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"Miles from nowhere
Guess I'll take my time
To reach there
Look up at the mountain
I have to climb
To reach there ..."

Standing on one of the giant granite outcrops that give the Ramshead Range its character I watch the storm sweep towards me across the main range. The vision of Mt Kosciuszko falters then vanishes behind a wall of sleet; a wall that will engulf me before my beard is much longer.

Looking around I see nothing to remind me of humanity. No roads, no buildings, no people. Only nature's objects, the giant granite tors, last winter's surviving snowdrifts, and the approaching storm. I am alone with the elements in the solitude of the Australian bush.

For years I dreamed of being a landscape photographer, working with a traditional style of camera that's changed little in over a hundred years. The words of Frank-n-furter haunted me: "Don't dream it, be it" he implored. So I stopped dreaming, purchased a five-by-four field camera, and proceeded to "be it".

Raindrops return me to the present, turning from the weather I walk to my nearby shelter. As I tread the soft alpine heath I think about what drives me to photograph the landscape.

The words of Cat Stevens come to mind. Like him I'll climb the mountain, and like him I'll "reach there", but unlike him I'm searching for an elusive combination of shape and form. An interplay of natural entities such as eucalypt and granite. The right light, and the calm state of mind that allows me to stop looking at objects and start seeing relationships and balance.

Only when all these elements are in harmony do I find what I'm looking for. A tranquil state of mind and matter that allows me to create images that are, by most accounts, peaceful and beautiful.

For I feel privileged to know the solitude of the Australian bush and I hope that, through my photographs, those who have been there will remember; and those who have not will find the will to go.

The storm hits, plucking at the fabric of my frail shelter as if trying to cast it to the valley below. This is nature at its most raw, it's wild and it will get worse before I see the cold light of dawn. I lay down, close my eyes and search for sleep with the sound of rain on canvas as my guide.

I marvel at how lucky I am.

"...Miles from nowhere
Not a soul in sight
But it's alright"

2022	Oops, this is 14 years out of date, I better fix that. Meanwhile the timeline (below) is more up to date.
2007-8	Building Wothahellizat Mk2.
2005-7	Travelling around Australia photographing nature and writing magazine articles.
2004	One of several of Australia's leading photographers invited to take photos for a WWF-funded book on the Tarkine Wilderness, a project designed to help have this area World Heritage listed.
2003	Represented by Adrianno's Fine Art Gallery, Perth.
2002	Represented by The Wilderness Gallery, Cradle Mountain, Tasmania.
2001	Now live on the road full time, photographing Australia.
2000	Still building motorhome, will it never end?
1999	Ran two more MONOscapes workshops, this time we did three-day affairs in the Blue Mountains with walks into the Grand Canyon. Still building the motor home. Still guest lecturing at the Canberra School of Photography.
1998	Taught first MONOscapes workshop. It was a success so we have scheduled another for 1999. Still guest lecturing at the Canberra School of Photography. Otherwise very quite photographically, too busy building my motor home
1997	Regular guest lecturer at the Canberra School of Photography. Designed and release a new range of 40 greeting cards. Designed and released seven posters featuring National Parks and other wilderness areas. Started writing a regular column in a new magazine about black & white photography published by The Black & White Enthusiast. Finished the book MONOscapes:The thoughts and images of Rob Gray.
1996	Regular guest lecturer at the Canberra School of Photography. Gave talks on landscape photography at camera, bushwalking and cross country skiing clubs, also at local high school. Released range of 32 greeting cards. Approached by The Black & White Enthusiast to write a book about black & white landscape photography. Images selected for the Creative Monochrome yearbook (one of a handful of photographers to be selected for all three editions).
1995	Opened The Rob Gray Gallery in Canberra. Images selected for the Creative Monochrome yearbook.
1994	First solo exhibition. Started selling photographs at local markets. Image selected for the Creative Monochrome yearbook.
1993	Returned to photography, specialising in large format black & white landscapes.
1981-93	Left photography to work in the computing industry. Although I kept in touch by teaching adult classes in basic photography and darkroom practices. I also wrote and/or photographed articles for travel magazines on subjects such as London, Paris, African wildlife and bushwalking.
1979	Newspaper photographer, Grafton. General photography of sports and events with the occasional fire and storm damage photos.
1978	Darkroom technician, A&B Studios, London. All forms of darkroom work for the advertising industry, including extremely accurate stripping of line and half-tone negatives. Also did much of the product photography for the studio. Joined Globe Photos stock library, New York.
1975-76	Employed by Noel Holly (Illustrations P/L in Perth) as a commercial/product photographer. Studio and in-store product photography. Smaller industrial jobs and assisting Noel with larger jobs. Fashion and model's folio shots. Interior and exterior architectural work.
1972-75	Darkroom technician with the Australian Information Service in Canberra. Also wedding work.
1971	'Asked' to leave school. I never went back. Nearly joined the Army, passed medical but, after being kicked out of boarding school because I couldn't handle the discipline, how clever would it have been to join the Army
Non-photographic experience includes, barman, greenkeeper, farm hand, plumber's mate, telecom technician, electronic engineer, carpenter, welder, metal worker, mailroom clerk, dry wall fixer, software engineer, garbage man, forklift operator, furniture manufacturer, clerk, diplomatic mail courier, sugar boiler.

In 2000 we left the rat race to live on the road and until last year (2018) I really had no opportunity to exhibit. That changed recently as we have now dropped anchor and I also worked in a local gallery. I now plan to exhibit more often.
Solo Exhibitions
2018	Australian Nature, Courthouse Gallery, Gin Gin.
1999	Australian MONOscapes, North Light Gallery, Toronto, Canada (cancelled, I think the gallery folded).
1997	Silver & Silicon, The Arts Factory, Watson.
1996	Untitled, Gallery Restaurant, University of Canberra
1995-6	Untitled, Mooi Café, Canberra
1994-5	Tranquil Light, QANTAS Club lounge, Canberra. National Parks, Kosciuszko NP Headquarters, Sawpit Creek.
1994	MONOscapes, Graphix Gallery, Canberra
Group Exhibitions
1995	Photex 95 AIPP Print Awards, Link Gallery, Canberra. Six Canberra Photographers, Bungendore Woodworks Gallery.
1994	Lost & Found, PhotoAccess, Canberra. Ten out of ten, Link Gallery, Canberra Untitled, Kayell, Canberra. Photex 94
1993	Vote 1 the Budawangs, PhotoAccess, Canberra .

NOTE: Sometime in 1997 I decided not to enter any more competitions. Much as I think it's important to have your work judged by your peers I felt I was in danger of taking photos just to win competitions and earn more brownie points. In 2005 I got over it and started submitting to competitions again but only a couple. I no longer see much point to be honest.

2006 ANZANG nature photographer of the year

Runner up in the Interpretive photography category with image #21162

Highly commended in the Black & White section with image #00342

2006 Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Short listed in the world's most prestigious and hotly contested competition (used to be called British Gas Wildlife Photographer of the Year).

 

2005 ANZANG nature photographer of the year

Runner up in the Botanical category with image #10279

 

1997 ACT AIPP print awards

Winner of Ilford open black & white print award.

Winner of Most Outstanding Portfolio award

Highest scoring black & white print

1996 ACT AIPP print awards

Joint winner of Ilford open black & white print award.

1996 Nikon Panorama Photographer of the Year

Honourable mention.

1995 Photex '95

Winner of "Peoples Choice" award.

3rd in "Self Commissioned" section.

1995 Escalade Nikon Photographic Competition

Winner of Ilford award for best black & white print.

1995 ACT AIPP print awards

Joint winner of Ilford open black & white print award.

3rd in "Landscape & Pictorial" section.

1995 Heritage Acquisitive Photographic Awards

Three acceptances.

1994 Kosciuszko Nikon Photo Competition

Best overall photo.

Best photo, landscape section.

1994 Blue Mountains for World Heritage Competition

1st in open black & white section.

2nd in open black & white section.

Panasonic FZ-2500

This is an amazing camera. So far it can do all I currently need of a camera although I suspect it might not be up to the job for fast-moving wildlife. That may or may not matter as these days I mostly photograph pretty static objects. Meanwhile I am enjoying not carrying 20kgs of gear around.

With a zoom of 28-480mm it cover most scenarios, I would like wider but this can usually be handled using panorama techniques.

 

Canon gear

I've owned Canon professional camera equipment for nearly 50 years, starting with my first AE1 in the mid-seventies. In 2004, after two or three years following the progress of digital equipment, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a digital kit.

Because I had old Canon FD equipment (which was totally incompatible with Canon's EOS system) I may just as well have bought into Nikon or maybe Olympus. I stuck with Canon because I felt they had the best solution to my needs, and also because in all those years of using Canon equipment it has seldom let me down.

Canon EOS 1Ds mk2 x 4
Canon EOS 1D mk2 N x 2
Canon EOS 10D x 2
11-24/4 L zoom
17-40/4 L zoom
24-105/4 L IS zoom
100/2.8 macro
70-200/2.8 L IS zoom
400/4 DO IS
1.4x converter x 2
2x converter
Right-angle finder
Extension tubes
420EX flash
580EX flash
MT-24EX macro flash
STE2 flash transmitter
Gitzo 2220 tripod
Tamrac 5578 backpack
Wimberly quick release clamps
Wimberly Plamp
Better beamer flash extender

 

Canon EOS 1DS Mk2

At 16.7 mpx it was the world's best full-frame digital camera when it was released way back in 2004, that was 16 years ago, roughly equivalent to three centuries in camera years, but I still use them. The quality of the images this camera produces was quite incredible and it's just as good now, sure the new cameras are better, but the Mk2 are well good enough and quite affordable these days.

These cameras are used when I am primarily looking for landscape photos, and to be fair a 5D would be better in many ways as it weighs 890gms and the 1Ds is 1500gms.

So why not buy a 5D or other modern full-frame body at less than half the price? Mostly because I often use two or three cameras at the same time with different lenses, when I do this I like all cameras to be exactly the same physically so when I swap I'm not fumbling with a different user interface.

These days I have lenses permanently attached to these bodies, namely my 11-24, 24-105, 70-200+1.4 and 400+1.4, so I almost never have to swap lenses, I just pick up the one or two I'll need for a shot. Of course I'm mostly car based now, if I go bush walking again I'll have to whittle things down a tad.

 

 

Canon EOS 1D Mk2 N

If this isn't the world's best camera for photographing wildlife (at the time of writing) I'll eat my Landcruiser. Whereas the 1Ds (above) has amazing quality and reasonable speed, the 1D has amazing speed and good quality.

At 8mpx and 8fps this camera is tuned for sport and wildlife. It also has a smaller sensor than the 1Ds effectively making all lenses 1.3x longer, always a good thing with wildlife photography.

 

 

Canon EOS 10D

While not a pro-quality camera the 10D was very good in its day. These bodies are now just kept as backups.

 

11-24 f4 L zoom

This is an amazing lens, wide as all heck and sharp to boot. It also weighs a ton so I won't be using it on long bushwalks.

 

17-40 f4 L zoom

The selection of a wide-angle zoom was one of the main reasons I delayed my move into digital, because at the time I could only afford a crop-sensor camera. What really tipped the balance for me was an analysis of my photos.

Although I've always had very wide lenses, down to 14mm, and considered myself a keen wide-angle user, I found that wasn't necessarily the case.

In analysing the 1000s of images on my database I found that only about 300 were taken with lenses wider than 28mm. If I narrowed the search to those images I considered to be "good", I had only about 30 wide angle (<28mm) shots. When I looked at my "best", there was only 3.

This realisation finally got me over my wide angle hangup, so, as the 17-40 is equivalent to 27-64 on the 10D (and of course much wider on the 1D and 1Ds bodies I now use), and it was half the cost of the 16-35/2.8, my decision was made.

The bottom line is that you tend to see photos that it's possible to take with the equipment you have. For years I used a 5x4 camera with only two lenses, 90 and 210mm (roughly equivalent to 30 and 70mm lenses on a full-frame DSLR). No super wides here, and yet I made some of my best ever images with that combination.

All that said, Canon have now got a 16-35/4 with IS, if I ever get cashed up enough to essentially duplicate the 17-40 I might just buy one.

 

24-105 f4 L IS zoom

Fantastic lens and, on a full-frame camera at least, the ideal walk-around bottle. It's a bit long for this on a 1.6 factor camera (38-168mm equiv) but fills the gap between my 17-40 and 70-200 (which I mostly use on a 1.4 converter) nicely.

Fantastically sharp, and the IS is great. I'll never buy a lens without IS again.

 

100 f2.8 macro

You can stick any lens on extension tubes to get macro capability, and that's what I used to do. But a good macro lens will blow you away.

Firstly the quality is way better, the lens is designed for this job.

Secondly, with a longer focal length, you get an improved working distance. To get 1:1 (approx.) with extension tubes I used to put a 28mm lens on a 25mm tube. This worked, but the subject was in focus when about 20mm from the lens. Very few subjects will allow you to get this close, and those that do want to attack their reflection.

With a 100mm macro you can get 1:1 with the lens's front element still being about 150mm from the subject.

Even at 2:1 I'm still several inches from the subject.

I always wanted a 180 or 200mm macro but they are very expensive. With the 10D I get the equivalent of 160mm for a reasonable price and weight, and on the 1D it's a 130mm lens.

This is a fantastic lens, the sharpest thing I've ever seen by itself, and still very good with the 1.4 converter and/or extension tubes.

 

70-200 f2.8 L IS zoom

This is one serious lens, it's heavy (1.3kgs), but that's OK for such a useful focal length. It normally has a 1.4x converter mounted giving it a 98-280 equivalent focal length.

The IS works well, the auto focus is fast, and the lens is very sharp, all of which you would expect for 3500-odd dollars.

This is probably the best lens of its type in the world. Unbelievably sharp even at 2.8, extremely good with the 1.4 converter, and still pretty good with the 2x, if you stop down one stop.

 

400 f4 DO IS

Pics I take with this lens are RAZOR sharp, even wide open with the 1.4 and 2x converters. In fact one image with the 2x is so sharp it looks like it's been taken with a 50 1.8.

I do get some soft shots but that's my technique, or lack thereof. A 1.4x lives almost permanently on this lens giving a full-frame equivalent focal length of 727mm (on my 1D Mk2) in a package I can handhold and that's light enough to carry around just in case I need it.

This is one fantastic lens.

 

1.4x converters

These work well with my long lenses and in fact are almost permanently mounted to them. Loss of image quality is not noticeable (unlike the 2x).

One of these converters gives me a 98-280 equivalent focal length on the my 1Ds bodies and this, combined with the 11-24/4 and 24-105/4, gives me a good carry around range in three lenses (all at f4) of 11mm through to 280mm.

In the 1D bodies I get a range of 127-364 when used with the 70-200, this ia a nice range for most large and/or approachable wildlife, and still fairly fast at f4.

The other lives permanently on my 400/4 DO lens as mentioned above.

 

2x converter

Back what I used the 10D bodies this doubled my 70-200, giving me a 35mm equivalent of 224-640/5.6 (182-520 on the 1D Mk2). As it happens this range is good for most smaller wildlife, especially birds, which is why I bought the converter.

The combination is a little slow for my liking (f5.6) and really should be stopped down at least one stop for sharp images. This makes the 70-200 an f8 lens which is even slower, although still very usable in the field.

I have hardly used this since I bought the 400/4.

 

Right-angle finder

Don't leave home without one. One reason I stayed with the Canon F1 for 30 years was the speed finder, a device that allows you to look down into the camera and easily take low-angle photos without breaking your neck. The speed finder worked well, but was difficult to use when shooting vertical photos at ground level.

The right angle finder is better than the old speed finder, allowing the easy shooting of either horizontal or vertical photos with, if required, the camera right on the ground.

For a lot of macro work this is essential and it's also very useful for low-angle telephoto work as you can comfortably lie on the ground and look down into the viewfinder, not have to twist you neck to try and see horizontally. This in turn allows you to rest the heavy camera and long lens on the ground.

The only disadvantage the right-angle finder has is that it's a separate piece of equipment that must be attached or removed according to the needs of the shot. The old speed finder was part of the camera.

The right-angle finder has it's own dioptor adjustment, but there's no détentes, so I find that I'm resetting the focus every time I use it.

Some gaffa tape will be applied before long.

 

Extension tubes

The Canon documentation states that some lenses may not auto focus when placed on extension tubes. I find that the 70-200 zoom works with the tubes, but it's with the 100 macro that I need them the most, and that does tend to focus hunt more than normal on a 10D.

In general, when shooting macro with an extension tube, I switch to manual focus. However, if the subject is particularly fast moving, I'm more likely to get the shot with the auto focus enabled, it still misses, but not as much as I do. Normally macro work is done in manual exposure mode anyway so the above is of little importance.

 

420EX flash

In the past I've never been much of a user of flash, but that's because I hadn't encountered these new-generation versions. The 420 is fantastic, handling fill flash and off-camera macro work effortlessly.

But why not buy the next model up, the 550 (or 580)?

I wanted to be able to use the flash in wireless mode (see the STE2 below), the 550/580 can do that of course, but it's a lot more expensive, mostly because it can be a controller as well as a slave. The 420 can only be a slave.

But if you only need one flash, the 420+STE2 is a more versatile combination, allowing for both on- and off-camera flash. These two devices costs about the same as a single 550/580.

If you need two flashes anyway, and plan to always use one of them on-camera, then I'd get a 420 and a 550/580.

 

580EX flash

Just like the 420 only more so. This is now my primary flash for everything except macro. It's normally mounted on top of the 70-200's or the 400's tripod mount with the STE2 as a controller and a Better Beamer to increase its punch. This is a great combination for bird photography.

 

Better Beamer flash extender

The Better Beamer flash extender is basically a fresnel lens that you mount in front of your flash. It concentrates the flash beam so you can either use flash at a greater distance or use less power when the subject is close.

It weighs almost nothing and folds down flat so it will fit in a pocket and/or take up no room in your bag.

 

MT-24EX Macro flash

This is an amazing flash and I would recommend it to anyone who is into macro photography.

Used with both flashes mounted on the lens the light can be a bit flat depending on the subject, even with the ratio set to 8:1. eg. head A has 8x more light than head B.

It is however easy to remove one or both of the flash heads and place them further from the lens to give a more interesting light. I find that, so far, I have only done this once or twice, preferring to use a third flash if the subject will stay still long enough for me to set it up.

Each flash head has a hot shoe and a 1/4" threaded hole on the bottom, so you can mount them to just about anything if you wish. A friend of mine who has been using some special flash arms is considering buying this flash and mounting the heads on his existing arms. This will work well, and give more options with the lighting as the heads will be placed further apart.

After some use
Although there are about 20 possible ratios to select, ie. 8:1 through to 1:8 plus only head A or B, I find that I always use the two extremes, that is 8:1 or vice versa. This is because I'm trying to create light that is as interesting as possible. Unfortunately, to get from one extreme to the other you have to go though all the other possibilities by pressing a button a hundred times or holding it down and waiting for what seems like hours as it auto repeats.

It doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you only have seconds to get a shot this can be a bit frustrating.

 

STE2 flash transmitter

The STE2 will control the EX flashes wirelessly. This works well, and I find it very convenient to just place the flash on the ground and work around a subject without any wires.

However, you do need to keep the flash's sensor pointing roughly at the camera, and this has caused me to miss shots because I didn't realise that things weren't aligned as well as they should have been. It's very good, but not perfect.

 

Wimberly quick release clamps

For years I used a cheap quick release clamp, and to be fair it did a reasonable job. It was never very secure, but while it worked I didn't have the incentive to upgrade.

My cheap clamp broke a couple of years ago, so now I've moved to the Wimberly system, which is based on the Arca Swiss standard.

This stuff is very expensive, a few clamps and plates cost around A$550, but they do work well, and should last forever.

VERY well made, all the parts fit together like they were made for each other, which I suppose they were.

 

Gitzo G2220 Explorer tripod

I own about 300 tripods, and they all suited my purpose at the time they were purchased. But these days I need a flexible pod, one that is "macro friendly", that can independently move each leg, and with a centre column that can easily go to the horizontal or even upside down.

The original macro friendly tripod was the Benbo, and in fact I still own a Benbo 1 which I bought about 20 years ago. They are great, but I've grown to dislike the way that the entire tripod is held together by a single clamp, undo the clamp and all three legs plus the centre column can collapse. You get used to it of course, but it can be difficult to adjust, for example, just one of the legs when the centre column is poking out horizontally.

Also the Benbo 1 is quite large, way too big for backpacking. They do make a smaller version called the Trekker, but I felt it was time for a new approach.

Enter the Gitzo 2220 Explorer. Each leg is independent with an infinitely adjustable angle, and the centre column can be easily flipped to any angle and rotated. In short, exactly what I want.

There are several tripods on the market that have removable centre columns which can be inserted in various other configurations, the new Manfrotto 190 is one that springs to mind. However, removing and replacing the column in a different hole is nowhere near as convenient as just loosening a knob. Trust me on this.

Why not carbon fibre?
Several times over the years I've looked into buying a CF tripod, and, so far, I've come to the conclusion that they just aren't worth the money.

However I am looking at getting one soon, a saving of even just 1kg is a lot at the end of a 10k walk.

 

Wimberly Plamp

This marvelous gadget clamps to a solid object, usually the tripod leg, at one end, and a moving object at the other, thereby stopping the moving object from moving. For macro work this is invaluable.

First impressions
This device is made from parts you can easily get from a hardware or engineering shop, and in fact I did consider making my own. However, the price of the components was nearly as much as the Plamp, for example, the flexible part is just a coolant hose from a milling machine, $30 (Aus) from a shop in my town. It's only $45 for the entire Plamp and there's no mucking around.

The small clamp does appear to be a bit strong for my liking, it may actually crush a small plant. I'll see how it goes in the field.

 

Tamrac 5578 backpack

No exaggeration, I've owned just about EVERY camera case/backpack ever made, mostly because my kit, and photography style, has changed over the years.

I have two Lowepros, one is an over-the-shoulder type, good for short sorties, but it doesn't fit all my gear, and becomes a real pain in the shoulder very quickly. The other is a Nature Trekker, not bad, but a crappy harness and still not large enough.

After some research I decided to give Tamrac a try. In these days of digital photography I felt that the external compartments would be useful for memory cards, batteries etc. Plus the tripod should fit snuggly in between the compartments.

First impressions
The pack is longer and narrower than the photos indicate, that's fine by me.

The pockets in the external compartments don't hold batteries that well. I find I have to put 6 AAs in each so they're in tight enough not to fall out when I open the compartment. Trouble is, I use batteries in lots of four, not six.

My tripod fits nicely in between the compartments and straps on securely.

Overall, everything fits snuggly and appears to be safe and secure.

Camera

Lenses

Film holders

Tripod

Quick release plate

Light meter

Filters

Viewing frame

Linhof Universal finder

Change bag

Enlarger

Darkroom

Camera

When it comes to landscape photography I am unashamedly biased towards large format cameras.

The sheer quality of the image, the tonal range and the detail, all make the inconvenience worthwhile, even in this digital age.

I fully admit that they are difficult to use and carry, however I feel that features such as camera movements to help with depth of field and vertical convergence, and being able to process each sheet of film individually make the difficulties worth it.

Also, after recent experiences trying to keep up with the latest technology, I find it somewhat comforting to know that this particular camera design has changed little in over a hundred years.

The Tachihara 4x5 field camera is made of cherrywood and folds to a relatively small size. This style of camera, while not as sturdy as those made of metal, does the job and is ideal for landscape photography.

Of the large formats available I chose four by five inch (4x5") because I felt it was the best combination of practicality and image quality. There are other formats but each has disadvantages that I felt outweighed the advantages. For example, it is very difficult to get film for 5x7" and it's almost impossible to lug 8x10" equipment around the bush. Some people do, but they must have levels of fitness and/or determination much higher than mine. I own and use a Tachihara 4x5" view camera.

The Tachihara is made from brass and cherrywood and, while not as sturdy as its more expensive metal brethren, it is sturdy enough to do the job. Most importantly it is roughly half the weight of the metal variety. This feature alone is enough to earn a hearty recommendation. I haven't used any other similar view camera so I can't recommend the Tachihara over another brand. What I can recommend however is this style of camera (usually called a "field camera") as they fold and unfold very quickly and, as mentioned, are much lighter than the metal variety.

One common method used to enter the world of large format landscape photography is to buy an old press camera like Speed or Crown Graphic. I cannot recommend this approach for landscape work, especially of not car based. The cameras weigh a ton, their ground glass screens are usually very dim and most of them have no movements, or at least they don't have the movements that are vital for landscape work.

I bought my Tachihara about 25 years ago, they aren't made any more but if they were I'd still but one. That said there are some great new cameras available these days that are a lot cheaper I think, and pretty good by all accounts.

Lenses

My 35mm arsenal includes ten lenses, ranging from 16mm fisheye to 800mm mirror lenses. Despite this I find that I use my 28mm and 100mm almost exclusively.

Realising this I decided that I only needed two lenses when I put my large format kit together. I purchased a 90mm Nikkor SW and a 210mm Schneider Symmar. The Nikkor is very close in coverage to my 24mm lens, while the Symmar is more the equivalent of an 70mm short tele or portrait lens. Why did I choose these two lenses? Did I analyse test reports? Were they recommended by a colleague? No. They were simply the first two "name brand" lenses that I encountered while browsing the newspaper adds for secondhand photographic equipment.

Don't worry too much about what lenses you have. I find that I tend to "see" photos that will fit the lenses I have available.

Film holders

For 5x4" sheet film I have a dozen or so standard double dark holders. I also have three Grafmatics and a Kodak Readyload system. Unfortunately the Readyload system is no longer in production, but I still have some film and the holder, it's a great system and maybe one day they will re release it.

For my 6x12cm work I have a Horseman 6x12 roll film holder.

Tripod

When car based I use a Manfrotto #055. This is a huge tripod that will extend maybe seven feet and it also has legs that can be independently angled, important in uneven terrain.

When backpacking I use a Gitzo 2220.

Any photographer who works in the field has conflicting requirements when it comes to tripods. As mentioned on long walks I use a Gitzo, many people would tell you that this tripod is far too small for large format cameras and I would partially agree. However I'm not convinced that you need as sturdy a tripod as is often recommended for large format. When there is no wind almost any tripod will do, and when there is wind the design of the large format camera is such that it is easily buffeted and will probably move regardless of the tripod's stability. Anyway if your backpacking for days what choice do you have?

The Gitzo is however a little short which is very inconvenient at times, so on shorter walks I carry the large Manfrotto #055.

Most tripods come with a pan tilt head. These heads have one advantage in that you can move the head in the vertical dimension without disturbing the horizontal alignment, and vice versa. However most of them are quite heavy and have great big handles that catch on every branch you pass. There are solutions to these problems You can buy a lighter head, and it's often possible to get a version with shorter handles. Nevertheless I prefer a ball head. They have almost no protrusions and have a simple one-handed operation. I use both Benbo, Manfrotto and Slik ball heads and find they are all up to the job.

I like the look of geared heads but most are way too expensive for what they offer in my opinion.

Quick release plate

Regardless of what tripod and tripod head you use, I recommend that you attach your camera to it with a quick release plate.

These nifty little devices allow you to quickly attach and remove your camera without fumbling with threaded knobs. Quick release plates are very convenient when using SLR and rangefinder cameras as they allow you to explore an area to look for different compositions. For example, if you have set up your camera and then decide that the shot might look better from three metres to the left. You can quickly remove the camera and check out the new composition. If it doesn't look good just replace the camera.

Light meter

For my money there is only one kind of light meter that is of much use for landscape work: a spot meter.

I detail my reasons in the essay on my system of exposure and contrast control. Suffice to say that you need accurate readings from objects that are very small or appear that way because of their distance from the camera. A true spot meter with a one-degree angle of view is the only convenient way to do this. You can get spot attachments for a hand held meters, or cameras with a spot setting for the meter etc. but, to my knowledge, none of these options has a narrow enough angle of view.

I use a Pentax digital spot meter. I chose it because it is simple, small and light. Some spot meters can average multiple spot readings, take flash exposure readings etc. I don't think any of these features are important in landscape photography. All I need is a device that, when pointed at an object, will tell me how bright that object is.

You can get the Pentax calibrated to give it a flatter and more accurate response curve, frankly I don't think you need to be that accurate.

Filters

I use Cokin filters. This is mainly because, with adaptor rings fitted, the filter holder fits both lenses. Therefore I only need one of each filter type and one lens hood.

Speaking of lens hoods, I find the Cokin model particularly good because it comes in sections that clip into each other to adjust the depth of the hood. I own two of these sections and use one on my wide angle lens and two on the tele. If I had a longer tele I could buy a third section to increase the depth even further.

At present I use only two filters, Orange and Red. However Cokin is renowned for the vast array of special effects filters they manufacture. I make my opinions about special effects filters plain elsewhere so I won't waste any more time on them here.

Viewing frame

With a rangefinder or SLR camera it is an easy matter to wander around the countryside checking out different compositions through the viewfinder. This is not so with most large format cameras, so you need a viewfinder equivalent.

If you were to take a 35mm slide mount and hold it 300mm from your eye, the area visible through the hole in the mount would be equivalent to that visible through a 300mm lens. Move the mount to 100mm from your eye and you can see what your 100mm lens would see, etc. The same applies for any format if you use a frame that is equal in size to the negative of that format.

Enter the viewing frame. A viewing frame is basically a rectangle of cardboard or similar material with a hole cut that is the same size as the negative of the camera you are using, in my case four by five inches. If I hold this frame 210mm from my eye I can see what will be included in a photo taken with my 210mm Symmar lens, holding it at 90mm shows me what my wide angle lens will see.

I knew about viewing frames for a long time but could not think of a convenient method to measure the distance from my eye while using one. Then I spent some time photographing with friends of mine on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and was dumbfounded at the simplicity of the method they used. A piece of string, calibrated and used as follows. Cut some string about one metre in length, punch a hole in the frame and thread both ends of the string through the hole. The string should now form a loop. Put this loop around your neck and slide the frame along the string. When the frame is at appropriate distances from your eye (90 and 210mm in my case) mark the string with a marker pen. Now remove the string from your neck and tie a knot in the position of the mark that was furthest from your eye. Trim any excess string and you have a calibrated viewing frame.

To use it, simply put the string loop around your neck, pull the frame out to the knot when viewing for your longest lens and in to the marks for your other lenses.

Linhof Universal finder

I still have a viewing frame but these days prefer to use a Linhof Universal finder.

These finders have a focal length range of 90-360mm for 5x4" cameras, and as I have a 90 and plan to buy a 360 Nikkor soon this is a good match.

Change bag

A change bag is a light-proof bag with two sleeves for you to insert your arms. Change bags are often used by camera stores to rescue a half exposed roll of film from a jammed camera. Reloading double-darks in the field is another use for them and, on long car-based trips, I sometimes need to do just that. However I avoid using them like the plague as they harbour dust and, in hot weather, cause your hands to sweat profusely which is bad news if you touch the emulsion of a sheet of film.

Despite this I carry a change bag at all times. On two occasions it has got me out of trouble when Grafmatic film holders failed. Once, while photographing on the side of a steep cliff, the Grafmatic jammed. I had already used three sheets of film and did not want to lose them, but I could not remove the Grafmatic from the camera without jeopardising the film. I placed the entire camera inside the change bag, removed the Grafmatic and applied some percussion maintenance (I bashed it) to free the jam. My change bag also does double duty as a focusing cloth.

Enlarger

I used to use a Beseler 45MCRX enlarger. This enlarger was built like a brick outhouse and is a real workhorse. It can handle formats from 35mm to 4x5" and uses either a colour diffusion or a black & white condenser head. I owned both and normally used the colour head but occasionally had to mount the condenser head to increase contrast when printing very thin negatives.

Darkroom (no more I'm afraid)

Most of my other darkroom equipment is very standard and includes a simple electronic timer, large fibreglass and small stainless steel sinks, an old cabinet-style clothes drier, two secondhand work benches (one holds the enlarger and the other is used as a general work area), an archival print washer, light table, processing trays in various sizes up to 20x24" and a stereo.

For prints that are too large to be processed in the trays, I have three large troughs. These troughs are long enough to accommodate the standard 42" roll paper.

Processing tanks
When I started developing sheet film I had all sorts of problems obtaining even development and consistent results. At the time I was using a daylight processing tank, the design of which seemed to preclude even development. In despair I tried tray development but couldn't get the hang of it. Finally I designed and built my own set of small dip and dunk tanks and a special hanger that holds up to six sheets of film. The results were a revelation. Perfectly even and consistent negatives. The only catch is that the entire process must be performed in darkness, so I needed a method of timing. A friend reminded me of a method using a tape recorder so I recorded a set of tapes that prompt at appropriate times, telling me to "Put the film into the stop bath" etc.

Note: David Houlder, a friend of mine, took my design and modified it to improve the way the sheets are held. He has documented the design at, davidhoulder.com/info/4x5tanks.html

One aspect of my darkroom that was slightly innovative was the plumbing and construction of the large sink. It was built as a free standing unit, with all copper plumbing built into the framework of the sink and connected to the main water supply with two washing machine hoses.

This arrangement satisfies three requirements. First, it is legal because it connects to existing taps; second, it is easily isolated if a leak occurs; and third, it can be removed and reinstalled with a minimum of fuss, an important consideration when I move house.

2 x Canon F1 bodies with MD motor drives and speedfinders
2 x Canon F1N bodies with MD motor drives and speedfinders
Canon T90 body
FD lenses - 14/2.8L. 20/2.8, 24/1.4L, 28/2.8, 50/1.8, 85/1.2L, 100/2.8, 135/2, 200/2.8, 300/4L, 300/2.8L

The panorama images on this are all created by stitching together exposures from a digital camera.

I am finding that creating panoramic images is very much like working with large format cameras. You have to be very deliberate in deciding what to photograph, because there is quite a lot of work involved in setting up the camera.

It's a slower more methodical approach than normal shooting, and as with large format photography has a very high hit rate, most images are worth keeping.

While not all images in this gallery are of the true panorama format, ie. with a ratio >= 3:1, they have all been created with panorama software. Therefore, for the purposes of this web site, I call them panoramas, even if they are square.

In the technical part of each gallery page, FOV stands for Field of View, therefore FOV 220 means that the photo covers an angle of 220 degrees in width (or height if it's a vertical photo).

The panorama size is the number of horizontal and vertical photos, for example "4x3 panorama" means three rows of four photos were combined to make the final image.

The graphic below shows some typical examples.

What software is used?
After trying several other well-known stitching programs I settled on PTGui. I could get no other program to properly merge the images, especially when there were objects close to the lens (and I do rotate around the lens's nodal point).

Some years ago PTGui used to be a bit more fiddly than the others, mostly because you had to manually define control points so it knew what points on image boundaries correspond to the same place in each adjoining image. Even then it was worth the effort to get a properly stitched panorama.

However it now has an "idiot mode" that will automatically generate the control points, I find this works really well 99% of the time. Very occasionally I have to go in and set a few control points manually.

This program actually works, producing well-stitched panoramic images requiring minimal work in Photoshop to complete the merge.

Visit the PTGui web site.

The technical detail displayed on most photo gallery pages are there because most photographers like to know some of this stuff, and because, with the digital photos at least, it's easy to extract the information.

Older photos may or may not have any details. Usually I can remember the lens, and sometimes I can remember either the aperture OR the shutter speed because one of these was significant. For example, if the photos was taken hand-held, in low light, with my 300/2.8, then it's a given that the aperture used was 2.8.

Although I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, I can often remember these details about a photo I took 30 years ago.

For digital photos the number in brackets is the 35mm equivalent focal length, for example,

Canon EOS 10D, 70-200mm@122(390), 2x extender, fill flash, 1/350s, f5.6

This image was taken with a 70-200mm zoom set to 122mm which, when including the 2x extender, is equivalent to a 390mm lens on a full-frame camera (The 10D has a 1.6 crop factor, therefore 122x2x1.6=390).

The f-number is the actual value, which is not necessarily the number indicated on the lens at the time. In the above example the lens was set to f2.8, but with a 2x extender the actual f-number was 5.6.