Going Analogue

I have been working with (DSLR) digital cameras since around 2005. I have shot everything from landscapes and portraits to events and still-life. I was feeling very stale and uninspired with my work a couple of years ago and looking for a new challenge. I was inspired looking at work from photographers using large-format film and then shortly after noticed a Facebook post about fundraising for a community darkroom. It seemed serendipitous and I decided to try working with a 4×5 camera.

I purchased an Intrepid camera and a couple of second-hand lenses on eBay. After a lot of reading around using a 4x5 camera and practising the process without film, I started to shoot some images and have been developing my negatives at Photosynthesis since the darkroom opened.

This was one of the images from my first shoot with the Intrepid 4×5, Jase very kindly modelled for me in the studio. I used continuous LED lighting and worked out the exposure using my DSLR camera. This was 1/250s at f/5.6 on a Nikkor 210mm f5.6 lens, Ilford HP5.