Last year, I got the itch to do play with proper tilt shift movements. Beyond a cool technique for time lapse photos, it seems like something that has the potential to make for some really engaging photography.

Being able to throw focus where you wanted in a frame without dropping $9k on the 50 Noctilux? Count me in.

So- I started doing some research, to try to figure out what was potentially in my budget. Canon TS-e glass? Out of my price range. Nikon PC with a canon adaptor? Still a bit pricey, and, doesn’t allow quite as much control as other options.

But- I did have access to an Arca Swiss 4x5, a large format camera that offers the full range of tilt, shift, in really any way you can imagine. A few years back, I hacked together a back out of body cap for my Canon 20D, and shot a Basketball Game in a gym with the contraption. The results were less than inspiring.

This time around, I picked up a Horseman 6x7 120 back from eBay ($80 or so), and a piece of wood from Home Depot ($5). I cut the wood to shape, gaffer taped the back to the wood, and carved notches in the wood to fit it to the 4x5.

This week, I finally got my first roll of film back from this endeavor, and you can see the most interesting result above (Logy Bay).

I’ll be giving it another go this summer, here’s hoping I manage to reduce the number of double exposures, under exposures, and overexposures. Large format sure is unforgiving, but, gives a whole lot more options than any other…