The Marks of Man

This is not going to be scientific, as the light changes but I want to know the best settings for this back, I may not have to use iso 100, it may be fine at 400 iso or 800 iso. I am also unsure what happens when you set the film curve as it is not reflected in the curve on the right of the screen. I have taken a lot of images today and will edit this post once I evaluate the images. The day was overcast so the light was even. You will see on the last scan, (it took a whopping 33 minutes). The sun goes down, darkening the image at the bottom. First shot unprocessed at medium resolution, that is 22.22 cm x 26.67 cm at 300 Pixels per inch, 23.6 MB. 75mm Lens set at f8 ( I put the lens in upside down and lifted the front and managed to clear the bed of the camera). The back was set at 30th of a second and the exposure indicator was on the left of the green area, indicating slight underexposure. Film curve was set to "Linear". Other options are film curve natural black, black and

I found this site with a taped interview with John Blakemoore http://www.lensculture.com/blakemore.html I remember in the 1980s seeing his work for the first time, it looked wonderful, just like the work of Wyn Bullock.

I missed the light today, I was on the wrong side of the Port Hills. I stopped at the sign of the Kiwi and did a quick run up Sugar loaf. After much flapping around and negotiating joggers, I managed to get one image. I took three images, one at 16 minuets exposure, the clouds looked amazing with scanner distortion. I got a contorted jogger in another, the first image was best. Bringing a book helped me wait for the image to scan. I love the distortion in the grass. Here is a close up of the grass before I have removed the colour shift . You can see the 3 colour split from the (Sony?) tri linear array, and have a taste of the resolution. Thanks for the tips on software and Macs.

As I am a photographer in New Zealand, a low wage place. I want to put together a high resolution camera system on a budget. The scanning back I got from Ebay is a Phase One fx, which is fine until you try to buy extras from Phase One like a filter. I was Quoted $800 NZ, worse I need the software to run it. I was told by Phase One (the dealer is great not his fault), I would have to buy version 4 for 500 Euros, out of my range, Most software comes free with the device, these scanners are selling at $38000 NZ new. Its a bit like buying a car, then being told the engine is extra. Phase one being the magnanimous Danes they are, offer software for free, but only for Macs and system 9. Steep learning curve meant that the old Titanium Mac I bought for my daughter is on loan till my new/old $175.00 Ibook arrives from the US care of the defence department surplus, with out a hard drive of course, not easy to put those in. Quick parting of the drive and OS 9 and X are working, down to the batte

Tony Tucker kindly invited me to exhibit at his New Gallery in Cheviot. After a lot of hard work it opened on Saturday 19th of April. Here is a bit of the opening on video, I edited out my talk, I don't like hearing myself or seeing myself on the screen, I think its a photographer thing.

I don’t believe technology has really changed photography; other then to open it up creatively even further. It has shown us we have to be ambivalent about how and why an image has been created. This ambivalence and discarding helps us question some of the myths that we surround ourself concerning photography, the myth of the blur, the myth of time, the myth of capture area, the myth of the document the myth of the photographic rather then human perception. Rather the capture of time through representation and memory by the vehicle of a camera has been strengthened, because we have so many ways of capturing images and holding them with out relying on human memory. When I use the camera I am looking for so many things beyond what my eyes or camera tell me is there. The ghosts of people on a footpath, the change of the vegetation of hundreds of years, the memories of human loss and gain. I try to see the conflicts on the land both human and natural, the difficulty is expressing this all

If there is one thing that digital technology has affected it is the family photograph, arguably the most important form of photography, digital technology has enabled the average person more freedom in making the pictures and this is a good thing. This current era of photography has been the most important form of photography since its invention, it records our human frailty and mortality, our loves and our losses beyond the few years that we live. Eventually to fade itself once all who remember us have died or the memory has gone.

The passion I have about photography is not necessarily about the photograph, but about what the photograph could represent. I am ambivalent about the technique of photography as well as the process. Technique is important in the physical capture of an image and the effect a camera has on the perception of the photograph. But once the image has been captured the importance of the camera the method of capture and the materials used becomes insignificant, a bit like the wrapping on a chocolate bar, useful for a while but always discarded, the memory being the chocolate. I have spend years in darkrooms, ages in front of a computer making my work, none of which is relevant once the photograph has been printed, but less so after. I love to look at an Ansell Adams and I admit have read the vast amount of technical information in his books. However when you look at his work, the importance for us now is limited, as time has gone by. I have often browsed junk shops and antique shops and found