The photographs below were taken on 4×5 transparency film in the 1990’s, when a more theatrical approach to lighting was popular. Each of these photographs took an assistant and I between two and five hours to produce, required several hundred pounds of photographic gear, multiple sheets of film, gallons of chemicals, and generated a trash can full of used Polaroids, window gels, and seamless paper. 

I recognized the appeal as well as the inevitable takeover by digital photography early in its development. I began experimenting with Photoshop version 1.0 in 1990, and Nikon’s first digital SLR in 1999. Three years later when Canon released a camera capable of producing (just barely) professional results, I switched almost entirely to digital production, continuing to shoot film until 2004 only for a small number of museums and galleries. Occasionally I am asked if I miss film. I don’t. Film looks beautiful, but using a large format  camera is a slow, expensive way to make a photograph. I appreciate being able to get more accomplished in a shorter amount of time, the smaller footprint, and all the things made possible by digital imaging and retouching.