From: Gary Miller (gmphotos@earthlink.net)
Date: 06/24/01-07:59:36 PM Z
I feel that it is easier and better if you decide on the process or
processes before you go out to photograph. Now I am not recommending that
you put on process binders, but if you go out and are not precise about why
you are shooting, what you are shooting, and how you are shooting it, you
can get mired down in all that equipment and what to use and how to expose
for this and develop for that, and I find that all that really takes away
from my creative process. For me, I would say, I am going to the Southwest
and I feel like capturing it in 8x10 black and white and then in the end
making platinum prints. Because I use pyro to develop my film, I still have
the ability to make lovely silver prints if for some reason, or expense
constraints, I come back with many good images. It is important for me
because I let the subject/assignment decide what format I will choose (I
have them all from 35 to 8x10). I think that it is good to have focus
before you leave. One of my mentors once said that if you go out without an
idea/concept, you come back with images without an idea/concept. But some
people may work better by the seat of their pants and let the spectacle
dictate to final output. I do not make things so definite that I am blind
to other offering out in the field. Part of the artist process and
challenge for me is pre-visualization and that means on several levels. I
want to know what the final print will look like; the size, and feel, and
that for me dictates the cameras, lenses, film, how I shoot, the
development, and the eventual printing.
Gary Miller
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