About
My photographic journey began as many others have. As a technical person I was drawn by the technology of photography, I built a darkroom in my parent’s garage, and dabbled with everything from Cibachrome to dye transfer to silkscreening. I found the technology fascinating and fun to play with. My first camera was a medium format Mamiya 645. It gave good results, but the prints didn’t look as good as those that I admired. I became interested in large format photography after discovering Fred Picker’s Zone VI newsletters. He had a very “down home” viewpoint, and emphasized simplicity and the creative process. I built a wooden 4×5 field camera, rented lenses from Calumet, and focused my new camera on my native California. As I learned the technique of large format photography I began to notice that many people focused purely on the technique. They spent a lot of time studying the zone system, and shooting pictures of resolution charts. I was of the firm belief that technique once mastered became invisible, and allowed the freedom of improvisation. I simplified my tools and focused on what to point my camera at.
Some say the end results are all that matter, I couldn’t disagree more. To me the journey is as important as the destination. My camera encourages me to explore things that I find interesting, to go places I might not otherwise go, to experience things I might not otherwise experience. In the field my tools have not changed much since Ansel Adams days. With my 4×5 camera, 3 lenses and a light meter I have reached the point where my tools have become an extension of myself, I no longer have to think about the technology involved. The practice of photography has become the practice of looking, of imagining what a scene will look like in print.
Back at home in my darkroom I make enlarged, silver gelatin prints as the greats have done before me. The printing process itself is very simply, expose paper to light and run it through two different chemicals. The controls, while limited, present more than enough creative control to create a print that conveys my artistic vision, while still assuring the viewer that the scene actually existed at some moment in time. I enjoy the beauty of this classic process for what it is. It is not trying to emulate anything, it just is. Next to a brightly colored digital print it may seem a bit old fashioned, but I find a certain magic in this time honored process. I hope you enjoy.
Cheers,
RW
Email me at 