One of the challenges of photography (at least for me) is staying fresh and continuing to evolve. Since I have been practicing photography since about 1975, that’s quite a challenge for me.
One interesting insight that I have is enjoying the amalgam of photography and bicycle racing. Both cyclists and photographers have a fascination with equipment. Anybody can purchase the highest level of equipment, but few can exploit the full potential of that equipment. Few can make a photograph like Henri Cartier Bresson, and few can win races like Eddy Merckx did.
It has often been said that the best at any endeavor can excel with only the minimum of equipment. The state of the art is not required for some. But for me, I have found that hardware is sometimes essential for breaking through an emotional or creative barrier that had been holding me back in either photography and cycling.
One good example of this is my Horizon 202 camera. A Russian-made camera that emulates the Widelux.
I became fascinated with the Widelux about 20 years ago when I stumbled upon it in a magazine article. At around $2,000, it was beyond my reach for just a simple camera. But I was able to rent one for 3-days from PPR (Professional Photographic Resources) in midtown
But, in 2003, I found about a Russian copy of the camera. I wouldn’t call it a clone because it didn’t have the same DNA. But it could do the same thing in the same fashion. And it was only $240.
More recently, I was inspired by the work of Jeff Bridges. Yes, the actor. He has been carrying around his Widelux for decades, and has compiled a large body of work with it. You can see some examples on his website.
http://jeffbridges.com/moguls_cover.html
Since I acquired the Horizon 202, I have had mixed success with it. The camera is so unusual that people are intrigued and curious to the point that they are caught off-guard. It causes people in proximity to alter their behavior so that the observer affects the observed.
But today, Labor Day 2009, I took it with me to a professional bicycle race, and transcended my capabilities. The camera allowed me to break free from my limitations and capture images that I would not have been able to capture with common equipment.
I think that these are some of my finest Widelux images yet. The Horizon 202 allows me to make good mistakes that my otherwise structured thinking won’t allow.
