archival quality.  When your images exist only as ones and zeros on a magnetized media they remain vulnerable and have to be backed up carefully.  But when you have a properly stored negative it doesn’t fade, can’t be erased and short of fire, flood, tornado or earthquake it will always be there.
metal view
This is a monorail version of the view camera, designed for the studio and doesn’t fold up like a field camera. | Source: http://bit.ly/2Bojjd5
So even in the digital age there is still room for using large format view cameras for specialized purposes.  And it’s great that equipment like this is available used at very reasonable prices nowadays.  So the only complication is having to develop the film.  But developing sheet film is really quite simple and can be done without any problem in almost any bathroom.
scanner
Using large format film, you can get high quality scans using a desktop scanner rather than having to use a drum scan. | Photo by Epson
********************************** Bill Dobbins is a pro photographer located in  Los Angeles. He is a veteran photographer and videographer who has exhibited his fine art in two museums and a number of galleries and who has published eight books, including two fine art photo books:
The Women: Photographs of The Top Female Bodybuilders (Artisan) Modern Amazons (Tashen)
WEBSITES
BILL DOBBINS PHOTOGRAPHY www.billdobbinsphotography.com
BILL DOBBINS ART www.billdobbinsart.com
FEMALE PHYSIQUE SITES www.billdobbins.com
EMAIL: billdobbinsphoto@gmail.com
Baobab tree viewed through Speed Graphic, Nxai Pan National Park, Botswana
Botswana, Nxai Pan National Park, Blurred view of baobab tree seen through ground glass on Speed Graphic view camera | Source: http://bit.ly/2rAxIDr
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A focusing cloth is used with a few camera so you can see the image in the ground glass. You can also use a loupe for more exact focus. | Public Domain 
Photographer-studio-1893
A view camera in photo studio in 1893. Long exposures meant a brace was necessary to hold the head of subjects steady. | Source http://bit.ly/2DxIM9Q
January 25, 2018

About the Author

Bill Dobbins

Bill Dobbins

Bill Dobbins THE BODY PHOTOGAPHER became well known for his male and female physique photos - images of the aesthetic, athletic body. Using the same distinctive personal style, characterized by strong graphics and a classic look in both color and BW, Bill Dobbins has also developed a body of work featuring fashion, beauty and glamor photos In a world in which so many images create a level of "noise" that makes it hard for advertisers to be noticed, Bill's work cuts right through the confusion and grabs the eye. Bill has created two art photos books: The Women: Photographs of the Top Female Bodybuilders (Artisan) and Modern Amazons (Taschen) and his fine art work has appeared in two museums and several galleries. WEBSITES BILL DOBBINS PHOTOGRAPHY www.billdobbinsphotography.com BILL DOBBINS ART www.billdobbinsart.com THE FEMALE PHYSIQUE WEBZINE/GALLERY www.billdobbins.com EMAIL: billdobbinsphoto@gmail.com

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