Kauai Hawaii

Musings on Digital vs. Film in the Cellphone Camera Age

Tonight's post does not have photos attached. It is musings about the journey that I have recently been on to re-learn and use a 4x5 view camera and real film. I have found that the personal engagement with the device and the medium are quite different then using the digital camera. In today's world of digital cameras being pervasive using a large, slow moving tripod mounted device is much different. Recently a pastor friend of mine talked about officiating at a wedding where the photographer had a hard time doing his job because members of the audience kept getting in the way with their cell phone cameras. The paid photographer seemed at a distinct disadvantage. He was obligated to capture very specific shots. Even more problematic was that as he was trying to get those shots people with cell phones apparently kept getting up from their seats and getting in the way. I wondered when does the photographic process take precedent over the actual event? Will the bride and groom be happy with their friends being in their photos randomly? That is certainly not something that would have occurred ten years ago. Then the photographer was the recorder of the event sure there was the occasional guest with a small camera but certainly not everyone recording movies of the event and emailing or Twittering them all around in real time. Now that has changed be it at a wedding or an Occupy Wall Street protest. As I start using the large format camera I am so aware that it is so much more visible, so much more obvious and present. Even obvious than my bulky digital SLR's which can often dominate a situation and make people act differently. Using the 4x5 comes with a commitment of time and attitude that simply are part of the process and inevitably shape the images you get. If the cell phone camera is all about spontaneity the large format camera is the complete opposite. With it you must plan and calculate what you are going to shoot, how you are going to shoot, how many exposures you have and most of the time plan the shots well in advance. It is the opposite of the whip it out cell camera. Even the rather cumbersome digital SLR allows you to shoot color, or black and white at will and with a large memory card you can click away capturing hundreds of images. But with the 4x5 view camera you must plan which film, what subject and what lens well in advance. You must decide how to use the limited number of sheets of film you have editing in the field which images are worthy of investment. It is a whole different thought process but in the end I think you must ask the question. Will it mean more? Will the viewer see this in the finished product? Will they form a deeper commitment to the human connection you are trying to make?

Some Digital Shots from the Archives- Yellowstone

Here are just some of many shots of Yellowstone from 2008. Enjoy!

Project Photos 4x5 E100G film

Today's post is really my first attempt at working through the entire large format 4x5 camera workflow. I recently shot these images of a project we designed. They were my first attempt at using the 4x5 Sinar and Kodak E100G film. I then had the film developed and then used our new Epson E750 Pro Scanner to convert them to digital. While this process has been a little time consuming I am finding that the results are acceptable. The workflow is much slower and more skill intensive then a pure digital process but the images should also be able to be enlarged more then I can get with my older Nikon D200s. Assuming that digital camera's will continue to improve in quality and lower in price it will be hard for anyone to justify the skill, time and cost of continuing to do film/analog photography regardless of its sensuous tactile properties.

More Images from the Archives

For today's post I am showing some images that have been edited in Photo Shop Elements. I typically do not edit my images much more then a little increase in sharpness or light/contrast. One of these images has had some work done to it as practice. Can you tell which one?

Couds and Sky

Cycling Architecture and Autumn

Today's post is from some shots over the weekend. It was a rather gray day. The kind of day which makes you work for your captures with slow shutter speeds and little shadows.

When the Light is right

Trout fishing has something in common with photography. In trout fishing you cannot catch fish unless your fly is in the water. Photograhy is similar in that you cannot make great photos unless you get out and shoot picture. So when the light is right or not you must get out and shoot.

House with three chimneys!

This post is of a house which seems to be almost more accident then intentional. It seems out of another place and time and I can easily imagine it as the residence in a fairly tail or other story.

Forest Park Bandstand in Autumn

Today's post is of a Bandstand in a St. Louis Park near the Municapal Opera.

Michael Kenna - Black and White Images

Today I am posting a link to the work of Michel Kenna. He is a British photographer working in black and white. He shoots primarily landscapes and forms which are devoid of people. These are beautiful, painterly images. Follow the link in the Inspiration section of the bloghttp://www.michaelkenna.net/interviews/feelslikehome.html.

Final Stage of the 2007 Tour of Missouri

Todays photos are from the archives. They are photos from the final stage of teh tour of Missouri.  The last shot is the winner being escorted to the podium. It is George Hincappie. Look at  his exposed calf muscle. It shows the damage from thousands of miles of bike riding.