An exercise in learning to be patient. I had a beautiful 4×5 view camera I used for my commercial architectural work. It was the type of camera that real photographers used and to master it meant earning a badge of honor. But I hated the whole process. Loading and unloading film holders, developing film, the expense of time and money using the damn thing. But your patience could be rewarded with exquisite image quality. So, I compromised by using Polaroid Type 55 film that produced a fine negative. My little bit of instant gratification. I made little still life tableaus and used selective focus, hoping it would lead to bigger things, landscapes maybe. It didn’t. But I liked the look of the film with its ragged edges, so I carried on. But eventually I realized I was not a view camera photographer and that my superpowers lie with the 35mm camera, where I could move quickly and deftly and react more intuitively to image making. And so, I sold the camera to another photographer hoping to learn patience. I would earn my badge of honor in other ways.
