Planning a large-format outing
So, yes, I am planning a large-format outing. Doing so is so much more deliberate than planning an outing with roll film. First you have to have a destination with a worthy subject. Making that choice is fraught enough that it is liable to stop you right there. The effort involved from packing to set-up to development and beyond is too great to be given lightly. Contemplating this--finding something worthy of a sheet of 4x5 film--has occasionally had me considering abandoning LF entirely. However, if, like me, you are not yet perfectly comfortable with the process, it's probably better not to quit prematurely but rather just venture forth and either find something that wants to be photographed (to borrow a phrase from Wayne Setser), or elevate some "unworthy" subject by means of your choice.
Destination chosen (or left prayerfully to our Lord), next you have to choose the film, load the film, and choose the camera (assuming you have more than one, which is not usually the case, however). Finally, you pack the camera, the lens (or lenses), the dark cloth, meter, film holders, loope, level--and even this list is probably incomplete. (Right, I forgot the tripod!) Best start all this a day or more before the shoot. If you do this as seldom as I do, you are liable to need some time to reassemble your kit.
So I think I have it all together. I last shot large format about a month ago, but I haven't developed the sheets from then yet. I will report back soon on how the outing went.