I'm getting the itch to make pictures again today and with the view cameras and taking a leap of working with color sheet film, Kodak Professional of course and the flavor of Portra400!  My biggest chore is finding some willing or unwilling participants to sit for 6 sheets!  You would think that making 6 pictures would be a breeze, and put the digital camera in my hand and I'd have 6 shots rattled off before you finished this long sentence.  However, because working with sheet film and view cameras the process takes a fair amount of more time.  Something about having no automatic anything.  No automatic focus (and this is a luxury I take for granted on my smaller cameras), no auto film advance, no automatic exposure, no automatic image review, no auto anything!  

So Pete WHY?!?!?! Why would you subject yourself to working this way??  The simple answer is "experience".  I love the experience it provides me, by forcing me to think, engage, focus, focus again, insert the film holders so there is no chance to recheck focus, then fill myself with doubt that I missed focus, then be thinking did I get it in focus until I process the film, thinking about focus the whole time, and not until it's on the scanner to see if I focused accurately to then wonder about exposure!  See I thrive on all the challenges that working this way provides me and then I can go through all those same thoughts with exposure!  BUT - the real reason is when posing, light that has that personality and character all come together, the focus is nailed, the exposure is spot on, and I have a sensational subject - when all those come together the final image just can't be beat!  Plus the feeling of fulfillment that I got all of those things right, just reinforces the craft aspect of photography for me.  

I'm going to peel another layer of this proverbial onion by adding the element of color into the mix.  I've only exposed color sheet film in studio a couple of times, and in all honesty I've only shot maybe 40 sheets of color sheet film ever.  However, I have the ability to process it myself at home now, and since I have some free time on my hands I'm going to see what I can manage to teach myself in 6 sheets and 2 backgrounds and possibly 2 subjects!  Hmmm I wonder who those subjects might be?!?!   E...R...I...C  - M...A...D...D...I...E!!!

I hope you are all staying healthy and safe during this extraordinary time!  Stay tuned to see results of my 4x5 sheet film color studies!,  Until then enjoy some of my favorite 4x5 black and white sheet film studies from years past!

Cheers!

Pete