this MF thing

[Tse-Sung Wu <tsesung+ >]

cc: rec.photo.eqpt.m-f

Hi,
I just got back 6 rolls I shot in Italy with my new old Rollei TLR.  I
had them developed and had contact sheets made.  Three were B&W, the
others were color.  Processing cost me $59 includ. tax here in
Pittsburgh.

I'm not sure what to think of them, nor how to proceed in this format in
a practical sense as an amateur, and in this case, for travel
photography.

Since I didn't always have a meter with me, some exposures were a little
off- no big deal since it was neg. film and I think any custom print
would probably get the exposure right.  I suppose if I had a meter all
the time I could shoot more consistently exposed photos, and even
'chromes.  (My mom, with her critical eye, thinks with the cost of the
film I've used and had developed I could've gotten a meter to improve my
hit rate or obviate the need to bracket, as I did  a few times. 
Bracketing on a 12 exposure roll of film is not a sustainable path.)

However, I'm not sure what to do with them.  I suppose there are a few
that could turn into nice, large prints, which, w/o access to a lab,
would be rather costly.

It's just that I'm used to getting either 36 4x6 prints or 36 mounted
slides from my 35mm SLR (metered manual).  I guess I'm saying that I
wish this were all a little more 'snap-shot like' than it seems to be,
and economical.  Maybe that's my problem- I should be placing more
thinking, getting the exposure, composition right, focussing, etc. on
these shots.  Which I think I do with my 35mm gear.

I wanted to ask what people on this list did with their prints, or how
they think of MF in making images.  Do you shoot a lot of 120 film and
from those get one or two enlargements?  What if you don't want a large
print to display... but you want prints nevertheless... that you can see
more clearly, than a contact sheet?  Should have I had machine proofs
done instead (at least for the color film)?

At a good local photoshop in town I was advised to use the TLR to get
landscapes, general shots, since I'd be using neg. film that could
handle wider exposure latitudes, and the fixed focal length was
'normal,' and use my SLR, which I also brought along, for closeups and
details, sort of recording the trip.

Any hints on how more experienced MF photographers treat this format in
comparison to 35mm would be appreciated.

Tse-Sung 

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