I'm taking the afternoon off today, to give myself time to hike out in to the McDowell Sonoran Land Trust areas near my work.  I've been out there dozens of times with a DSLR.  In fact, it used to be my regular lunchtime walk, even through the heat of summer (115 degrees at times). 

A few things have changed though and today's experience promises to be very different than all the hikes before.  Today, I'll be toting a large format camera, 3 lenses, a tripod and 7 film holders.  The old kit consisted of a DSLR, a wide zoom and an extra battery.  That's trading 4 lbs of gear with a capacity of hundreds of shots with about 30 lbs of gear and 14 shots.  Frankly, I doubt I'll get 14 shots taken.  I'm just too new at operating the camera.

At this early stage of my large format career, I have to consider an afternoon like this to be mostly about learning.  I have a few set shots I'd like to take, such as the one shown here. That should be a challenge as I imagine I'll actually have to use movements to make it work.

I don't expect to have the good clouds today.  They're kind of thin and high making for a muddy sky.  Maybe the afternoon heat will form them up near the mountains.  In any case, we'll see what a yellow filter does for them.

With luck, I'll run the films over the weekend and have something to show for myself, good or bad, pretty soon.

Comments

[Maddy]

I find it hard to imagine that as my local afternoon walk......there again if global warming continues maybe it will just turn up on my doorstep! Good luck with the new equipment.
Cheers