A fair number of artists disillusioned with digital are turning to various types of analog photography these days. In this video produced by Element Skateboards, photographer Brian Gaberman explores the East Coast with some antiquated equipment that produce beautiful results.
The Road to Wolfeboro follows Gaberman with his Speed Graphic 4×5 camera. This is a rig that was famous in the mid-twentieth century a press photographer’s go-to shooter. Gaberman’s setup is a bit different, in that instead of using sheets of film, he shoots onto glass negatives that he then develops using the tricky and unpredictable collodion process. The images he ends up with are liquidy and ethereal.
Alternative and obsolete analog processes are sort of a trend nowadays, and working with these tools doesn’t make you an interesting photographer. I think Gaberman brings a unique sensibility as a skateboarding photographer by looking for subjects that are, as he says, “on the sideline.” He expresses it perfectly when describing coming upon a beautifully picturesque field, yet not taking a picture. “It just didn’t need to be a photograph. There’s plenty of that.”
