focusing ring! I savour the fact that it is costly for me to press the shutter, it intensifies my workflow and demands my purest attention. I love the waiting and unknowing if the photos will reflect my creative intentions and I enjoy the process of developing and feeling like I am crafting a photograph from a special moment that I saw. Also, the film cameras themselves are glorious machines! They were built in an age where things were built to last rather than designed to become obsolete. When you use a film camera, it is like a precision crafted watch or tailored shirt, you can feel the attention and thought that went into its construction. And the level of engagement they command from me is incredible. I love how when I look through a Pentax 67 the glass makes the world look even more beautiful (how do they do that?) or when you look through a Mamiya RZ67 waist level finder (WLF), it is so bright and sharp I could look through it all day and feel like I am having a great time - even without taking any photos! I recently met up with a good digital photographer friend of mine for a shoot. I brought the RZ for him to use. The moment he looked through the WLF he was transfixed! I sensed his stunned silence and knew that he was experiencing the same revelations that I had. These machines are an experience in themselves. With digital I feel none of these things. Just click, chimp, delete. Digital cameras are constantly evolving from the need to appeal to consumers.
What we are seeing now is a race comprising of megapixels and frames per second. Digital cameras can focus faster, more accurately and shoot more shots with less and less input from the photographer. These ever increasing metrics combined with the negligible consumption cost, have a strong influence on my workflow when I used to shoot digital. I can only
“Digital cameras are constantly evolving from the need to appeal to consumers...” 53
see this trend increasing. You seem to be mostly drawn to portraits. What traits do you look for in a model? (where do you find your models? Are they seduced somehow with the idea of an old school approach? A photo shoot with film cameras really is a completely different process… is it more difficult to work with a model that’s used to digital photo shoots,