liathach - torridon - wester ross - scotland

As we move into 2010 (happy new year by the way!) along with the announcement that Fujifilm are to discontinue production of quickload 5×4 films. It appears that digital imaging is finally starting to reach a point whereby the landscape photographer can no longer ignore its application. It seems more than ever that we as landscape photographers are obsessed with resolving power and resolution rather than the compositional quality of the images we take. Have we forgotten those spellbinding images by the likes of Ansel Adams or, Vittorio Sella taken what seems such a long time ago?

These images still connect with us today, despite being of far lower resolution than that which is attainable with current technology.

The image above was made on my Fuji GX617 camera and Fuji Acros film. This is a recipe that I will continue to use as well as the renown Fuji Velvia film. Why I hear you ask? Well, for me there is several issues happening here. Firstly, these films (particularly Velvia) give me a substance (a photographic look) that make my images look a certain way that I find visually pleasing. Achieving this look is very important to the way I work, as it then allows me to create images at a certain time of day (mostly at dawn) that will then connect on an emotional level.

Additionally, the camera that I use, has a 90mm lens. This lens on a normal 35mm style camera would be a short length telephoto. However, on the Fuji it has the equivalent width of a 20mm lens (in 35mm terms). This brings with it a compression within the focal plains not achievable by digital panoramic stitching.

So far, (despite trying many digital camera systems) I still haven’t been able to attain the visual look that replicates both the look and feel of film and this compression of perspective. I have found that digital backs from the likes of Phase One & Hasselblad offer a resolution (at 65 megapixels) which is certainly very attractive and comparable to the 5×4 film format. What they don’t offer however is the ability to render a sunset, or long exposure in the same way as Fuji Velvia does.  They also cost a considerable amount more than the price of film developing and scanning, and for this reason (along with the massive advancements in technology each year) don’t offer real value for money.

I believe we’re in the last quarter of what I would call a transitional phase. Digital imaging (for landscape use) hasn’t quite caught up with film. But, it’s not far off. There’s going to be a point in the reasonably near future when we landscape photographers will be forced to move into digital imaging. For now though, there isn’t any real innovation in the world of digital, with the exception of Leica and Canon.

So for me, I will continue to shoot with my Fuji GX617, but will also be using digital camera’s as a landscape research tool, looking for that piece of forthcoming technology that will give me the look and feel I’m after in my images to communicate my emotions within the landscape.

But, most importantly, it will be the composition and content that will always come first.

Great photography will always remain GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY.

Happy new year.

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