Getting Ready - What's in my bag?

This week I’m preparing to head up to the Barmah Forest for a long weekend. As this is the first trip with the Sinar F2, I thought I’d take a look at the gear I’m taking and how I’ve organized it to carry. As I don’t have purpose built pack I’ve had to think carefully how I’ll organise everything. I’ve divided the gear between a small day pack that I will carry on location and a support kit that I’ll keep in the car. Wherever possible I’ve packed items into stuff sacks for added protection and organisation.

Front pocket of day-pack.

The front pocket contains my Peak 4x loupe, 72mm Hoya HMC Circular Polarizer, B+W 58mm-72mm step-up ring, double spirit level, lens cleaner and microfiber cloth and Lastolite foldable grey card. The HMC Polarizer is used to reduce glare of the river, as well as for darkening the foliage and sky. I don't have a warm tone polarizer or any warm tone filters (81 series), as warming can be added later in Photoshop if required. The 72mm HMC Polarizer is the same filter that I use on my Nikon D200. This allows me to meter through the polarizer before attaching it to the Sinar after setting the exposure. I may add a 0.6 ND Filter to the kit in the future to compensate for the extremes of contrast sometimes encountered between the sky, forest and water. A tape measure is included for measuring bellows factor.

Laptop sleeve of day-pack.

The laptop sleeve of the day-pack is the right dimension to hold my notepad, marker pen, 25 cm spirit level and shot-sheets as well as a lens shade. The lens shade is used to improve image contrast by reducing flare and cutting down the image circle, also protects the lens while working in the rain. The spirit level is used for making sure standards are aligned. The shot sheets are clipped on to the notepad using a bull clip.

Each shot-sheet contains the following fields:

• Series
• Subject
• Date
• Time
• Location
• Weather
• Temperature
• Light (sunny, overcast, harsh, soft...)
• GPS long and lat (this field is blank, but I’d like to be able to fill it out in future.)
• Reference for logging in image base.
• Lens
• Film, ISO , F-stop including series with nominal exposure, +/- 1/3.
• Bellows extension
• Fields for Rise, Swing, Tilt, and Shift for Front and Rear standards.
• Fields for metering (matrix, average, spot, grey card)
• Filters (e.g., Polaroid)
• Exposure factors from bellows draw and filters
• Reciprocity errors for long exposures.
• Comments either for developing or after the film has come back from the lab.

Filling out the shot-sheet is quick, and ensures that I do not forget anything. The data sheets are folded once, and placed in the plastic binder sleeves with the film sheets once they are developed. I cross the set of exposures off the data sheet from the sheets I toss.

Operating the view camera is done in a series of steps, whose order is crucial. Reversing some of the steps will ruin the image. Reversing some other steps will unnecessarily waste time not mention a loss of opportunity and expense. Although this might seem complicated, I always stick to the same sequence. By following this same sequence I can concentrate on the subject. Although this is becoming second-nature, I include the sequence on the shot-sheet as a reminder. I’ve gotten in to the habit of running through the checklist out loud every time I prepare to click the shutter.

1. Choose the camera position, approximate orientation, focal length.
2. Set up and level the tripod and camera (front standard forward).
3. Attach the lens and open it to full aperture.
4. Focus roughly using the rear focusing sing knob.
5. Adjust the composition using rise, fall and shift.
6. Focus precisely with rear tilts/swings and loupe.
7. Determine the optimal aperture.
8. Re-adjust slightly the composition.
9. Adjust filters and compendium shade.
10. Check for vignetting.
11. Close the lens, cock the shutter, rap and insert the film holder.
12. Determine the shutter speed.
13. Set the aperture and shutter speed.
14. Remove the dark slide.
15. Look at the subject.
16. Fire the shutter with a cable release.
17. Put the darkslide back in.
18. Remove the filmholder (check the groundglass).
19. Make a second identical exposure (Bracket if required -1/3,0,+1/3).

I used to climb with a guy who’d spent time in the Himalaya’s, even when we were on the local crag he used to go through a safety checklist every time he tied in or abseiled. This was to make sure that his oxygen starved brain would get the message at altitude. The same thing applied when I was a professional ski-patroller, we always wore our avalanche transceivers so we wouldn’t have to remember to put them on the high-risk days. There are enough variables of light, let alone so many things to go wrong with a L-F shot (not to mention its expense) to make reading through the checklist before committing to the shot a no-brainer.

Side pockets:

• Water bottle. Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink. You'd have to be as desperate as Burke and Wills to drink out of the river, so I carry my own.
• Toilet Paper. Besides the obvious this is good for cleaning camera equipment.
• Mobile Phone. I use the stop watch on the mobile phone for timing long exposures.

Main compartment of the day-pack:

The inside of the bag contains the cameras, lenses and film holders. The Sinar F2 and Sinar Symmar-S 150mm lens (with cable release permanently attached) mounted on the camera sit on top of a piece of removable foam at the base of the pack. The camera is surprisingly compact when folded away.

I place the camera inside a nylon stuff sack for added protection and to stop it snagging on the other gear in the pack. Alongside the camera I slot in five double Lisco sheet film holders loaded with Fuji Velvia 100. I’ve chosen Velvia 100 over the classic Velvia 50 as it allows me to choose faster shutter speeds to freeze the effect of wind on foliage and any movement on the surface of the water caused by the current and breeze. The holders are sealed in a zip lock bag to protect from dust and packed in draw-string bag for extra protection.

Wrapped in a black t-shirt on top a piece of removable foam is my Nikon D200 with 18-200mm Nikkor lens. The Nikon is placed at the top of the bag in a stuff sack, so I can access it with ease. The Nikon is used not only independently, but also as a viewfinder and a meter for the Sinar. The Nikon allows me to capture any opportune shots of wildlife, rapidly changing light conditions as well as providing metering and the opportunity to check the exposure and composition. The t-shirt provides protection for the Nikon as well as doubling up as a focusing cloth.

Inside the support kit:

The support kit augments, repairs and adapts - and makes otherwise "impossible" photographs possible. In addition to the 5x Film Holders in the day-pack, the support kit includes an additional set of film holders loaded and ready for the next set-up. The support kit also contains a Fuji Quickload film holder and 5x Fuji Veliva 100 Quickloads in case I run out of sheet film. A sandwich size Tupperware container includes Nikon accessories (2x 1GB CF cards, D200 battery, shutter release, eyepiece) as well as the following:

• LED headlamp. Used as a focusing aid in dim light, as well as for setting up in the pre-dawn and twilight.
• Spare snap lock bag and rubber band.
• Swiss Army Knife.
• Nylon cord. Five metre of nylon cord is useful for repairs, securing tripods and tying back trees.
• Jewellers screwdrivers.
• Cable-release. Cable releases are fragile and forever jamming.
• Shower Cap. Ideal for protecting the camera from rain and dust between shots.

Also in the support kit:

• Canned air. The Barmah Forest is a dusty environment, I use the canned air to blow dust particles off lenses, the ground glass, holders, and filters.
• Masking tape. I use this for for adding notes to film holders as well as making emergency repairs in lieu of Gaffer tape which I also keep in the car.
• Folded piece of foil. I attach this to the Lastolite grey-card to transform it into a reflector. This can be useful for adding a bit of fill light for macros shots or a close foreground.
  

Other stuff including Tripod:

The Sinar rail clamp and plate is permanently attached to the Manfrotto tripod. For this trip I'm hiring a Manfrotto 028B studio tripod with a 229 Pro Head. The 028B has a non-rollback geared centre column, spirit levels and rubber feet with retractable spikes. As I’m close to the car the extra weight of the tripod is compensated by the rock solid stability. I also have the following items in the car at all times: umbrella, first aid kit (watch out for snakes!), gas stove, and ground sheet.

Total weight of Pack: 8kgs

Total weight of Support Kit: 3kgs

That's it, compact, lightweight and hopefully it's all the gear I'll need this weekend to capture the the Barmah Forest in glorious large format.