“First we shape our tools, then our tools shape us”

This quote often misattributed, but said by Father John Culkin, is one that I comes to mind often as I reach for a camera. As much as we like to proclaim that we are the ones in control, often the tools we use influence and help define the work.

I like the push, pull of trying to make a camera or even a film stock do things beyond its capabilities. A digital camera with rubbish auto focus: great, let me use it to photograph something fast moving such as the photo below.

Each tool has it’s own voice, it’s own character that allows us get across something different to the viewer of the work. It enables us to speak with more eloquence and less waste.

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