There just didn’t seem to be enough hours in the day that I could manage so that the work load of both shooting and file management was done with confidence and competence. In addition, I was exhibiting signs of retrograde camera envy. Besides the digital cameras at hand, I wanted to shoot with my 1940s Speed Graphic, a beautiful old beast of a press camera, with a 1943 aerial recon camera lens on it. I have shot with this camera for a decade, and find that when I look into its amazing viewfinder, I see things I just miss with my digi cams. The old lens, long and fast, sees the world in a very different way than the Canons, and in many ways IS a perfect foil for the smaller more agile counterparts. First, it uses Film. There is no practical affordable digital back for a 4×5” camera at least not yet, and frankly I kind of hope no one develops one anytime soon. There is, in the use of film, film holders, and a semi ancient camera, something very satisfying, very “I have to get this in ONE shot,” something very, shall we say, Romantic.
