I imaged myself hiking up to the vantage point, carrying my 20x24 view camera. I imagined that Ilford made me some ULF Delta film just for me, but I imagined that it was ISO 3200 with the grain of Pan F+.
I imagined myself waiting all day for the perfect break in the clouds, because I imagine I'm a dedicated person who cares deeply about the decisive moment. I stopped down my Copal 4 to f/128, because I imagined diffraction is not a thing, and I wanted extreme depth of field with my massive imaginary 2400mm lens. I imagine that I applied the zone system perfectly. I imagined going back to my studio, where I processed the single sheet with intense focus. I imagined the development was absolutely perfectly even, so perfect that I had the best score for my inevitably perfect performance to follow.
I imagined making a contact print on a new kind of fibre paper that does not require any stop or fixer, because I imagined that I don't want to bother with it. My print speaks to craftsmanship and perseverance, and the beauty of our natural landscape. I'm also an environmentalist, so I like that this image did not require mining of silver or any chemistry, only a massive data centre and a huge power station (and I suppose rare metals for computer hardware, but whatever).
