SlowPhotography in the mountains
For years, I had this old Sinar Norma analog camera in my storage room and wondered what to do with her. Then just this year we started to clean her with medical alcohol, using a dab of oil here and there. And slowly, patiently, we brought her back to life, despite her seventy-odd years of age. This old 4x5 analogue camera is an absolute beast when properly scanned, producing files of over 700MB, much more than any modern camera. But quality comes at a price: one click of the shutter can cost up to 200 CHF, between the cost of the film, the development, and the scanning.
Over the last six months, we’ve been working with her, and only now are we bringing this veteran lady up to the mountains, we hope this is just the beginning of a long journey.
Until now, we’ve only taken 20 photos but have learned so much about light, under- and over-exposure, and dynamic range. Every composition gave rise to several minutes of discussion before we actually pressed the shutter. And that’s where the real alchemy begins. It’s only when you go to the lighting table that you find out if you’ve got it right, or have to go back and practice some more.
Our goal is to shoot iconic fine art photos in the mountains with the magic touch of these old analogue cameras. Our latest jaunt has been to the Diavolezza in the Swiss Alps near St Moritz, where we’ve been trying to apply the lessons learned over the last six months. So far I’ve pressed the shutter twice. I have a feeling one photo will be a killer, while I have my doubts about the other.
Thank you Manuel for being part of this journey – let’s see where this project takes us.
Jürg
BTS photos Leonardo Condor
Update
I just got the first photos of the developed dia film.
Now they will be scanned and in a few weeks we will get a real 700 megapixel file of this unique photos.
