About

This is about my photography background and f8Vision.


I outline the photographic formats and equipment I use and why.

For many film photographers the "digital revolution" has been a huge benefit, making many iconic film systems remarkably affordable over the past few years.

All my images at f8Vision are made on film and digitally scanned. The only manipulations applied are to help faithfully reproduce what film recorded.

Sadly for the film manufacturers, many of the finest films ever developed only became available a few years prior to the "digital revolution" - how ironic!

In the articles below I discuss my continuing preference for film media; outline the specific films I use and why and detail the formats and systems I use and what they enable.

WHO AM I?

My name is Simon Galbally (SimonPG). I live in Melbourne, Australia and shoot multiple photographic formats depending upon what I am trying to capture and how that is best achieved.

The photographic formats I shoot are: 35mm (or 135 format); medium format - 120 roll film (6x6); panoramic format - XPan; and large format - 4x5 sheet film and 6x12. Each format having its specific benefits and purposes - different horses for different courses!

Overall my favourite format, giving me the better of two worlds - reasonable convenience and large film area capturing the finest details - is 6x6 medium format. But is not always the "ideal" format to work in.

For total convenience such as in street photography, no system and format provides a better tool than the 35mm rangefinder camera.

And when shooting something very special that requires complex manipulations of the image, the enduring technical capabilities of the 4x5 view/field camera is simply a joy to any photographer.

I am occasionally hired to take photographs for others - weddings, homes, landscapes and personal / professional portraits. I also occasionally provide photography coaching assistance.

Equipment is simply a tool and a means to an end – the ability to create images that give me and others pleasure.

The simplest image may hold great value to me for reasons that may escape others. Likewise, others may see things in my work that were not so obvious to me.




Photos and text are copyright of f8Vision and SimonPG

Anti-Digital? - No, just not for me yet.

Every image you will find in my galleries is captured on film - positive and negative; black and white as well as colour. But, while I have not made the transition to digital capture, I'm in no way anti-digital, To be so, would simply be stupid. So, read on and you'll understand why as well as how I have benefited from the underlying technology of digital imaging - certainly the most significant technological breakthrough in modern photography - a breakthrough that challenged the management capabilities of even the oldest and most iconic camera equipment and film manufacturers in the world (some of whom may never be seen or heard from again as they fail to adapt to evolution). ...more
 

Can I help? - Need to hire a photographer?

If you need to hire a photographer, this is a summary of the photographic service I occasionally provide and my capabilities. ...more
 

Film, Glorious Film - the film I prefer to use

Photographers are always interested in the specific films other photographers use and why. So, here I share information about my film choices - what I feel they deliver and how I feel they enhance my images. ...more