Friday 22 January 2010

Nifty gadget?



Using a large format camera is a real pleasure ... but there are times when it can be a pain in the rear! The whole process of taking a photograph with a viewcamera is like a carefully orchestrated ballet; okay maybe not a ballet but it does involve a number of planned moves and lord help you if you miss a stage out!

However, the main difference between photography with large format and (say) digital is the plethora of bits and pieces of gear that are needed to take the photograph! Photography should be simple .... yeah right! A DSLR and tripod might be simple enough but take a look in any LF photographers bag (usually a whopping Lowepro Trekker) and you'll see what I mean.

Once the camera/lens combination is set up on the tripod and the scene composed out come the gadgets! I'm talking dark cloth, light meter, filters, filter holders/adapters, lens hood, sheet film holders/double dark slides, roll film backs and rolls of 120 film, cable release, spirit level, lens cloth/brush, pen/notebook (to record exposure details), coffee maker, case of champagne, cuddly toy (aaahhh) and the list goes on.

Now being equipped with just one pair of hands I've always taken photographs by making sure that I've got the open backpack nearby the tripod so that all these "essentials" are close at hand;fine if you're on terra firma but what happens when you decide to venture into water? I'm only talking wading to knee-deep here but nevertheless this dictates that the said camera bag is likely to be some feet away or out of easy reach.

I can hear you ... use a photovest!

Now I've tried them ... and to be honest I always feel a bit of a nerd! Photovests are fine if you're a budding photojournalist in a war zone but they do (when I wear one) look ridiculous. Once I've filled the pockets with what I need I look like the "Michelin Man" and I've yet to find one that suits the LF user - the pockets are way too small for things like darkslides/Quickload holders.

I've always been on the lookout for something to carry my "bits" when the camera bag is not immediately to hand; I've tried smaller shoulder bags in the past and they can hold a bit of gear but they tend to be bulky and not ideal when ducking back and forth beneath a darkcloth; the same goes for the "bumbag-type" of bag, they don't move but don't hold much gear either!

I also tried the Silvestri Tripod Apron and this was almost the answer to my prayers - but too few pockets and those that it had were a bit too small - I'm fussy I know!

Enter... the "Chestvest" from a US-based company called "Newswear". At first glimpse it does look something akin to a military flak jacket but bear with me and I'll try and convince you otherwise! The idea behind the vest is that it incorporates a lightweight but heavy-duty harness with an "apron" of lightly-padded pouches designed to take large lenses for.....news teams? However, the pockets are perfect for my "bits"!
The two central pockets are bellowed and will comfortably accept three 5x7 double dark slides in each or I can get my Canham 6x17 motorised roll film back in one and the ground glass screen from the Titan XL in the other ... happy days!
The two central pockets are flanked by smaller pockets that will comfortably hold a light meter and Lee filters/filter holders. The flaps of these pouches are also pockets for smaller items like cable releases, spirit levels etc.
Most importantly for me the whole assembly is quite comfortable to wear - despite the harness not being padded. It means that I can "load up" and wade out without having to return to the bank/shore/backpack to take the photograph!

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