I'm Ben Horne, ask me anything!

Thanks for your reply Ben, I appreciate it. It sounds like it’s a necessary evil!

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Hi Jeff! It sure is sad to see how eager Fuji is to exit the film market. In many ways, I’m glad I’ve transitioned away from Velvia 50 over the past several years, though now Provia 100 is tough to come by. I’m stocking up, and will also buy a lot of Kodak E100.

I absolutely love working with color transparency film, and if you were to have asked me several years ago what I would do if transparency film was no longer available, I would have answered that shooting digital would be my next choice. I don’t feel this is the case any longer. I absolutely love the hands-on approach to shooting with large format, and if at this point color transparency film were no longer available, I’d happily switch to black and white. In many ways, I think my choice of subjects over the past several years are well suited for B&W—so perhaps I’m moving in that direction regardless. It doesn’t hurt that the film is cheaper. :slight_smile:

In any case, thank you so much for the question Jeff!

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Though there are so many questions I can think of to ask, I feel I will save all but one for Creative Banter and our discussions within. For now, what do you feel is the most important non-photography-related item you bring with you on every camping/backpacking trip, and why?

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I was wondering if you find artistic inspiration in other art forms such as painting, sculpting, movies/tv, music etc . Which mediums or artists tother than photography do you gravitate to?

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Hi Cody! The first thought that comes to mind is my Garmin InReach Mini satellite messenger. It provides peace of mind while in the field, both for being able to stay in contact with my wife, but also in case of an injury or trouble with my vehicle. I have the service plan that allows me to activate it for only a month at a time, then suspend the plan once I return. That plan also has unlimited messaging which is fantastic. The unit I have is going on 4 years old and I’ll need to replace it with a new one soon. It still works just fine, but the battery doesn’t hold a charge like it use to. Such a fantastic piece of equipment.

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Hi Bryan! That’s a great question, and I wish I could say I draw inspiration from other art forms outside photography, but the truth is that I don’t absorb all that much outside the world of photography. The closest thing would perhaps be music, though I can’t say it’s a big influence. I do however have fond memories exploring Death Valley’s Eureka dunes back in 2009 while listening to a Ray Charles album on repeat—forever linking my experience in the field to that album. The music on that trip didn’t necessarily influence my work, though it certainly enhanced the experience. On a recent winter trip to Zion, I had some time to kill after a long day, so I found a quiet place to sit and absorb the view while listening to John Mayer’s album Born and Raised on repeat. There was something about the sound of the music that seemed to enhance the experience. It’s not often that I listen to music while in the field, but it does help to clear the mind a bit. Thanks so much for the question Bryan!

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Although I have never used a large format camera, I look forward to your YouTube videos and podcasts with Cody. I find your discussions of composition choices and light especially helpful. Of course, Death Valley, Zion and the Grand Staircase are some of my favorite areas.

I was surprised to hear that you only spend around 3 weeks per year in the field! Now that you are a full time photographer, and COVID is less of an issue, will you be spending more time in the field? Or, do you feel that limited field time helps you focus your efforts, stay fresh, and avoid burnout?

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Hi Ben and thanks for being part of the AMA series.

Although I shot 35mm for 20-ish years, I never shot medium or large format and looking back I wish I had. To the point that I’ve considered dusting off my old Olympuses and shooting black and white again since I could develop it at home. But I have no darkroom to make prints so I’d have to see if I can revive my old scanner or just stump up for a new one. Seems like more of a hassle than I’m willing to take on right now, but it does lead me to my actual question, lol, which is - what is your approach to digitizing your photos for online viewing? Do you process at all outside of the scan itself? If so, are you looking to match the positive (transparency) only or do you branch out so to speak? The constraints of film seem to be part of the challenge and process for you, but software has a siren song of its own.

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Hi Bill! It’s great to hear from you, and that’s a wonderful question. The amount of time I spend in the field is highly influenced by the amount of work that’s required once I get home. Upon returning from a trip, it takes a week or so to get caught up, then I’m busy scanning film, formulating my thoughts, and producing the videos. This process takes roughly two months, after which I have another month or so to work on other projects (upcoming box sets, eBooks, etc). After all that hard work, the light at the end of the tunnel is heading out on my next trip.

This process of spending a week or so in the field, working from home for a few months, followed by another week in the field gives a wonderful sense of balance. My trips are something I look forward to, and the novelty of visiting these locations never seems to fade.

If I wasn’t dependent on photography for income, I might spend more time in the field, though mostly on non-photography trips where I could take time to get to know some new locations.

I’m very much a homebody and enjoy the routine of working from home during the day with my dog and two cats, then spending evenings with my wife when she gets home from work. I really miss that while I’m in the field. When I see that some photographers are in the field for months at a time, I honestly don’t know how they do it.

I hit the ground running on my photo trips, and because I can’t sit still, I’m on my feet all day long scrambling around looking for subjects. After 7 to 10 days of that—and despite my best efforts to cram calories—the reserves of stored energy in my muscles are depleted. It takes a couple of days to build it up again, and by then I’ve already decided to head home.

Thank you so much for the wonderful question Bill!

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Hi Ben,

Thank you for doing this AMA. I particularly enjoyed reading about your desire to not make photography feel that it is work. I believe this is one of the most important aspects of running a photography business in an enjoyable way.

When I related this to my own career, after reading your essay, I realized that I did not have this as a goal when I started. I just wanted to do photography for a living because my previous occupation, which was working for a PhD in academia, was no longer attractive. What I found out over the years (I quit academia in 1995) is that I had to say no to a lot of things, or stop participating in certain activities, or stop offering certain products or services, so that my photography business does not become work.

So for me, not making this feel like work was a process of elimination. I started by doing a lot of different things, and ended up taking some of these things out based on whether I liked doing them or not. I wonder if you had a similar experience with certain aspects of your business?

Thank you again.

Alain Briot

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Hi Kristen! That’s really cool that you still have the 35mm Olympus cameras! I’ve always loved how compact those cameras are. I no longer have my 35mm system (Canon EOS 3), but I used it for some classes in college. I will say that 35mm scans now will likely feel a bit disappointing compared to what we’re accustomed to with digital, especially considering the additional effort when shooting film. Medium format film will give a closer experience of today’s digital bodies, and large format film seems to be on par with some of the better medium format digital systems.

That all being said, I absolutely love the hybrid film/digital workflow since it gives the best of both worlds. It reinforces my sense of patience and my connection to a subject in the field, while also allowing the flexibility of a digital workflow.

I sometimes hear about film shooters who are reluctant to edit their film scans.—even somehow wearing it as a badge of honor—but this makes no sense to me. Perhaps this is only an excuse because they aren’t familiar with photoshop?

I treat my film scans the same way I treat digitally generated images. They’re unfinished images influenced by the imperfections of the film, the scanner, the lens, etc. Even if the goal is to produce an image resembling reality, editing is required. I scan my film with flat contrast to maintain highlight and shadow detail, then use a significant curves adjustment to bring it back in line with reality. Not making this adjustment would result in a scan that looks different than the original film.

My goal is to stay true to the original film as much as possible, while also making up for any imperfections with color, exposure, contrast, or anything else that interferes with the viewing experience. If I’m satisfied with how the image looks on the light box, my goal is often to get back to that starting point through editing in photoshop. If there are any issues with color, contrast, or exposure, I’ll do whats necessary to fix those as well. I enjoy maintaining the original integrity of a subject, while depicting it as accurately as possible. Often times it’s far more difficult to show a subject for what it truly is rather than what we wish it to be.

Thanks again for the question Kristen, and I hope you have a fantastic day!

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Hi Alain! I very much relate to your process of elimination approach, and I think we have a lot in common along those lines. Even though you didn’t start out with the goal of not making photography into work, It’s fantastic to hear you adopted that principle with time and that it was beneficial for you. The wonderful thing about rejecting things that turn photography into work is that it frees up time and energy for the things we derive joy from—not to mention decreasing stress from having to do the things we aren’t as interested in.

From the very beginning, I’ve known that leading workshops isn’t in my wheelhouse—but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It forced me to get creative and work harder to generate income in ways that better match my skill set. I’m so happy to hear you’ve found the happy medium that keeps photography fun and enjoyable without it becoming work. That to me is the definition of a dream job.

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Thank you so much for the fantastic questions everyone! This was a blast, and I look forward to hearing from whoever is doing the next AMA here on NPN!

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