A Large Format Photography Trip to My Favourite Area

[@kevinscotton]

Kyle, I’m really glad to see you consistently go against your initial response to leave a scene before speaking to someone or photographing. We all face the same battle and watching you overcome those feelings is incredibly inspiring. It’s also a pleasure to hear that you gave yourself a break from the video work to simply focus on the photography on the final day of this trip. You deserve to take in those moments with your camera.

[@flixbert]

Absolutely agree! Such an inspiration ✨

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers, Kevin. Glad you enjoy that. I've started to try and include it more often, as regardless of how long I do photography, this is something I always have to overcome.

[@ZXCVKLM]

I love the exquisite manners you have when you ask permission somewhere to take photos. That's how things are achieved.

[@kwmfoto]

As always on your road trip videos your work and method is so inspiring! Thanks for continuing to share.

[@LeeRatcliffe]

Beautiful images throughout Kyle. I do really enjoy these slightly longer in-the-field videos where you take us along with you on your adventures.

[@hermetischism4671]

Your videos really capture the feeling of just going on a walk for me. They're just very refreshing. Thank you.

[@kimc5750]

Fantastic!

[@markwalkerphotography]

Great work, North Wales is a special place, and I love a bit of large format - great motivational video to get out with my shen hao

[@close-up-pictures]

I love it when you on tour with the Horseman. Thank you for all that showing us. Take care of you.

[@fbraakman]

I have that experience also where I drive an hour or two to a location that I really anticipate photographing and when i get there I feel it's not what I want, but I shoot it anyway. But I find first impressions are often right. For me it's usually the light that makes the difference.

[@robbiepeachey9027]

14:16 Glad you decided to go back and get the camera, magical find!

[@GirdHerd]

I agree. I love the image of the plaque on the wall.

[@KyleMcDougall]

So am I. Cheers.

[@jonassubvert]

I really like the longer formats of your videos! For wide angel lenses like 65mm and 90mm i use viewfinder app and place phone over the lens to estimate composition in corners. Otherwise its a guessing game. But you nailed it on the night scene :)

[@ArturSikoraphoto]

I visited Wales last year. It was a very short family trip, so I didn't have much time to explore. Watching your videos makes me think I need to go back. Very good, as usual.

[@andyvan5692]

yes a hard one to do without the factors, from research : Tiffen #25 is factor (I abbreviate to F in future) 8 3stops correction; Tiffen 23A is F 4{2 stops}; Tiffen DARK RED #29 F 16.5 {4&1/3 stops} as examples, so it looks like the red is a real light sucker, so be careful.

[@tonyhayes9827]

Haha I can't tell you how many times I've done the `go back and get the photo' thing you did at the garage around 38:10 . Well done! Beautiful work BTW, as always. Thanks

[@KyleMcDougall]

Always, haha. So indecisive!

[@GirdHerd]

Kyle, I always like your zoomed in image you show before you show the final image. The Esso image at night is a perfect example.

[@john3Lee]

Thanks Kyle - Another fascinating video, full of information and inspiration...

[@somethingGabe]

Amazing work as usual Kyle, love seeing more of your large format work and your progress on this project. Any plans to make any more videos on the Fuji GX680? Its one of my favorite cameras, and I would love to see you use it in some more videos. Thanks again for the 38 minutes of comfort :)

[@2252269]

Thanks.

[@chump54]

fab, thanks for taking us along... can't imagine how much extra work making the video is.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers. It's a bit chaotic, hah!

[@chrisdunderdale]

Great work as always mate.

[@ducgerard2361]

j adore cette promenade photographique pleine de nostalgie dans la campagne. et je trouve les photos excellentes avec une démarche technique en parfait accord avec le décorum

[@dwvisualarchitecture]

Nice to see you featured on the BBC website for the 'slate city' photography at the end of last month!

[@mrdasboot45]

If you use a brand filter the factor should be printed on the filter ring .With a red filter it should say 2x, meaning 2 stops. Or it could display the filter factor, with a red filter that should be a 4 ,meaning 4 times less light (2 stops).

[@andyvan5692]

hey Kyle, there is a way to experiment with 4x5" 'safely' that is to use 120 film with 6x7 or 6x9 roll film backs, I have a sinar zoom, which goes up to 6x12 and I 'tested' my F2 camera with this, so it costs only AUD$17.90 per roll, so a cheap alternative, and to make sure bellows are tight, shutter works correctly, filter and bellows factor comp. works, and your tripod is stiff enough, all for such little money, AND the fact a lab can develop the negs, so you can get help while learning.

[@balintshootsfilm]

It's so good to see you creating amazing work and having a great time, incredibly motivating, makes me want to go out and shoot, thanks for sharing!

[@darrelltheriault5793]

Great video and a fun and productive way to end your year. Happy New Year Kyle and thanks for getting my new year off to an inspired start.

[@erikboon6549]

When you like to experiment with filters, you should try trichrome images on large format! With Fomapan sheets it should not be too costly.

[@luigiheewan]

man, i found you a couple of weeks ago and i have absolutely fallen in love with your photography. thank you for being my inspiration!

[@KyleMcDougall]

Glad you've enjoyed. Thanks for watching.

[@dan.allen.digital]

I love how you talk through your exposure, camera settings, and reciprocity. As someone that is learning large format photography, it would be helpful if you could occasionally point out what spot in the image you focused on, and if you used any camera movements. Great video as always Kyle.

[@KyleMcDougall]

I'll keep that in mind for the future. Cheers!

[@epicdream]

Always inspiring. Thank you!

[@MarcoRoepers]

Just love this. The doubts, so relatable.

[@thomaslarsen5057]

What a great trip and photos 🙂

[@IainHC1]

Brilliant shots threw Kyle 🙂 Absolutely loved the second shot with the chapel, Telephone box and the two telegraph poles 🙂

[@KeeeeenW]

4:40 if you want to get the number of stops required for the red filter, can you meter through the ground glass first without the filter and then meter it again with the filter and take the difference?

[@westpoll1]

There is nothing like large format, the details are amazing. I get lost in your videos!

[@AndyTree1]

Delightful images, thank you for the insight into your process!

[@TheSchnauzie]

Thanks for sharing your video Kyle

[@danielscheerer3032]

Always LOVE your videos, Kyle. And jealous. My wife and I try to get over to GB (from NH) as often as possible, which is to say rarely, but it's always special. I don't have large format beyond a 907X that I love, but your work may inspire me to expand my horizons. Cheers!

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers, Daniel! Glad you enjoyed this one.

[@DLivingston]

I love this series so much. Happy new year Kyle

[@KyleMcDougall]

Happy new year!

[@jamesbarnes3063]

Great video Kyle, learning a lot from you

[@runninblue9415]

The most engaging video of the year, and some wonderful images, really. Reminds me of the route 66 work you put out. Seeing how you compose a scene, where you crop the image is a fascinating learning point for me. Thank you

[@KyleMcDougall]

Glad you enjoyed this one. Cheers.

[@stephenross6640]

Great video Kyle loved the Chapel very well preserved. With your travels through Wales you bring back old memories. My Scottish cousin would take me on trips through England and Wales with the Real Ale Guide and the History Atlas of Britain. We would visit historical sites and then the neighbouring villages and Pubs. Blaenau Ffestiniog was of interest as my cousin worked for the Scottish Development Agency he restored old slate mining areas and we would visit some of his work. Love your videos Cheers! (sorry to be long winded)

[@KyleMcDougall]

Glad you enjoyed this and very cool to hear about your travels through Wales!

[@johnirvineimages]

A great video again Kyle. Well done at persisting and going back to each scene.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers, John.

[@erichstocker8358]

Love these areas and the photos.

[@steveh1273]

Can you share developing info for your black and white film? It has very nice tone. I'm not sure if you use the zone system method of exposure and development.

[@dynax60]

It would be very interesting

[@KyleMcDougall]

I'm using Ilford DDX, rotary with a Jobo CPE2. Stock times with 15% off for rotary.

[@stevej4847]

Another fantastic video as usual Kyle. You have some more fantastic, moody images as usual. I always look forward to your videos being released, especially the videos and images from Wales. The ruined churches were particularly interesting. I love to photograph old derelict buildings myself, great to see the ones you find.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Thanks, Steve. So many of these old chapels to explore in Wales!

[@Seafishing-f1t]

The Sketchy Chapel at 12:00 would have worked with a medium format camera I feel. Just to pull out the two interesting features in the interior and would have been much quicker to do than 5X4. I have never seen anything wrong with mixing formats in major projects the idea is to tell the story and there are time when the story calls for a format change. You may have touched on this point yourself in previous videos. I can’t believe you were going to pass on that Chapel I saw so much potential there from the Gate on the approach to the tree roots embedded in the exterior wall.The filters definitely work I use them a lot but am finding it increasingly difficult to source filters for the large format lenses I buy.

[@KyleMcDougall]

I have no issues with mixing MF and LF, and have for this project. But I'm trying to travel with only one film camera. The video gear makes for alot of packing!

[@pasty_film_journey]

Wonderful images as usual. You're one of the reasons I got into 4x5! Could you show us how you scan your 4x5 sheets in the future? Thank you!

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers. Will do. I'm currently testing out a few methods.

[@vxscarr]

Kyle, id love to see a video of your 4x5 with color film!

[@lensman5762]

Happy New year. Loved this video. I don't believe myself saying this but the inside of that derelict building was shouting for colour. For once I think your GTX would have been a better choice for me. Great job.

[@KyleMcDougall]

For sure. There are scenes I come across while making this work that would be great in colour.

[@ruudmaas2480]

beautiful work!!

[@Dannywage]

❤ another one!

[@firstmatecreative]

I visited North Wales a few months ago because of you! Llanberis, Conwy, and Anglesey were all standouts.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Awesome to hear. Beautiful area!

[@lIllllIllllllIl]

Incredible work as always! A possible suggestion for low-light situations: If you brought along a bright torch with you to illuminate scenes so you could achieve proper focus, and then turn off/remove the torch prior to taking the photo, you should be able to get tack-sharp focus in almost any location.

[@KyleMcDougall]

That's something I'll definitely do in the future. It was a pain this time!

[@francescoaglieri]

I really enjoyed the video and loved the use of filters on HP5. I’ve been curious to try them out on my large format frames.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Cheers, Francesco. Yeah, something I've been meaning to do more of. For the most part, I've been happy without using filters, but they can definitely come in handy in some situations, especially with HP5 and overcast conditions.

[@dynax60]

roomy bag! 😀 what a type of bag it is? and could you tell more about how did you develop your b/w films?

[@KyleMcDougall]

Compagnon Element

[@kimbrunstudio]

Kyle, Do you have a Fresnel lens over your ground glass? If not, you might want to add one. I really helps in low light situations.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Yep, the camera came with the Horseman fresnel. I think the difficulty comes from extreme low light situations, and also the fact that I'm on a wider lens. The church interior was much darker in person than it looked in the video. Cheers.

[@kimbrunstudio]

@@KyleMcDougall I agree. WA lens do pose more problems. Another device which helped, was the Sinar viewfinder which attached to the back. It inverted the image but help see the whole scene in one glance. Enjoy your work and videos. I live in Oregon and the rain has stopped for a bit, time to get out again.

[@richardstollar4291]

I think that the car going around the bend added to the shot because the fog was thicker

[@addltd]

Kyle, thanks so much for sharing your photography adventures. I find your inquisitive nature second only to the photographs you produce. While I understand many photographers don't want to share locations they have used for their work, I was wondering if you would share the what3words locations you have shot in the video notes? It would be greatly appreciated.

[@KyleMcDougall]

Hey there, happy to share some of the more public locations. The church I got access to I'd rather not, just out of privacy for the owner.

[@addltd]

​@@KyleMcDougall Thank you for your consideration of my request, and I completely understand ! What I am hoping to do is document cool locations for photographers to attempt their craft. I would say places that are not to far off the beaten path or places that won't be too intrusive to the owner/business. For instance, like the private chapel in this video, I wouldn't want you to share the auto shop location because that is a business and would be unfair to send people there. An example I have is in Bedham, UK there is a cool oval church (Bedham copse) that has fallen into disrepair and is off the road down a hill where you would never see it because it is in a wooded area. It is open to the public and if you are visiting at the right time of year there is a huge poppy field right up a hill near the church with a public footpath running directly through it. These are the little hidden gems I would like to document, not so they become overrun, but so others have a chance to photograph them as well. The what3words location for the church and adjacent poppy field is forklift.tolerable.overtones

[@andyvan5692]

nice video, by the way what tripod is that, looks like a gitzo systematic, what series?, as I am looking at them for my sinar, something compact and can still do the job of holding my monorail steady, how has yours been, do you miss not having a centre column?

[@KyleMcDougall]

This one is the 4543LS. And it's been great. Very sturdy. I haven't missed a centre column as this still has quite a bit of height.

[@TomNorthenscold]

I think the photo you weren’t going to make was worth making.

[@thealaris]

It's always like that from my experience, the balance of the universe

[@KyleMcDougall]

Usually how it goes!

[@TheSketchyT]

Another great video. I’m moving up to an Intrepid 4x5 so this is inspiring. You know, I only follow a few photographers and two of them live in or near North Wales. You are one and the other is Steve O’Nions. Do you happen to know him?

[@KyleMcDougall]

Thanks. I don't live in Wales, it's about a five hour drive. But close enough to make trips often. I don't know Steve personally, but have seen his videos.

[@Panoramic_Adventures]

Very nice, congrats on nice photos. By the way what type of bag are you using ?

[@KyleMcDougall]

Thanks. I'm using a Compagnon Element.

[@ThorsteinBerg]

Why do you feel like the lightmeter won't give you the correct reading if you use a filter in front of it? The filter factor is there mostly if you do like a sunny 16 exposure with no lightmeter. Never had any problems metering with filters in front of either my Sekonic spotmeter or from the built-in lightmeter of my cameras. And if you're using the phone as a lightmeter it's no different than using TTL reading of any other camera. The only filters that pop into my mind that can give an incorrect reading are a polarizer or a heavy ND-filter (like 6 stop filter or more) when you're using a hand-held meter.

[@KyleMcDougall]

I had read some opinions online that the colour can effect the reading. But yeah, I'll just do some tests before next shoot. Would be great if I could just meter through them.

[@ThorsteinBerg]

@@KyleMcDougall I've had no problem with it as I said. So just try it next time. 😃

[@sinoperture]

Always amazed a the dedication to shots without people and faces. I find it so hard to enjoy pictures without them

[@apstrad]

Did you print in the darkroom, or scan the negative? Your videos are inspiring....I might have to revive my 4x5

[@KyleMcDougall]

Scanned the negatives. Cheers.

[@JJCPhotography]

Great video made! Keep it up! I've emailed you and sincerely hope we can collaborate.☺