I found the video posted by Will very interesting, but in a way it reinforced my concerns posted previously. How much can another LF image of slot canyons, aspen trees, rusting cars, or waterfalls matter, no matter (no pun intended, just my limited vocabulary) how much effort we put into them. I firmly believe that the vast majority of what we do photographically matters to us as individuals, because we value the process of creating the images, but little to anyone else. That is not to say the work may not be decorative, and sell, but if the same image has been made by countless others, to me our individual efforts can't "matter." Similarly, we are enjoined to not take the "easy"image, but I for one do that all too often: I am out with my 4x5, looking for images to make, and along comes a white clapboard church, or a picturesque ruin (architecture or car), and bingo, I have an image I can work on. The solution to that dilemma, I believe, is time, because once the easy shot is out of the way, if we have time, we can try to use the same subject in a more personal way. When I raised this concern at a group critique, I received a good answer, albeit easier with digital cameras: when I find a subject that speaks to me, once I have the easy shot out of the way, take 50 more photographs (another version of the old "image per day" exercise). I will be trying this, adjusted for the fact that I normally carry 6 film holders, and of course each image takes a lot longer to set up than its digital counterpart.
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