In your bag No: 1221, Jeremy Krumsick
It is nice to see a large format camera on the site. We don’t often get people carrying them around. Jeremy carries around a cracking set. Nice and simple, but far from lightweight. Check it out.

I shot street for a long time (still do sometimes with a Nikon F3) but I realized that the only shots I want are ones I can print and put on my wall. And those don’t come often with street photography (they do come, but very rarely). So I had the itch for something different.

Simultaneous with that is that my film sizes have gotten larger over the years just naturally. I started with a cropped digital sensor, then full frame digital, then full frame 35mm film, then 6×6 medium format film, then 6×7 and finally 6×9. The 4×5 was the next logical step (and I daydream about larger formats). Why larger? Well, there are benefits and drawbacks. The drawbacks are mainly cost and convenience. The benefits are better tonal ranges, higher resolution (obviously) and changes to the depth of field. If these were the only benefits, it would be enough to justify shooting large format. But I think the big difference is the fact that the lenses are designed differently and this design difference is reflected in the drawing of the image on the film. All of this combines to give you the large format look.

In general, it’s hard to make photos that stand out. I would estimate that 95% of all photos on planet earth are taken with a 35mm camera with a normal to wide lens. So, having a 4×5 with a 250mm lens and that resulting look helps me to differentiate in some ways. Of course, if the photo is bad (and I make plenty of those), no amount of subtle changes can help it!

The setup is pretty versatile. All things in, it probably weighs about 8 pounds (including tripod and ballhead not pictured). I go to my office in Manhattan in the mornings early, put on the gear, and set out to wander the streets before work.

Also, I’ve never seen so many people willing to have their photo taken.
Chamonix 4×5 F1
It’s relatively new (about 2 months old). I like it because it didn’t break the bank, had lots of movements and is very lightweight for what it can do. I had read great things about Chamonix and it hasn’t skipped a beat yet.

Fuji 250mm W F6.3
The W stands for “wide” which means that the image circle will fit an 8×10 camera. Useful for me because I use lots of movement and will often find the edge of the circle.

Schneider 8x Loupe
I bought it for cheap off of Craigslist. It didn’t come with a necklace though so I’ll have to make one out of shoe strings :-/

Tewe 35-200mm Viewfinder
This little ditty allows me to frame up what I need before I setup. I also wear it on a shoestring necklace and its great for scouting locations/architecture I want to shoot.

Grafmatic 4×5 Film Backs
Apparently some people hate these? Odd to me because I really love them. It holds thrice the capacity as the normal film holders (specifically 6 shots) and it cycles exposures really fast when I want to take shots in succession. I can also load them faster than their plastic cassette cousins.

Nat Geo Shoulder Bag
She’s been with me for a long time. It’s inconspicuous, made from humble canvas, very sturdy and everything fits nice and snug.

Polaris Light Meter
Basic. Nothing fancy needed.

Shutter Release Cable

Not shown:
Oben Carbon Fiber Tripod and ReallyRightStuff Ballhead.

You can find my work at www.stillthrill.com

Jeremy Krumsick

Thanks for sharing your bag with us, Jeremy. That is a lovely setup you have there.
Check out the links and please make sure you come and comment.

Keep them coming folks, we need more submissions, so get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com.

Send me a hi resolution image of the bag. Optimum size is 1500 across. Please ensure there is a bag in the shot, unless you don’t use one. The more you can write about yourself the better, make it appealing and tell us a story.

Oh and don’t forget your contact details (twitter, flickr, tumbler et al). Send the bag shots here. Please understand that there is a long wait now as there is a backlog of submissions. Not all make the cut, so make sure yours is funny/interesting/quirky. And please make sure the shot is of good quality, as the ones that are not do not go up.

Cheers
Japancamerahunter