Spent six hours in mine yesterday printing two images I took in Death Valley, CA. It is a glorious place to escape the problems of the world. The amber glow of the safelight, the smell of fix and soothing music help create an atmosphere conducive to creating great images. It has two enlargers, one a Devere for 8x10 and the other an Omega for all other formats. I pity some of my digital friends who have never experienced working in a wet darkroom.

I do. Hey Quicksdraw!

Now that is funny no matter which category you fall into.

That is so sharp I thought it was from your 4x5! Outstanding!

JPEG artifacts?

Here in Arizona they are also known as “miner’s cats” because they would hang out in mines and with miners back in the day.

I bought a used M7 and two lenses years ago. To this day every time I pick it up I appreciate its beautiful handmade quality. There is something about making art with a piece of art. The same thing goes for the handmade view camera or anything not mass produced come to think of it.

5x7 is no small camera either! Although I have been shooting almost exclusively with 8x10 large format for twenty years I still consider myself a rank amateur. You just can’t pick one of these up and make flawless images, it takes decades to master. Yes I was influenced by Ansel Adams to move up to large format film photography when I saw an exhibition of his at the Center of Creative Photography in Tucson AZ. His 8x10 contact prints were mesmerizing.

I love every aspect of the large format experience especially the taking of an image. While at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley in December I invited digital photographers standing next to me to look under the dark cloth. Seeing someone’s face light up from seeing the world through an 8x10 ground glass for the first time is inspiring and it makes lugging the sixty pounds of gear up the hill worthwhile.

I am reluctant to post here because it is not worth the time to argue with people. For instance my point of making this post in the first place was to say that maybe not shooting so many photos will help save your batteries and it is rewarding in its own way. Yet, some guy who posts a lot wants to make this a debate between analog and digital photography. Each medium has its own benefits and rewards and they are different tools for different jobs as far as I am concerned. Nothing worth arguing about. It is all photography!

How about a response from a guy that needs no batteries to take a photograph? Take fewer images. I was at a week long Death Valley workshop last month with nine digital shooters. I shoot 8x10 large format that has spring activated shutters and use an analog light meter. As a comparison I came home with eight sheets of film and four glass plates to develop, they each shot hundreds of images.

I know to each his own. I enjoy the slow contemplative process that allows me to get into the moment and feel an image. Just suggesting that you try this when shooting digitally. It definitely would help solve your battery issues.

Bob that is some funny stuff! You actually made me laugh out loud. If you need I can come over and help you put away the decorations and then maybe you can come over to my place and help me!?

Arizona Game and Fish has a workshop coming up in late January and a live camera for crane viewing. Go to https://www.azgfd.com and click on Wildlife on the top banner and take it from there.

Jerry

Jack,

I rarely respond to posts but found it compelling to address yours. Thank you for such a warm loving message. Your neighbor in AZ, Jerry.

P.S. I enjoy your posts.

Stole the words out of my mouth. Will also add that being a skilled photographer takes more than a camera and the ability to manipulate the post image wether film or digital. It is about learning to master the skills necessary to produce the desired image. It is about learning what a good photograph looks like. It is about knowing the history of photography. It is something that can take decades to master.

The invention of digital has allowed beginners to quickly achieve average results, almost overnight. Good for the photography manufacturers/business. But what we get is a market flooded with poor to mediocre images. Over the years I have become good friends with a Master Photographer. He helped me learn the skills of large format photography. Due to medical reasons he abandoned his large format camera and picked up a digital camera. The decades of studying photography had paid off for him as his digital images are just as breathtaking as his silver gelatin prints. Time at your craft makes all the difference by giving you the knowledge to determine what it takes to make a quality image.

We lost many professional photographers who had these skills with the advent of digital. All but one I know are no longer in business and he lost his studio. Think of the institutional knowledge and the history lost. Go ahead ask a “photographer” who are Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Henry Cartier Breslin, Imogen Cunningham, much less William Henry Fox Talbot. You shouldn’t call yourself a photographer unless you have spent the time to learn the history of the medium and invest in the time to know what a quality image looks like and the ability to make one. Just owning the latest greatest camera equipment doesn’t make you a photographer.

It are comments like this as to why I have only made 242 posts, don’t comment much and have not published any images after all these years as a member of UHH. I come here every day (even though I shoot only film) to enjoy reading the contributions from many knowledgeable people and learn something about an area of photography of which I am not familiar.

Too bad some have to ruin the experience.

Okay then what about the cost of a computer with enough speed and storage to edit and store files? Monthly software subscription costs. Printers, ink and paper. We can really get in the weeds on this. I believe Bob just wanted to give people an insight what it costs for film not start a debate.

Six years ago I bought a DeVere 8x10 enlarger another enlarger for 4x5 with lenses for all formats and complete darkroom setup with print washers, trays, drying cabinet, etc. for $1,800. The DeVere enlarger when new costed about $25,000.

If you saw the post here on UHH just yesterday people can’t even give away their entire darkroom setup including the enlarger you mention. Plus film cameras and most lenses are a lot cheaper to buy these days then digital gear. The great thing about photography in the 21st Century is the options it offers in pursuit of our art. From 19th Century techniques to cutting edge technology. What a great medium!