Medium Format

There was a thought process which cascaded into a series of actions that started with an observation from looking at Tim Fitzharris’ Landscape Photographs.  He used a number of different medium format cameras, including the Mamiya 645 and Pentax 645. In both cases 645 refers to the size of the negative (sensor), which is 60 x 45 millimetres.  This is in contrast to the 35 x 24 millimetres of a full frame camera like the digital camera I currently use.  The difference this larger size provides is in image detail and depth of field.  

The observation was that I could get that “magic” clarity and depth of field, so essential for landscapes,  without the need to adopt a cumbersome large-format package as used by, for example, Ansel Adams.  The idea of hiring some sort of pack animal to carry my photographic equipment on my hikes through the landscapes is beyond what I am willing to do.  I think. A 645-size camera however is within reason.  

But what made this observation actionable was that the images I had reviewed were all based on film technology; no digital.  This of course is important as in the digital world the price of a medium format camera starts at the 10-20 thousand range and goes up from there.  The film approach on the other hand is an order of magnitude lower.  

So how do I make this work? A popular workflow is to capture on film and scan the negatives to digital.  This enables processing in ones digital tools of choice and avoids the traditional paper step. Film,  chemicals, some beakers, and a scanner would all be elements of the workflow. So before making the investment I wanted to confirm what was possible.

In my mind there are two critical steps in the workflow: capture and scanning. Each represents a transformation point: capturing light onto film; scanning analog to digital. Transformation points are where inefficiencies and error is introduced. Reviewing Flickr it was clear it was possible, so then the question was whether I could get through the process with the equipment at hand.

I decided to test the scanner first.  If this was unsatisfactory then no matter what I did on the capture side would not matter. I scanned a negative of a shot I took over 30 years ago of my grandfather.  The results were encouraging.

So the next action was to retrieve my old Rolleiflex; the camera that I had used to capture the shot above.  This is a 6×6 medium format camera made in 1946; larger than those used by Fitzharris.  A quick review and I judged it to be in close-enough working order.    

With the goal of taking some shots and having them developed I bought a couple rolls of film.  

Loading the first roll is when I discovered that the film counter on the camera was not working.  I checked the mechanism and it seemed to be in proper order. However, when I cranked the film the counter did not move.  OK, a 1/4 turn of the crank would move the film the right distance.  The next problem I encountered was I could not set the shutter speed above 1/250th of a second (maximum is 1/500th).  As I took shots I found the crank did not alway catch so it was hard to tell how far the film had moved.  

Not insurmountable problems, just further confirmation that the camera is in need of some service.   

With images captured, I looked for and found a place that would develop the film. It would take 2-4 weeks.  So I re-planned; I conceded and bought the chemicals and developed the film myself.  The first roll of film was lost;  exposed to the light by mistake.  

The second roll was more successful; shots came through although there were large gaps in the film between exposures and some double exposures.  However, by the third roll the development process was maturing and results were satisfactory.  

The scanning process is fairly straight forward.  While I have a flatbed scanner, it does have film holders.   I place the negatives in a holder which keeps them flat and in position for scanning. I am able to scan black and white at 16-bit grey levels at up to 6400 DPI.  I am currently scanning at 3200 DPI which renders a file size around 100 mb; at 4800 DPI the file size increases to 250 mb.  Only on special occasions. I have not tried 6400 DPI.  

My dark room set up is a bit cluttered but I expect this to be resolved once I’m committed to the process.  I need to find Mr. Junkman and have him come by and haul away a few things. Located in the basement the temperature hovers around 19C.  I have my old PPC-Based Mac hosting my log which records the development process (timing, temperature, etc.) and runs the scanner. The Mac is networked with my main machine where I process the digital renditions.  When a scan is complete I receive an alert on the main machine so I can then initiate copying the file over the network. When the copy is received I import it into Lightroom for processing and storage in my library.