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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Transforming Large Format


Landscape master Jack Dykinga’s new “secret” view camera is in the form of a modern DSLR

By Jack Dykinga
Labels: Camera Technique, How To

This Article Features Photo Zoom

Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, Calif. This image was shot with the full moon providing the main illumination and starlight providing background. Dykinga used ISO 1600 on the Nikon D3 and a 24mm Nikkor PC. The result is a composite of five images.

Jack Dykinga doesn’t treat his newest camera as a state secret, although it would be understandable if he did. After all, he calls it a “secret large-format camera.” And it’s made by Nikon. No, Dykinga doesn’t literally have a Nikon view camera. What he has are the same D3 and D3X as many other professional photographers. But through his ingenuity, Dykinga has developed a technique that he says rivals the results he long has achieved with 4x5 film. That’s especially remarkable coming from someone who practically swore off digital cameras.

“My issue with digital in the past,” Dykinga explains, “has always been that I’m going to stay with film until digital is better, or equal. And what’s happened now is that equalization. When you do three across, when I get that file size bumping into 300-plus megabytes, then I’ve got to ask myself. I’ve already made prints for a show at Mountain Light Gallery, of bristlecone pines at starlight, a 24x30 print, and you’d be really hard pressed to tell the difference between that and all the 4x5 shots hanging next to it. That’s where the rubber meets the road.”


Atacama Desert, Valle de la Luna, Chile. The final image was created from 12 images shot vertically that were stitched together.
Reinvention and transformation are nothing new to Dykinga, who began his career as a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist for the Chicago Sun-Times. The next phase of life saw him working almost exclusively with 4x5 transparency film, shooting landscapes in the tradition of Ansel Adams for publications such as National Geographic, Arizona Highways and Outdoor Photographer. That conservationist photographer phase really made Dykinga famous, especially to OP readers and especially because of his work with large format. So it may come as a surprise to many that he has all but retired his view camera. That he has done it in favor of working with a DSLR is even more surprising.

“The ‘why’ is Nikon’s 24-megapixel camera,” he says, “combined with tilt-shift lenses for a seamless stitch, getting me into the 300-megabyte range—which is a pretty good file size. Considering that none of that information is wasted on grain, it’s a lot of bang for your buck.”
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59 Comments

  1. Rick makes this comment

    Thursday, 04 February 2010

    Good article, but one nit ... "Tilting the lens for near-far focusing also compensates for the smaller format’s inherently shallower depth of field when compared to 4x5." -- I thought that smaller formats had greater DOF. E.g., I have often found that to be a disadvantage with small point & shots and small videocams. That's why IMO full frame 35mm DSLRs with video capability (e.g., Canon's 5Dmk2) have had such a large impact on the video world.

  2. Sadja Herzog makes this comment

    Thursday, 04 February 2010

    The author discusss his technique, which involves shifting his lens L-C-R, but all his examples are 5 panels across. What did he leave out, or what am I missing?

  3. Jeff makes this comment

    Thursday, 04 February 2010

    One additional consideration is the computer used to merge the composite. Taking five 24mpix images and compositing them with photomerge takes a bit of CPU power. A 300mb file in Photoshop, add a few adjustment layers and you will quicky bump your head on memory limits. Once the computer starts swapping to disk, your performance will decrease substantially. Having a quad core system with a 64-bit operating system helps a ton when processing large files.

  4. Paul makes this comment

    Thursday, 04 February 2010

    Jeff is right. We are all getting into these massive pixel machines called cameras, and we think our $499 PC from 2006 is ample. Be prepared to spend for PC power with the wat everything is going. I built a 64-bit PC with 12GB of ram and five hard drives last summer to deal with my 5D2 HD video... well guess what?? When I switch over to working with stills, Photoshop will eat WAY more that 4GB of ram if youy let it. I have the PC to handle it now, but it spoke volumes about what us photographers now need in our studios. Yet I still see a trend of photographers griping about having to upgrade. In all truthfulness, get over it. It's part of the development of digital photography. HDR is emerging in several flavors and it's not going away. You WILL need PC horsepower to handle it: i7 processor, minimum 6GB ram, 64-bit OS (required to use more than 3.3GB ram). OK, rant over! Bye!

  5. richard makes this comment

    Thursday, 04 February 2010

    remember when you could buy a decent camera and decent primes and use them for years on end now we are all caught up in the hardware game i have the quad core newer pc but remember when all that really changed was the film now we have all bought into the upgrade game the camera companies love we are afraid of taking the photo without worry about if the next piece of hardware or software is coming out this is called outdoor photographer not rich peoples outdoor photography so don,t look down your nose at people with lesser equipment or theory because i have seen the same photos in this article horseshoe bend for instance done over and over again by people not cosidered masters also if i see ( even though not shown in this article)one more image of antelope canyon or the wave i will puke get out there and do something original with what you have i will gaze upon it and it might be better than or at least more original than all the master hardware one camera is superior to another photos out there on that day.

  6. Clark makes this comment

    Friday, 05 February 2010

    Thankyou Richard for remembering what it's like to look through the viewfinder of a "K-1000", and to compose a shot using what is't provided by a multi-thousand dollar camera and editing set-up. There may still be hope for those of us who like to try to capture what the eye really sees and not what some program has altered.

  7. Roger makes this comment

    Saturday, 06 February 2010

    "... still be hope for those of us who like to try to capture what the eye really sees and not what some program has altered. " Huh?? Do you REALLY believe that? What EXACTLY does the eye really see?? A professional (landscape) photographer is often going to be pushing the technical limits of their digital cameras and post-processing equipment to achieve that extra edge in their photographs. Which is precisely what this article is about. This doesn't mean that anyone else with a good eye and skill at using the camera at hand can't capture an outstanding photograph. So stop the camera gear envy, get your photographic insecurity, and re-consider what photography to you is all about.

  8. Richard makes this comment

    Wednesday, 10 February 2010

    hey rodger; it does not say professional outdoor photographer on the top of this magazine I thought clark sounded like a nice person but than he does not have camera envy like you edgey guys.

  9. richard makes this comment

    Wednesday, 10 February 2010

    Hey rodger at the top of this magazine it does not say professinal outdoor photographer or edgy or rich ,clark sounded like a nice person he said what beleived he does not have camera envy so why would you question his statement.

  10. Doug Dolde makes this comment

    Wednesday, 10 February 2010

    "The remainder comes from the photographer’s knack for building a better mousetrap, " Hardly a new idea and one I certainly wouldn't give Dykinga credit for. People have been doing this for years.

  11. Ben makes this comment

    Thursday, 11 February 2010

    I'll ditto the above. It's called flat stitching and there are a lot of people who have been doing it for years. Big deal.

  12. Simon Stafford makes this comment

    Friday, 19 February 2010

    Quote: ""All I’m doing is moving the sensor around to capture all that the lens can provide. I take a picture and shift, take a picture and shift," Actually it not the sensor that is being moved in this case, its the optical axis of the lens; therefore, alignment of each image will be slightly off. The proper technique is to keep the front section of the lens in the same position and shift the position of the sensor within the image circle by moving the camera body, off-setting it by the exact amount of shift applied to the lens.

  13. Jason makes this comment

    Saturday, 27 February 2010

    He's a sell-out.. It's called he's too old and out of shape to carry around a 4x5 system, so he switced to a much more convenient and easy format. Not to mention he's getting paid to make the switch. 4x5 film photography takes technique and skill to master...of which Jack has, and he's only hurting himself and most likely his career in the long run. Before, he was unique, now he will just get lost in the 'digitard' soup bowl of photography. Him switching to digital is adding to a much greater problem in the photography industry. It really is Sad..

  14. Dan Smith makes this comment

    Thursday, 04 March 2010

    If it works and the images look good, more power to him. I shoot 8x10 a lot because it works for me. The final image is the goal and the way to it are part of the process. I like the view camera for a lot of work and I like my EOS 1 series cameras for a lot of work as well. If the final image looks the way I or Dykinga want it to then we have done what we want. Whether Dykinga, David Muench, Ansel Adams, Brett or Edward Weston... it is the final image we see. The process is part of the deal and the tactile pleasure of working the way we do is important in different ways to each. We see the final image and if that conveys what the photographer wants, what does it really matter how they got there? It works, I like the images and more power to Jack Dykinga for putting out quality work.

  15. Stisun makes this comment

    Thursday, 11 March 2010

    Great technik. But it is also possible to have both large(r) format, digital and Tilt&shipft at the same time. German small scale manufacturer of excellent optics Wiese fototechnik makes a Technoplan-T 45mm T&S with mount for Leaf/Mamiya and the new digital Pentax 645 just released. Another step in image quality for thos who can afford. See: www.wiese-fototechnik.de/e/etop_n.htm

  16. Jason makes this comment

    Sunday, 14 March 2010

    In my view, 'digital imaging' is the paint by numbers of photography. It's easy, convenient, takes no skill or technique to do. I disagree with Dan Smith to a point on whether or not the final image is all that matters. Do art lovers buy paint by number paintings for thousands of dollars? No, of course not. They buy the skillfully painted pieces that took time and passion to become the final product. I shoot large format film because it's a passion, and gives me some gratification. Anyone can point and shoot an automatic digital camera all day long..(which I've seem people do) and come back with hundreds of pictures of the same scene with different angles of view. They delete the one's that don't turn out or they don't like and move on. No passion, no skill, no work.

  17. chi hair tools makes this comment

    Saturday, 27 March 2010

    I loved the editorial BE.It is very interesting.Thank you for the information.

  18. Scott O makes this comment

    Monday, 29 March 2010

    He's a sell-out.. It's called he's too old and out of shape to carry around a 4x5 system, so he switced to a much more convenient and easy format. Jason, you obviously don't know Jack (pun intended). I was with him on a 10 day trip down the Colorado River last fall. I never saw the digital camera, but I did see his ass disappearing in the distance as he left all the young bucks behind on hikes...and he was carrying his 4x5 kit, which I had a hard time lifting. If he is shooting digital, it is because he feels it is doing a better job in some situations. He would never dishonor the profession by taking the easy way...

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