Photography is memory. I read that somewhere and it makes sense. What else can explain the universal appeal of our family snaps? All the images I've ever made are in the past and help me remember what I was doing at the time of exposure — no less.
I used to make Polaroid 54 and 55 exposures as well as two Tri-X negatives per subject when time permitted. This gave me a print and three negatives. This exercise took about 15 minutes. I took water and clearing salts in sealed containers along for the Pol negs. Since Polaroid has discontinued their film making I won't be doing that any more.
I make black and white prints using traditional
wet darkroom techniques on silver gelatine papers. Film of choice
has been TriX since the first attempts in the early sixties. Now
developed in HC110B and/or Pyro after Hutchings. Negatives which please me are printed — often a few years after making the exposure — other negs are filed.
I've also made platinum prints from digitally printed negatives. I learned this process at a workshop given by Burkhardt Kiegeland a few years back. Making a digital negative for an antique process may seem strange, but it was a way to learn the process without having to make numerous LF negatives first. I don't think I'll be doing anymore platinum printing soon as I would prefer contact printing from in-camera negatives of the final format. This means ULF and I'm not financially well off enough to go that route. Yet...
Most of my photos are from within an hour's drive of home. The Weinviertel in Lower Austria has been under cultivation for millennia and is a lovely and human scaled landscape.
Cameras: The first was a Brownie, then my father's
6x9 Speed Graphic. When I moved to Europe for a year (I thought)
in 1972 I took along my Topcon Unirex and two or three lenses. Great
camera at a reasonable price. It featured aperture priority and a TTL light meter
that served well. I gave up the brand after
two camera bodies failed and no replacements were available - those were pre-Ebay times. I can't remember what I did with the cameras and lenses — to my chagrin.
For many years years I've used a
Nikon F4 (purchased in 1991) and a Linhof Technika V (bought used in 1984). The Nikon's fine for snapshots. The Linhof
is for work where large negatives
and the impressive detail they capture are important, although the Linhof can be hand-held using a 6x9cm roll film back with
good results.
Recently I was able to get a Topcon Unirex and three lenses for an astonishing €15 including shipping! So how I have three active cameras. I also own two Minox 8mm cameras — a "B" and a "C". These subminiatures haven't seen service since the mid 1970s.
Digital photography is fun. I leave the printing to a color lab. Upload the files, determine the format, and the lab does the rest. All I need to do is pick up the goods at our local store.
Bought a Nikon D40. This is the wee camera to take along whenever you leave the house and wherever you intend to go. I've shot over 2000 images with it. It doesn't choke after 6 shots like the Kodak does. It just keeps belting along until I've gotten what I want. Instant on feature — just turn on and you're ready to go. Battery lasts a long time. Nice. My decision was influenced by all the good things I read about the camera on www.kenrockwell.com.
Worked this one up on my new used MacBook while still on vacation. Wee book can do the maths but takes awhile. This image is built up from 15 shots taken hand-held.
Got it used on Ebay and added 1GB RAM (maxed it out at 2GB) and slotted in a 500GB disk to replace the 60GB that was there - it's now my external disk. Runs Snow Leopard quite nicely, thank you.
The real camera to take with you is the iPhone G3. Not only does it take fine pictures, it can make and receive telephone calls, function as a GPS receiver, and much more. It is also totally cool. Will continue this avenue of exploration at a later date.
