I have finally undertaken  some small steps towards making  the necessary shift to what the photographic industry  calls   digital medium format photography. 

One  reason that  started me to make  this shift  is the  trouble I have recently been experiencing  using  the 5x7  large format with  colour negative film:  eg., bellows yaw on the Cambo  SC-3; the  poor quality  commercial lab film processing of colour negative sheet film;   Newton rings from scanning 5x7 negatives  on  a flat bed Epson scanner;  and then the  difficulties with  the subsequent colour correction in Lightroom.  These  ongoing problems over a couple of years  led me to  more or less give up using both the 5x7  format and the Cambo SC-3 (circa 1960s).   Time to cut my loses I thought. 

Below  is an  early image of the wetlands in the Hindmarsh Estuary in Victor Harbor on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia using the  5x7 Cambo monorail.  It was exposed on colour film (Kodak Portra 160 ASA),   but  then converted  to black and white as an experiment to see if it was possible for me to make a return to b+w. Yep was my response. It looks okay.  

Though some  of the above issues have been resolved -- eg., those with the  pro-lab and then using a hand made 5x7 film holder for scanning -- the encountered  difficulties  with the work flow convinced me to start making some small steps to  shift from using large format colour negative exclusively,  and to begin to start  using  black and white sheet film. I have  more control  over the work flow process as a result.  

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This picture of the appearance or shining forth (Schein) of the quartz  form amongst Cambrian Kanmantoo rocks  along  coastal Waitpinga  on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia  is part of a long term,   ongoing  littoral zone  series in my local area. This particular  location  is near a natural spring of fresh water that flows through the coastal rocks into the Southern Ocean.  

Unfortunately,  the picture  is yet another example of me, as the large format photographer,  making mistakes on location.  The scanned digital file  is over-exposed  and the bottom half  of  the picture  is  out of focus.  I cannot recall why or how  I slipped  up,  as the file is from the archives,  and I have no explicit memory of this photo session.

 I've reworked  the  file into something that is ok as  a place-filler  for the absence of any  memorials  of the violent, early 19th century encounters along the coastal region of Encounter Bay; ie., one  between the white sealers from  Kangaroo Island and the first nations Ramindjeri people.

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The two pictures in the post are from the  archives.

 They were made  when I was photographing around the Port Adelaide /Osborne area on the   Lefevre Peninsula (north west of Adelaide's CBD)   in the  1980s. The photography would be interpreted as a mirror with a memory as the photos  represent a part of the history of industrial Adelaide that is being marked by absence.  

This picture is of the  Port River estuary  and it is looking across the river to the suburb of Taperoo and  the Penrice Soda ash  plant, Osborne.  The gas-fired  Torrens Island Power Station is just outside the right side of the frame. 

The Penrice Soda Holdings Ltd company, which was established in the 1930s,  went into receivership round 201 and   its  Osborne soda ash  plant has been decommissioned and dismantled.  The remediation of the site is ongoing.  Most of the area along  both sides of the Port River have been  closed off to the public -- ie., the land  has been privatised. I would not be able to make the above photo today.

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This is a  local southern Fleurieu Peninsula view that  I see on those  days when  I drive up Willunga Hill  from Encounter Bay on my way to walk in the local Waitpinga bushland with one of the standard poodles.   We are looking across the grazing land of a local farm to rain falling on the southern ocean. 

I had scoped the view  a number of times with both  a digital camera and a 35m film camera --- an expired Velvia 50 version can be seen on this post . I chose an overcast wintry  day for the large format  photo session  using the 5x7 Cambo S3 monorail as  I wanted some  atmospherics.

 I have struggled with a poorly developed/underdeveloped  colour negative  from the professional lab. The colour was all washed out. The initial scan looked awful -- the post processing has  a substantial amount  increased saturation and contrast whereas I normally do the opposite. 

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The  two photographs below are an experiment. 

At the time I was trying to obtain a washed-out or bleached, high summer look. The photographs are of nothing much, the technique I used was overexposure, and the camera  was a 1960's heavy metal Super Cambo 8x10 monorail,  a Schneider-Kreuznach 240mm  lens and  a Pronto shutter.  

The photo below is of the mouth of the Hindmarsh River  at Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia: 

The picture below of roadside vegetation in Waitpinga on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula was an attempt to ensure that  the process of making a photos with  the 8x10 Cambo  monorail was successful. I wanted to nail it down in light of all the issues I'd been having -- with the shutter,  the  limited  lens coverage,  vignetting from bellows yaw,  poor development of the film and  Newton rings  when scanning. 

 My experience was one of  a continual series of flaws that got in the way of trying to do something with the 8x10 style of photography.   Since nothing was working properly I wanted to sort out  the dam  problems I was experiencing by  getting the technique  under control.  In desperation  I simplified everything down so  that I could make  a picture that wasn't deeply flawed. It's a bit like being in a workshop or  a construction site with being a mechanic. 

Hence this representation of a tree in the roadside vegetation in my local neighbourhood: 

I wanted to get things working right so  that I could start to shift my photography away from a reflection of what exists towards a photography  that would start to stimulate us to reconfigure our interaction with the world; to try and develop a photography that  leads to  new sensations and stimulates new ways of seeing and being.

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