After a long hiatus from shooting film I’ve put my Zone VI 4×5 view camera back into service for a new project.  It’s too early to describe what I’m working on other that to say trees may be involved.   Just not sure of much other than I’ll be focusing on view camera photography.

View camera photography is a departure from the process involved in making digital photographs for Scooter in the Sticks.  The pictures I make while riding generally are completed in less than a minute.  Often in seconds.  The small digital camera can be put into action quickly due to it’s size, weight and how it functions. 

The view camera is a different story.  It’s slow to use, cumbersome to carry, and resists speed and haste.  Those characteristics are exactly why I chose to use it.  Often, in discussions of the relative merits of digital versus film photography, I hear people express that there’s no need to go through the trouble of film when digital can make the exact same print.  While I agree with that statement that a similar print can be made, my feeling is that without that slow deliberate process, I never would have arrived at the image using digital equipment.

The process of production affects what I feel and see, and ultimate affects the image I create. 

For the near future, I’ll be working with the view camera.

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