Last week I took my 4x5 press camera and a Moskva to the office of one of my clients to show them to some of the workers. The company is a software outsourcing firm that employs about 350 mostly young tech-oriented people. There are a good number of people who shoot filmless, and some who prefer 35mm print. One guy does have a view camera at home as a decoration.
While running one of the guys through the LF process and making a few slide images, it occurred to me that this was the first time that I had introduced someone not related to me to an aspect of photography beyond common accessability. All because I had left a slide out one day.
This wasn't the same as having someone walk up to me while I was shooting - that's happened, too. But bringing in the gear, using and explaining it made me wonder not whether or not he'll ever shoot 20x24, but how to take the time and make the opportunities to introduce these aspects of photography to the people around us. Or is his curiosity about his hobby rare enough that I won't have to worry about this again?
While running one of the guys through the LF process and making a few slide images, it occurred to me that this was the first time that I had introduced someone not related to me to an aspect of photography beyond common accessability. All because I had left a slide out one day.
This wasn't the same as having someone walk up to me while I was shooting - that's happened, too. But bringing in the gear, using and explaining it made me wonder not whether or not he'll ever shoot 20x24, but how to take the time and make the opportunities to introduce these aspects of photography to the people around us. Or is his curiosity about his hobby rare enough that I won't have to worry about this again?
