It’s always a pleasure to discover a new photography blog. Especially a really good one. It’s also a pleasure to pass it along to others.

I came across this one the other day. Wesley Picotte hails from Portland, Oregon and does some very fine wilderness photography. Not only that, he writes with the best of them. His posts are very strong, bold, and thoughtful… well worth reading and thinking about.

Rather than speak for him — he’s quite capable of doing that for himself — I’ll just send you over there to see for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

In case you missed it, that’s Wesley Picotte Wilderness Photography.

Enjoy.

two pipes

I walked into Freestyle Photographic Supply here in LA a while back for the first time. My first question was “are you guys hiring any help?” The woman just grinned and said… “Nope. Nobody ever leaves here.” They’ve all been there a long time. It’s a cool place.

I spent some time looking around, and other than the darkroom supplies, and digital printing supplies, and photos on the walls, the first thing I noticed was the selection of Holga cameras, accessories and supplies, as well  as several other so called toy cameras and pinhole cameras. There is a huge subculture growing around these cameras, a backlash to the near total dominance that digital technology has assumed in recent years. There is a great and growing number of photographers turning to these inexpensive film cameras and the unpredictable expressive qualities you can get from them.

Film is considered dead by many, but I don’t think so. Many photographers are still staying with film and working with vintage cameras. Many more are turning to the Holga and the Diana, and other toy cameras as their instruments of expression. Others are still working with large and medium format film cameras. Working pros have largely abandoned their 35mm SLR’s for newer digital equipment, which isn’t a bad thing, but many artists are exploring the possibilities of these other cameras and are keeping the traditions of film photography alive and vibrant. That’s not a bad thing either.

I had started a blog some time back about photographing with an old Silette film camera my wife at the time found for me at a yard sale years ago. I’ve since decided to let that one go.  It’s a bit redundant  —  I can devote some time to it here when I want to. In fact, I’m going to do that right now…

For the rest of this month I’m putting my digital camera on the shelf, and I’m going to play around with my two-dollar Silette. I’m going to put one roll of film in it, and shoot it over the next four weeks. If I get any keepers on that roll, I’ll post a series of Silette photos during April.

Why am I doing this? For the best reason in the world… I want to. Be sure to check the results next month. It might be kinda fun…