Large Format: Technology of the Soul

[Don Boyd]

After having purchased my first dslr recently, and being reluctant to pick it up and play with it, I have been trying to understand my disinterest and why my connection to my 4x5 seems so much stronger. Then I came across this piece by Thomas Moore from his book Soul Mates and it seems to bring me closer to answering my question:

Technologies of the soul tend to be simple, bodily, slow and related to the heart as much as the mind. Everything around us tells us we should be mechanically sophisticated, electronic, quick, and informational in our expressiveness - an exact antipode to the virtues of the soul. It is no wonder, then, that in an age of telecommunications - which, by the way, literally means "distant connections" - we suffer symptoms of the loss of soul. We are being urged from everyside to become efficient rather than intimate.

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not suggesting that there aren't those that work soul-fully with digital equipment. I just think it is hard for me. It is my time-full struggle through the process of conceiving the image, finding the lens, filter, film, format, orientation that might convey what I cannot communicate in some other way, that somehow moves me to a deeper connection with myself; that aids my own process of self discovery and feeds my hungry heart so much.

I would be interested in hearing from others who have added or even transitioned entirely to electronic media about how it has worked for you.

[Bill_1856]

It got me out of the darkroom -- God Bless Digital!

[Joe Smigiel]

I went the other way and took up wetplate collodion, abandoning digital.

Wetplate literally is ethereal, and thus soulful by nature.

Thanks for the post.

Joe

[darr]

I do not know if this applies, but I had a dislike for 35mm cameras. It just was not enough real estate for me so to speak. I acquired a Nikon D200 about two years ago and this has made me rethink using a 35mm. The ease of shooting with an 18-200 zoom and not having to process the film has found a warm fuzzy spot within my soul. I shoot for the fun of it and upload the images to Lightroom. It has become visual exercising for me.

[John Kasaian]

Good post!
I think the abstraction of looking at the world upside down and backwards in order to come up with a picture right side up and realistically oriented definately speaks to the soul.

Incredibly complex images coming from the simplest of equipment and technology (such as a contact print) certainly says something in a way that more elaborate and sophisticated (and modern) technologies can't. Drawing and painting perhaps even more so, but Large Format is definately close up there in the soul department.

[PViapiano]

About eight years ago, I reconnected to photography after a long hiatus via a digital SLR, but three years ago I found myself looking for a used medium format camera. I had become extremely proficient with PS but something was missing for me.

Film reconnected me to my soul, my visual creativity, became more of a hand worked craft, something I felt I could apprentice to and grow with. The Mamiya RZ soon had a companion, my Ebony 45s. Shooting with both of these cameras is a dream and fun beyond belief. Although I carried the Mamiya everywhere, I found myself wishing I had a smaller camera in more discrete situations. I thought I'd never go for a 35mm, always figured that's what digital was for, but I was so wrong. My 1964 Leica M2 rangefinder is one of the most amazing cameras to shoot with, and a marvel to hold.

Soon, scanning negatives and inkjet printing gave way to the darkroom, which I assembled on the cheap (all equipment in excellent shape) from craigslist. Hand made silver prints have now become an obsession, just ask my wife. The challenge of making prints by hand and having complete control of the process from camera to print is an enormous task and will keep me happy for many years.

[jetcode]

I have had the opposite effect, I feel far more liberated with a DSLR than I do with a LF system and the lust for LF detail is slowly dissipating.

[Daniel Grenier]

....Technologies of the soul tend to be simple, bodily, slow and related to the heart as much as the mind. Everything around us tells us we should be mechanically sophisticated, electronic, quick, and informational in our expressiveness - an exact antipode to the virtues of the soul. It is no wonder, then, that in an age of telecommunications - which, by the way, literally means "distant connections" - we suffer symptoms of the loss of soul. We are being urged from everyside to become efficient rather than intimate......

Beautifully said. This guy read my mind and expressed what I can't efficiently articulate due to lacking eloquence.

To me, the current high-technologies found in photography cause an inevitable disconnect between the art and the artist. This disconnect I don't find in the rudimentary photography I practice (and purchase). That is, a basic LF camera and straight contact prints. Photography unplugged, if you will. Reminds me of my past Gibson Les Paul days and massive amplifiers which I sold only to return to the more soul-felt accoustic sound of an Ovation-made guitar.

[Richard M. Coda]

I went to Hackberry, AZ last weekend. On old Rt. 66, way out in the middle of nowhere. We stopped twice. Once in Truxton and again in Hackberry. Image count for the few hours we were there... two 4x5s (1 BW, 1 color), three 8x10s (BW) and ONE digital.

[Ron Marshall]

For me it is a trade-off between speed and convenience with 35mm/digital and greater enlargement potential and movements with LF: If I need speed then 35mm, otherwise I invest the time to hopefully produce something I will be satisied with in LF.