Again me!
I found at age 7 the 'MAGIC' of water and film
Still fun!
Again me!
I found at age 7 the 'MAGIC' of water and film
Still fun!
Tin Can
At some point an early human spread red earth pigment over their splayed fingers, and grunted the equivalent of 'I made that!'. (And maybe invented unsharp masking? 8-) )
My mind goes into everything I create, but I like to think some part of my physical self/dexterity goes into my art (for some definition or 'art', anyway). That's easier to achieve with a physical, non-digital, medium.
It is also a case of the right tool for the job. I am not using the 8x10 to make a reference picture before a trip to the hardware store - that's what the phone is for...
Film processing & print production by hand has a 'craft' element to it that is missing in digital.
Capture life expectancy. Polyester-base sheet film is as stable as it gets. That's why HABS/HAER/HALS still require capture on sheet film even as they have relaxed their print specifications to allow for pigment/carbon inkjet.Originally Posted by Sal Santamaura
EDIT: Not to say that that needs to be one of your reasons - that's up to you, of course. Just something to keep in mind if documentation for the long term is an important purpose.
I have no loyalty to film. I stopped shooting it in the early 2000's and was shooting digital exclusively (as a hobby, I'm no pro) from about 2002 until about 2018 or so. I've mostly dropped digital because a few years ago, I had bought a Pentax DSLR and on whim I bought a cheap Pentax SuperProgram to shoot a few rolls of film for nostalgia purposes using some of the lenses I had for my digital Pentax. What I didn't expect was that aspects of the process appealed to me immensely. I almost stopped shooting digital that day (ok, it took me a couple of months.) From then I moved from 35mm to medium format and eventually, large format. I don't think that shooting film gives me better images, necessarily, but I enjoy it much more.
As for jumping up to large format, again, I'm not sure my technique is such yet that I get better images out of large format, compared to medium format, but its something interesting to learn, and doing things to learn something new is 99% of why I do anything.
I give the same answer every time to the same question. My LF is performance art. When I need a photograph of whatever, I use my phone like a normal person.
Since I'm not an especially good photographer and its been 25 years since anyone purchased some of my work, I do what I damn well please without worrying what other people think of it.
Understood, but...
...which was a factor in posting what I did. Emphasized even though you added:
I make photographs because that's what I do. Personally and professionally for... 49/43 years and counting.
I use a 4x5 camera and film because that method suits my image-making needs. After 40+ years with a view camera, I still like doing it. I enjoy the challenge, and haven't run out of ideas yet. And if I work hard enough, maybe I'll get a result worth sharing. It's the best way that I have for dealing with the world.
I think this is a really great post Bernice.
I am happy large format is still revered and practiced at a high level that most photographers from a 50 years ago would be proud of. It is different than digital.
Contrast that with phony "enhancements" such as scratches, dirt and jitter that every idiot adds to their $2 video and thinks they have a period correct motion picture. I knew any number of motion picture directors/editors that worked very hard to produce beautiful work and it looks nothing like the current "old film look" propagated and accepted today.
The finished print is a hand crafted object. Not a file. I just like to be hands on and keep it real.
...Dilettante! Who you calling a Dilettante?
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