Film was the standard when I began my professional career; 4×5 transparency film for products and Kodak VPS III (now Portra) in 120/220 for portraits.

Over the years, I’ve shot many different types of film, including every format listed in the banner graphic above, plus 5×7″, 6×12 cm and 6×17 cm. During my commercial film days, we chose specific emulsions for different Kelvin lighting conditions, and of course, every photographer had their preferred films and formats depending on the job.

I’ve lived through the industry’s full evolution, from film to digital, and now I shoot medium-format digital for most of my commercial work, along with a 61 MP full-frame Sony.

I’ve never lost my love for black-and-white film. Digital B&W simply does not satisfy me the way a beautiful B&W negative does.

I rarely shoot color film today, but when I do, it’s usually Kodak Ektachrome 100 in 120 or 135, or Kodak Portra 160 or 400 in 120.

Portra has its roots in the classic portrait films, Vericolor II and Vericolor III, and to my eyes, it looks much the same today as it always has. Some things change, but a classic that simply changes its name still feels familiar.

When I attended Portfolio Center, Atlanta (now called the Miami Ad School, Atlanta) for commercial photography, I had a growing studio business in commercial art and portrait work.

I arrived in Atlanta three years prior and wanted to go after more advertising work. After my time at the School of Visual Arts for commercial art, I knew I wanted a pro from the field to instruct me on the business sense and operation of the 4×5 camera, not a teacher with book knowledge only.

Not only did I learn how to shoot the 4×5 camera and spend time with pros in the field, but I also built on-location sets, designed lighting for products, created props, and learned to use different types of film for creativity.

During that time, I began shooting Scotch Chrome 1000, pushing it a couple of stops and manipulating it with filters. Cokin creative filters were my favorite during those years due to their diffusion and graduated color selections. It was a fun and enlightening period for me as a photographer.

From that time, I began shooting 4×5 chromes, mainly Ektachrome, for product work. Still, a significant part of my studio work continued with Hasselblads loaded with 120 & 220 Vericolor films (and 70mm), which today would be Portra.

My love for shooting and developing B&W film continues. I have worked with various hand processing systems over the years, and I have consistently used Paterson reels and tanks for 4×5, 120 and 135 film.

I occassionally used a Jobo Expert Drum 3010 for larger batches of 4×5 film (10 sheets), but eventually sold it from lack of use. Instead, I use a MOD 54 with my Paterson tanks when processing up to six 4×5 sheets.

Pyro developers have become what I routinely use, with one-shot fixers.

I find satisfaction in developing my film, but I gave up the idea of optical darkroom print-making long ago.

Early on, I realized I had the time for commercial art or the time for darkroom print-making, but not both. Commercial art won out for various reasons; the most significant reason was that I had an established career in it, I never cared for all the darkroom odors, and I always preferred a lab to print my work.

Today I digitized my film and send the files to a pro lab for print making.

For my archives, I have a lab print my favorite images. Then I cut archival mats for them, and place them in archival boxes to look at from time to time. I gain a sense of joy when looking at prints over screen images only.

If you have never developed your film, I highly encourage you to try it. It has gotten easier with the advent of newer chemical formulas and films. Just remember, like photography, it is an art, and it will take time to master your technique. But that is what I love about film and photography; it is an ongoing process that has never bored me.

From a design standpoint, starting with a square negative gives tremendous flexibility. A square can easily be cropped into horizontal, vertical, panoramic, or even circular compositions without much effort. That versatility became especially important during my years photographing carriage trade weddings.

My wedding clients received handcrafted “Wedding Storybooks” bound in fine leather albums. To help organize their selections, I created a “Wedding Storybook Designer” (WSD), a guide clients could use to indicate which photographs they wanted on each page. In reality, 99.9% of them simply asked me to design the album myself.

Once I arranged the visual flow of the storybook, the images were printed in combinations such as one 10×10 or 8×10 per page, two 5×7 or 5×5 images, or up to four 4×5 prints per page. Naturally, the more photographs selected, the larger the album order became. The finished prints, along with the WSD layout guide, were sent to Leather Craftsmen, where the photographs were dry mounted and bound into custom leather covers with gold or silver embossing.

I sold hundreds of these albums throughout my career. Every time a bride shared her Wedding Storybook with family and friends, it became the best advertising I could have hoped for. I rarely needed to purchase advertising because my studio name was elegantly embossed inside every album cover.

Today, Hasselblad cameras remain legendary for good reason. The Hasselblad systems I used throughout my career were dependable, versatile, and capable of producing beautiful image quality consistently. They helped provide a very stable living during my years in portrait and special event photography before I eventually transitioned into product photography and web design work.

Even now, I continue to use Hasselblad equipment well into the digital era. The Hasselblad CFV 50c and Hasselblad CFV II 50c remain wonderful digital tools that integrate beautifully with both Hasselblad 500 series film cameras and the technical cameras I use today. Other than the cost of entry, there is very little not to admire about the system.

So many years ago, when my young son proudly answered “medium format,” he already understood his mother very well. 😉

In late 2023, I began searching for a more affordable 100 ASA panchromatic film to use for testing purposes. At the time, I had been using Foma films, and while I still occasionally shoot Fomapan Classic 100 in 4×5 format, I eventually stopped using Foma in 120. After testing their 100, 200, and 400 speed films, I became frustrated with the results, particularly when paired with my preferred developer, 510 Pyro. The combination often produced excessive contrast and blown highlights in 120 format.

When the same issues appear repeatedly with one film stock but not others, it is reasonable to suspect either the film itself or its interaction with a particular developer. Since I refined my exposure and development techniques decades ago and rarely encounter these problems with other films, I had little interest in changing a workflow that has served me well for years.

To explore lower cost options, I visited B&H Photo and sorted their 120 black and white films by price. Among the least expensive choices were Kentmere Pan 100 and Kentmere Pan 400. I decided to try Pan 100.

The image above was made with my very first roll, and I immediately liked what I saw. I changed nothing about my normal process. The test session was photographed with a newly acquired 20 year old Fotoman 6×17 and a 30 year old Fujinon SW 90mm f/8 lens that I needed to evaluate during the return period. As I often do when testing equipment or film, I photographed around my local library, then processed the negatives using my standard 510 Pyro method.

The results convinced me quickly. Kentmere Pan 100 has since become my go to 120 panchromatic film for testing purposes, and honestly, it is capable of much more than simple testing. If you are searching for an affordable black and white film with pleasing results, it is well worth trying.

The darkroom was never my favorite place to be. I have always been the type who only enjoys getting my hands wet when washing dishes. Strong chemical smells, stained clothing, and long hours standing around trays never appealed to me. In short, I was never someone who wanted to “play” in the darkroom.

My first darkroom education came through a rent by the hour community darkroom where professionals taught classes for amateurs. Even though I was already busy behind the camera, I wanted to understand the process better. Ironically, my formal commercial photography education taught very little darkroom work because our workflow centered around shooting 4×5 transparencies and dropping them off at the local E-6 lab. Still, I wanted to learn enough so I could intelligently work with professional labs and understand what they could and could not do for my clients and me.

The first “processor” I owned was a Polaroid AutoProcessor, and my first enlarger was a Polaroid Daylab. Darkroom purists might laugh at me calling them a processor and enlarger, and honestly, they would be right. There was no dodging or burning involved. But they were affordable tools that allowed me to experiment with Polaroid transfers, which opened another creative and commercial avenue for me.

For a few years, I worked with the Daylab using 8×10 Polaroid film and watercolor paper. I would replace the normal receiving sheet with watercolor paper before it went through the rollers and chemical pod. Eventually, I wanted better image quality, color correction controls, and higher quality enlarging lenses for medium format work, so the Daylab moved on to the used market. It sold quickly, and I made a new friend in the process. The AutoProcessor eventually became little more than a doorstop after Polaroid discontinued the PolaPan materials I enjoyed using.

Later, I hired a contractor to build a small darkroom beside my studio to house a used Beseler Dichro 67S I had purchased from a former photography student. I paired it with a new GraLab 300 after deciding most used timers I found were either overpriced or heavily worn. Not long after, I added a JOBO ATL-1000 processor for E-6 processing once I moved too far away from a reliable lab. The ATL-1000 sat on a rolling cart outside the darkroom and was wheeled into the bathroom whenever I needed to process film. It served me well until digital photography eventually became good enough to replace my commercial color workflow.

Ironically, despite having a darkroom, I never became deeply involved in traditional silver gelatin printing. Most of my printing experiments revolved around Polaroid materials and watercolor transfers. During my rental darkroom days, I made enough RC prints and beautiful Cibachrome prints to realize I did not want to devote my life, time, or finances to darkroom printing. My commercial photography instructors had been right all along. Running a business left little room for becoming a full time darkroom printer too.

Today, I still enjoy shooting 4×5 and 120 black and white film, but my processing now happens at the kitchen sink using an AGO processor. The JOBO ATL-1000 was never ideal for simple black and white processing, as its size, weight, and water hookup requirements were a bit excessive for that type of work. Eventually, I sold it cheaply to another photographer whose need for color processing could better justify the machine. Developing E-6 film, especially with the chemistry available back then, was certainly not for the faint of heart, but the ATL-1000 handled that demanding workflow extremely well.

At this point in life, the only reason I truly enjoy being in the dark is to load film tanks, reels, and sheet film holders while double checking how many sheets remain in the box.