MAKING IMAGES

One of the earliest memories I have is of me drawing a landscape when I was 4. It was not your typical child's drawing - as far as I can recall it was quite complex complete with scale and perspective. I have not stopped making images since: from Drawing to Painting to Graphic Design to Video Directing and now Photography.

I got into photography accidentally. It's not that I have not done photography before. I'll usually act as photographer, art director, stylist and graphic designer for low budget advertising projects. Photography was simply part of my interdisciplinary image making arsenal.

Wanting to record my first year in Switzerland, I started taking snaps, first with a borrowed point and shoot camera (Pentax Optio 330), taking snaps when I found something interesting. Eventually, Sacha got me a Minolta 7D digital SLR.

Intrigued by traditional silver photography, I bought a second hand Sinar F2 View Camera. No autofocus, no TTL metering, no auto anything. My twisted logic told me to immediately start with something with a high learning curve if I wanted to really learn traditional silver photography, darkroom work included.

I've acquired a Carbon Infinity 4x5 large format camera which replaced the Sinar F2 outfit. I still use the Minolta Dynax 7D when I need to work faster or for subjects that are impossible with a view camera.