I have a friend who thinks I should get a LF camera. I was thinking of the idea myself and I have a shot in mind that I want to do and was wondering if I would beable to do it with a LF. So here goes. We have a lovely hut in Australia that sits on a cliff face. I want to beable to take a shot of the hut a sunset but expose for the sun rendering the hut as a silouette. The sun sets in the west the hut is in the east so I'm not taking a photo with the sun in it just getting the pink glow it leaves on the horizon behind the hut.Then I want to be able to take that film off the back and use a polariod when it's pitch black so as to beable to set up a light in the hut and paint the hut also with a torch. This is to check exposure. Once I have that correct I want to beable to stick the film back on the camera and do the next exposure on the same film. Then I want to leave the shutter open and get the startrails in the sky. Now I have heard that there is play in the film backs so is taking off the film back and putting it back on again a bad idea. If so are there any other ways of being able to check the second exposure. Thanks

-- Keith Anderson (andos@pacific.net.au), June 19, 2000

Answers

It's hardly worth investing in LF just for one shot. Take the test exposure(s) with the light-painting technique on a previous night, using the same film type, then you'll be able to do the actual shot without changing backs. You'll also be able to use any format camera that allows multiple exposures. Using polaroid is no guarantee that the film you actually use will react in the same way, in terms of colour or reciprocity. And how can you ensure that your torch-painting is consistent anyway?

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), June 19, 2000.

Keith, I am your mate! Send a plane ticket and we will see how we can work this out! More seriously, it is difficult to work it that way, because changing the back or simply winding up the shutter (unless you have a press-shutter) WILL move your camera and therefore you will have two images overlaping each other. Have you thought of taking a serie of pictures and using a computer to realize a montage?

-- Paul Schilliger (pschilliger@smile.ch), June 19, 2000.

Simple rent two camera set ups with the same focal length lens. Use for the real film and one for the polaroid. Alternatively, do your polaroid testingthe night before and practice your moves.

-- Ellis Vener (evphoto@insync.net), June 19, 2000.