About eight years ago I decided to expand my craft by learning the Zone System employing the techniques devised by Ansel Adams. At the time I was using a medium format system that I had moved to after shooting with 35mm for many years and I was frustrated by my inability to translate the exposure and development tests from single sheet film as used by Adams to the roll film that I was using. I sent my exposed and developed film off for measurement on a densitometer only to find that the results made no sense.

Instead of pilot error I naturally put the blame on my equipment and decided to make the plunge into large format. I sold my Hasselblad kit (a dreadful mistake that I now rue almost daily) and purchased a wooden 4x5 field camera made by Ebony, a Japanese firm that makes exquisite cameras from the eponymous wood, along with several lenses and all of the other large format paraphernalia such as a dark cloth, film holders and the like.

I also purchased a small densitometer that had been marked down and a book by the late Phil Davis entitled, "Beyond The Zone System.” It took about three readings for the message to start sinking in but at last my tests started to make sense and in a matter of weeks I was creating superb negatives using the Ebony and a trusty Zone VI spot meter.

Large format affords the photographer a number of advantages. By employing the camera’s “movements” (rise and fall, tilt, swing and shift) one can effect a great degree of control over depth of field  and plane of focus. The large surface area of the film translates into much greater resolution than is available even from medium format. Sharpness and detail are breathtaking...and there are no batteries that require recharging.

Like life, photography is full of yin and yang so in every case where there are positives, negative tradeoffs also arise. Large format systems are cumbersome, focusing is tricky and employing the aforementioned movements can be frustrating. There is a lot to think about and, therefore, plenty of room for error.

All in all, I enjoyed using large format. The coolness factor is considerable. I am certain that there have been more pictures taken of me using the Ebony than I have taken with it. Countless times I have been under the dark cloth and heard a car door open, approaching footsteps, and a few shutter clicks.

My pictures were technically superb. They had high resolution, extraordinary sharpness and detail, perfect exposure...and most of them were almost completely lifeless. I was thinking too much and trying too hard. This stuff is supposed to be fun!

It was during my foray into the retro art of large format and the Zone System that digital photography was progressing from a mere curiosity into a full blown alternative to traditional silver halide photography. When inkjet printers and media (inks and papers) improved to the point where digital prints offered an excellent tonal range with longevity as long as or longer than silver halide prints, I decided to make the switch. (I described this to my large format sensei, John Sexton, as going over to the “Dark Side.”)

I bought a DSLR and the spontaneity that its use afforded brought my prints back to life. Once again, however, I found a compensating yin to the yang of digital. Professional DSLR’s are pretty darn complicated with their labyrinthine layers of menus and submenus. They are also quite bulky. Toting one around with an f2.8 zoom lens attached is like doing penance. I am not an artist who believes in suffering for his craft. I was desparately in need of lightening the load since I didn’t thnk that I could afford to hire a full time bearer (although I suppose that a burro could be useful for that purpose and have the side benefit of keeping my lawn trimmed.)

Luckily for me, my favorite camera company (and endangered species), Leica, has produced a full format sensor digital version of its M series rangefinder cameras – the M9. The latter employs 18 megapixels thereby allowing medium format quality in a compact and lightweight camera that is free of many of the DSLR’s excesses. With my Tri Elmar attached and a 90mm Summicron in a pocket, I have available 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 90mm focal lengths in a kit that is easily transported anywhere without strain on anything other than my wallet. In order to cover focal lengths greater than 90mm, I also carry a micro four-thirds system camera – the Lumix GF1 manufactured by Panasonic. The latter has available zoom lenses designed by Leica and, with an adaptor, can accept Leica M lenses. Even with one of the longer zooms attached, the GF1 weighs less than 2 pounds.

Hence, I have come full circle having gone from 35mm to medium format to large format and back to 35mm format. I have done so while actually gaining resolution over medium format and lightening my load considerably. Throw in the new lighter tripods and I am definitely in the sweet spot of photography.