Gear & Process
I have experience in both digital and darkroom photographic processes and I currently use both. Lately I have been getting a lot of use out of my recently acquired Wista 45SP large format camera. It shoots using 4×5 film (that’s 4 inches by 5 inches) and has zero electronics in it. I have to use my own judgement and the limited help that an incident light meter provides to determine how to capture the image I’m seeing before me. The Fujinon 180mm lens gives about the same field of view as a 45mm lens would on a traditional camera. The imaging circle however is massive so I can utilize movements including rises and tilts to manipulate my composition until I’m satisfied. It’s great being able to control how much ground I have in a shot without having to tilt the camera up.
I develop my own sheet negatives using trays in a dark room and scan them for web use. If you’ve ever printed in the darkroom, it’s like that but with all the lights out for the entire process. My darkroom consists of an old shack that’s light tight and well ventilated. There is no running water in the shack and the water in the house is well water; it’s quite salty. I bring in reverse osmosis water from the city for my photographic chemicals and cart buckets in from the house for washing water. It’s work well for developing negatives but I haven’t tackled prints yet because I will need a lot more water for that and hauling buckets is pretty tiring.
When I have a need for digital colour photography I shoot with an older model Canon 5D. It’s not a Mark II model and only has 12 megapixels but I find the dynamic range and colour to be superb from this camera. The lens I use most for digital photography is a 35mm Zeiss. It’s 100% manual focus and for a fixed lens, it’s a joy to work with. I’ll throw an 85mm on sometimes if I feel I need a little bit more “reach” or if my subject is a person and they demand some flattery.
Whether I’m shooting digital or film I never go anywhere without a polarizing filter. For digital I supplement my photography with a graduated filter where required (to keep the sky from blowing out) and I have an assortment of colour filters for black and white film photography, too.
I try to remember that it’s not the gear and process that makes an image alone and I keep that in mind when I’m working. There is an importance to an image being able to present something to the viewer whether they know how I made it or not. The process and technicalities are just icing on the cake ;)
