You are driving along in your vehicle. Something catches your eye. You pull over and start to walk around and find the best spot. Then you reach in the back of your car and start to pull out your gear > large tripod ... view camera ..etc
Now you hope you have a variety of lens ( I was fortunate to have at least 3 ) > you have to select a lens to capture what the eye sees . Maybe a 135mm on your 4X5 format. Now what film for the characteristic of scene. This is all part of the pre-visualization. Do I need a certain filter to open up an area or definition to those clouds over head ...
A huge a check list before the exposure is even thought about. Bellows extensions --- reciprocity -- filter compensation --- dof -- etc. Then you have to start framing >
up side down ~! Now metering and marking your holder for development >> just where will that foreground fall in the paper >> will the highlights have detail > the middle tone on the hillside may fall into Zone 2 BUT I need it at Zone 3 . I can see it all in easily with the naked eye but how do you pre-visualize that for the whole process that entails to the final print ??
Today you might venture out to shoot artistically with your digital --- bring back 50+ shots in afternoon. With a view camera I might bring back 3 holders > 6 images. The
time factor made for a easy visualization == The image wasn't captured in a flash.
You worked those movements on the view camera > loupe to the screen for critical sharpness > under that dark cloth was your canvas. Sometimes you would spend a half hour just looking in just a few feet perimeter & then pack-up and move on. You made those 6 sheets of film worthy