What to do when it snows in Austin, TX?

So, I am going to start this off with a bit of history. Sunday afternoon was in the low 80s. By Monday morning, the weather had dipped back down to about 50 or so. This morning I awoke to it snowing. Yes. Snowing. In Austin, TX. So what did I decide to do with the opportunity? I went and took pictures.

Last Thursday, I got my hands on a Cambo large format view camera. I didn't get much opportunity to play with it and shoot until Sunday afternoon. And even then, I only shot 2 sheets of film. I forgot how much I loved working with the view camera. There is something magical in the tilts, shifts and swings of the standards. It is a very organic and slow process. You bring out the legs and then set up either the short or long rail, then the standards and bellows. And then you start framing your image. By the time you have framed and composed your shot, you can easily have spent 30 minutes before you are even ready to contemplate loading the film and setting the aperture and shutter speed. That process alone is an art form; ie. bellows extension factor.


I picked up the view camera so that I could work on some personal projects that have been trying to break out of my skull recently. I wanted to slow myself down and not be so meticulous in building and creating the commercial images I love to make. Instead, I have been feeling the need to become a part of the artistic process, slow and painstaking. I think this will actually help improve my work one step further bringing a new depth and emotion to my work.

I will be posting images from Sunday and today in the next couple of days. I will be dropping the 8 sheets off to be processed in the morning. Until then, slow down.....reconnect to and enjoy the process of photography.