Sometimes the Journey Is the Reward We were between locations — hours into yet another drive across the volcanic desert of southwestern Bolivia. The kind of place where the road is barely a suggestion, and the landscape shifts from black rock to golden dunes without warning. We weren’t chasing a shot. We weren’t expecting anything. …
Salar de Uyuni
There’s light. And then there’s Bolivian light. I’ve had strobes accidentally popping off in my eyes, but I’ve never known light, bright light, until I was here. Photographing the salt flats of Bolivia — Salar de Uyuni — was one of the most disorienting and visually surreal experiences I’ve had behind a camera. …
Using GF50mm for Portraiture
Portrait of Mr. Phua: Making Space Where There Is None — with the GF 50mm Some portraits stay with you long after the shutter clicks. This one — of SK Phua, the master craftsman carpenter in his impossibly packed workshop — is one of them. The space was tight. Every inch of wall, floor, and …
The Quiet Romantic
Ode to the Pentax 645: The Quiet Romantic of Medium Format In the world of medium format photography, some names shout. Hasselblad — the status (or dare I say it, pretentious). Mamiya — the muscle, the dependable workhorse, all business. But then there’s Pentax. Humble, earnest, quietly brilliant. And among its creations, the Pentax 645 …
An Ode to the Contax 645
Why I Still Shoot with the Contax 645 — And Why You Should Too In a world dominated by the latest mirrorless marvels and AI-powered phone camera apps, my go-to camera is a relic from a bygone era — the Contax 645. Yes, that Contax 645: heavy, film-hungry, temperamental at times, and entirely devoid of …