Large Format Photography in Utah

This time around when I was photographing down in Utah with my large format camera I was mostly shooting Ilford Delta 100 and Kodak T-Max 400 film.  I also shot a little of my old outdated stock of Kodak High Speed Infrared.  I also had some Readyload packets of Kodak T-Max 100, and some Quickload packets of Fuji Neopan Acros 100.  These packet films are a lot lighter and more compact than traditional sheet film in standard 4x5 film holders.  I reserved my limited stock of this stuff for the days when we were doing longer hikes.  Both Kodak and Fuji have discontinued the manufacture of this format so I am reserving the few packets that I have left for longer more strenuous hikes... when size and weight become a significant issue.  

I took ten lenses along on the trip with me, though I didn't carry all of them with me all the time.  Focal lengths ranged from 65mm wide angle to 400mm telephoto.  For those familiar with 35mm film format, or full frame digital, if these focal lengths are divided by three, this will give approximately the equivalent in the smaller format.  So a 65mm wide angle is equivalent to a 21mm wide angle, and a 400mm telephoto to a 135mm lens.  Though the angle of view is similar to the smaller format equivalent, the depth of field remains applicable to the longer focal length.  Fortunately the movements of the view camera can help to compensate for the lack of depth of field with these longer focal lengths.  

The other day I processed the five packets of Fuji Neopan Acros that I shot on the trip.  I posted the "teaser" shot of the Wire Pass petroglyph site yesterday.  Here are the additional four images from that first batch.

This first shot I call "Buckskin Swirl".  It is a fabulously textured sandstone wall in Buckskin Gulch, just upstream from the confluence with Wire Pass.

This image is Wire Pass, just after first entering the Slot Canyon from the upper wash.  We were fortunate when we hiked here as the skies were overcast, which kept the contrast down in these images.  I look forward to attempting darkroom prints of some of these negatives.

This negative is the "Confluence Arch" with the exit from the Wire Pass slot canyon visible in the background.  My 8-year-old daughter Anna is standing below the arch, which gives some idea of the scale.  This is right at the point where Wire Pass meets Buckskin Gulch.  The petroglyph image that I posted yesterday was taken a few feet to the left of this spot.

This last image was taken in the White Pocket, just over the border in Arizona.  This spot is becoming very well known and popular and it is probably just a matter of time before access becomes restricted.