Large Format

Large format is the Holy Grail of film photography.  It’s elusive, mythological to all but the most devoted, and rare.

When asked what camera to take along for a photo shoot, Ansel Adams replied “The biggest on you can carry.

©2015 Gary L. Quay

I took this picture just after I moved to Hood River, Oregon in 2015. I was trying hard to keep using large format film despite not having a darkroom. It’s not a perfect negative, but I like it. I developed it on a table in a mostly darkened, carpeted bedroom, and didn’t ruin the rug. I had to place black plastic over the tray between agitation to prevent any fogging.

Camera: Deardorff 8×10
Lens: 19″ Goerz APO Artar
Film: Ilford HP5+ developed in Ilfotec HC

©2015 Gary L. Quay

The Dalles Dam has been a fovorite spot for me for almost a decade, and, now that I have moved away from Hood River back into the Portland area, I look back on being minutes away from The Dalles with not a small amount of nostalgia. I really loved living there. It was the 52 mile commute to Gresham every day that did me in. I needed to reclaim that time.

So, now, I am going through my reams of negatives to find some that may look good on other peoples’ walls. I like this one.

Camera: Sinar Alpina 4×5
Lens: 12” Bausch & Lomb Anastigmat
Film: Ilford HP5+ developed in Clayton F76+

8×10, 5×7, and 4×5

I use various formats, including the ones listed above.  I would like to get an Ultra Large Format camera at some point, which can range from 11×14 to 20×24.  That’s some big film.  I use the biggest one I can fit in my car, depending on what else is along for the ride.  If I can fit the 8×10, I take it.  I don’t always use it.  I may not see a picture worthy of such a big piece of film, it may be too windy, or the weather may be too wet.  I try to use some film on every trip, and I know it’s a good one when I have 8×10 negatives to develop.

©2014 Gary L. Quay

Taking pictures on film facing into the sun with a wide angle lens can be tricky. A little lens flare never hurt anyone. Well, maybe.

Camera: Deardorff 8×10
Lens: 165mm Schneider Angulon
Film: Ilford HP5+ Developed in Kodak HC110

©2017 Gary L. Quay

It was almost a year after I blew my knee out in the Oneonta Gorge, and I was finally able to carry an 8×10 camera down a steep hill, so I did.

This is White River Falls. Through it flows the snowmelt from Mt Hood. It roars from the fall to early summer, and then slows to a trickle by September.

Camera: Deardorff 8×10
Lens: 12″ Goerz Dagor
Film: Ilford HP5+

©2010 Gary L. Quay

The West Linn power plant as seen from across the Willamette River in 2010. I took this picture with a large format camera and lens combination that needs to have the bellows extended at least 1 yard to focus at infinity.

Camera: Kodak Commercial 8×10
Lens: 760mm SK Grimes (APO-Nikkor optics)
Film: Ilford FP4+ developed in Kodak HC110

©2007 Gary L. Quay

I took this at Trillium Lake, on Oregon’s Mt. Hood, on a still morning.

Camera: Linhof Technica,
Lens: 150mm Linhof (Schneider),
Film: Kodak Tmax 400.

©2022 Gary L. Quay

I have been testing long development times. I developed this one 1:50 in Rodinal for 25 minutes. I realized half way through that my darkroom was not entirely light tight, so the negative is a little fogged. I need to do a little more work on it before I develop more sheet film.

Camera: Deardorff V8
Lens: 360mm Schneider
Film: Bergger Panchro 400 developed in Rodinal

©2017 Gary L. Quay

It was almost a year after I blew my knee out in the Oneonta Gorge, and I was finally able to carry an 8×10 camera down a steep hill, so I did.

This is White River Falls. Through it flows the snowmelt from Mt Hood. It roars from the fall to early summer, and then slows to a trickle by September.

Camera: Deardorff 8×10
Lens: 12″ Goerz Dagor
Film: Ilford HP5+

©2012 Gary L. Quay

This is a historic mansion near Robesonia, PA. It’s made of the white granite that many houses are built out of in the Berks County area. Houses and barns that used that stone are not only sturdy, but they are also beautiful.

Camera: Super Speed Graphic 4×5.
Lens: 90mm Nikkor.
Film: Kodak Tri-X 320 developed in Ilford Ilfotec HC.

©2012 Gary L. Quay

I lived in Myerstown from 1972 to 1986. I took many of the town’s finer features, such as the architecture and rural setting, for granted when I lived there. After so many years away living on the West Coast, returning meant discovering what I was missing back then.

This is a lock from the long defunct Union canal, which ran along what we called the Tulpehocken Creek. I’m not well versed on the history of the Union Canal, but there are a few folk songs about it.

Camera: Super Speed Graphic 4×5.
Lens: 135mm Rodenstock Optar.
Film: Kodak Tri-X developed in HC-110.

©2011 Gary L. Quay

This is right next to the Columbia River. My guess is that these steps were built by the WPA during the Great Depression, back when we knew how to really give jobless people jobs. It was an almost idylic spring afternoon. Gaia and I were traveling east toward Hood River, and we stopped here at the advice of a co-woker. I was drawn by the dappled light on these stairs.

Camera: Sinar Alpina 4×5.
Lens: 90mm Nikkor with a green filter.
Film: Kodak Tri-X 320 developed in Kodak HC-110 dilution G for 20 minutes with minimal agitation.

©2011 Gary L. Quay

I was looking for a way to photograph this waterfall, and get as much of it into the picture as possible, while not having it be too busy. I think I achieved it with this one. I went there two weeks in a row, and shot 8 8×10 negatives, and a few 5×7’s as well.

Camera: Deardorff 8×10
Lens: 165mm Schneider Super-Angulon
Film: Ilford HP5+ developed in PMK Pyro
Contact Printed on Ilford MGIV RC developed in E72

©2022 Gary L. Quay

Cannon Beach is a favorite location on the Oregon Coast, and has been since I moved to Oregon over 30 years ago. I had my Sinar out there in July 2022, and took this picture near sunset.

Camera: Sinar Alpina
Lens: 90mm Nikon
Film: Famous Formats Atomic-X