Swift

Being swift or quick is not really a large format thing. Slow and precise is more like it. But when I was photographing in the Fort Worth Stockyards near the ruins of the old Swift plant I could not resist working swift into an image.

The camera is set up with the 210mm lens and is all twisted up to photograph a window with very shallow DOF.

A Good Tripod

A good tripod is a must for large format photography. It is good for most any photographer, but when one starts playing around with a view camera they take on a whole new importance.

Most any tripod can hold a plastic DSLR with kit lens. It takes a beast of a tripod to work with an 8x10. Ok, maybe not a beast, but you need a solid support. That means no cheapies. Quality and solid support costs.

Here is mine in action. It is a Gitzo 1325 with a Kirk BH-1 ballhead. It is one rock solid combo. Take a look at the pose we have here.

Vertical camera with alot of extension for macro work. The Arca is bulky and weighs a fair amount. There is no extension on the legs, they are set to minimum height with no extra angle.

This aint moving.

Hitting the Bricks

Out in the Fort Worth Stockyards things were looking down. At the bricks that is.

Love the brick streets they still have in the 'yards. Make a great photograph.

Most of the bricks were made about an hour from here in Thurber. Thurber was big company town-brickworks and coal mine. It had 16,000 residents. Nothing left but a smokestack today.

Here I am isolating a few bricks for an image.

You might also notice the extra long rail. I never got the extension so I just use both of my 30cm rails for this type of closeup work. The tripod holds them both easy. This is a solid setup.

Stockyards

Here is the Arca set up photographing an old building in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards.

Something about the quality of the Stockyards that really wants to be photographed with a view camera.

Sure you can make more images snapping away with your DSLR but going slow and contemplating is good. Some numbers. I was here on Saturday with DSLR and took 250 images. I went back Sunday with the Arca and took 7. That's right-seven.

I have walked past this particular building without giving it much thought. Today it was my subject. I spent over two hours with this one building and made seven different images.

It is just a whole different way of working.

Old Pen

An old pen in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

The maze of old cattle pens in the Fort Worth Stockyards are full of history and suprises. The is no telling what you might find. From old ironwork, to horseshoes, to sunflowers.

This view is of an old trough, a builing with scale to weigh the incoming cattle, and the rodeo arena in the back.

This is a great place to be with an old camera and is perfect for black and white. There is still a daily cattle drive and even a actor troupe that appears in period costumes to interact with folks along Exchange Avenue.