I've always had a fascination with mechanical objects. Back in the day my music was on cassettes and LP's, my watches had to be wound up, my car's carburettors had to be tweaked by hand every few weeks to keep everything running right.
Many of these experiences endure for a great many people including myself.
While the age of software is at its height right now, and computer hardware and software is entrenched in almost every aspect of our lives, I still choose to wear a mechanical watch, and I still choose to listen to music via my favourite format - LP. What has any of this got to do with Photography? Well, if you have watched any of my videos, you'll have noticed one thing - they have all so far been about making photographs of an analogue origin, but it's really much more than that. for me it's about the experience, and if anything is true, it's that its more than just a love of the medium of film, it's really about the camera.
I've used 35mm film, and medium format of various sizes for many years, and love what those cameras have to offer - the ritual of loading a roll of film, the reassuring clunk of the shutter and tactile feedback of the advancing lever. Large format adds an extra dimension, and again, this is principally in the different way a large format camera operates over its smaller siblings.
Before I go any further, I should say that I'm certainly no technophobe. Most of my photography (probably 95%) is digital, I work in the software industry and I enjoy a technology filled life, however there's a need for the tactile interaction with beautifully designed pieces of engineering, that only mechanical devices can provide.
So when I use film, it's not because of any belief that it's somehow better than digital - it isn't, but then neither is digital better than film, just like analogue music formats are not better than digital ones, or visa-versa. 'Better' is something that's quantifiable only by what the end user needs. Technical data sheets only tell part of the story.
I use film, principally large format film because that's what enables me to use a large format camera, and it's the process of using the camera that I enjoy. It provides all the tactile feedback that I look for in this hobby. Digital photography provides immediacy, and opens up many creative options, however for a more artisan experience, only film cameras fulfil that for me.
So, what better location to get that artisan experience than in the far North West of Scotland, among the mountains of Coigach and Assynt.
There's a mountain called Suilven, which stands guard over the Inverpolly National Nature Reserve. It's a remote outpost in some of the finest scenery in all of Scotland. This mountain has classic views from a number of locations, but not being one to repeat already done compositions, I hiked onto the flanks of a neighbouring mountain called Cul Mor. From about 500 metres I was able to find a location that present a view of the mountain that I liked, and I set about making some photographs, in black and white, and colour.
You can see the story of these images and hear a little more about why I like the analog workflow in my latest video here;
Comments