Greene County, Virginia

"Contemplating" Medium Format

There was an article in a photography magazine the other day where, once again, a landscape photographer mentioned the "contemplative" nature of using a view camera. On internet forums this is a common refrain among medium format and large format camera owners. People considering a medium format setup often opine that a medium format camera "will force me to slow down and take a more contemplative approach to photography."

If you want to slow down, just slow down. Is there any camera that limits the amount of time you have to take a picture? (Unless the batteries are about to die, but that is a different problem.) If you want your photography to be more contemplative, here's what I suggest; spend more time contemplating the place you wish to photograph. Walk around. Feel the air. Listen to the sounds. Learn something about the history of the place. You don't even need a camera to do that. Then set up the camera and begin to photograph. Take all the time you want between shots. The camera will wait.

There is nothing particularly contemplative about operating a camera. A camera that is slow to operate might slow you down, but it is not going to make you more contemplative.

By the way, the shot at the top of this post was taken on Fuji Neopan Acros 100 with a Mamiya RB67 and 90mm lens. I love using medium format. I love the process of shooting with medium format and the large negative that results. There is something about looking down into the large and bright viewfinder of the RB67 that my 35mm cameras cannot match. But in the end photography happens in the mind and in the eye; cameras are just tools.