I'm not sure I can go back to my previous sweetheart (4x5). I finally got out with my new Tachihara, which I brought along for a friend's engagement party at McKell Park in Double Bay. To say the camera caused a stir is not doing it justice. It was quite the centre of attention. I took 4 film holders loaded with TMax 400 and captured 4 images. I developed them earlier this afternoon and I think it's fair to say they're the best negatives I've ever developed. I'll scan them and post them up this week.
I'm beginning to think the workflow with 8x10 is easier (for me, at least) than 4x5 because of restrictions it enforces. Because of the size I've found I'm restricted, in a good way, to how I work with this format - I have to load the film holders in a dark room rather than fumbling around with my change bag. I have no other option but to develop the negatives with trays. I'm also limited to the number of film holders I can take on an outing and I only have a single lens that I can use with the camera (unless my 210mm Caltar does in fact have enough coverage - I suspect it won't after all). I feel like I'm going back even further to basics.
And when I was shooting with the camera, as it's such a huge area to compose with and I'm going to be contact printing, what I see is exactly what I get. It was simple. I can only begin to imagine how the ULF guys experience composing an image. Developing the negatives was a pleasure. I developed two sheets at a time in slightly larger than 8x10 trays and found agitating and shuffling through those two sheets so easy compared with 4x5. I don't think I've been this excited and fired up about photography in a while (and I'm generally very excited about photography).
Anyway, I'll finish now but really excited and inspired at the moment. I think the camera will be coming to work with me tomorrow for some lunchtime shooting.