The following is Myriam Weisang Misrach’s description of her husband, photographer Richard Misrach, at work (taken from Aperture 146):
It’s been ten years now of this adventure, joining Richard in his travels to remarkable sites — the postapocalyptic landscape of Bravo 20; the carnage of the dead animal pits; the Edenic glory of the desert empty of humans save for the two of us. But what stands out most is the photographer’s dance, that strange manic courtship between man and fading light, head swiveling under the cloth, camera roving up-and-down and side-to-side like some blind beast sniffing the air, then head reemerging, eyes wild, hair in knots and peaks, film holder in, slide out, thumb bearing down, seconds counted out — one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three . . . — then the whole thing in reverse, then running back to the van for more film, shouting with joy as he speeds by, “Can you believe this light? Oh God, I’ve never seen anything like that,” the same exclamation each time, over the many years. The same glee.
That is a perfect description of photographing with a view camera. Especially the bit about the hair … (and the joy). If you’re curious about Misrach, here is a pretty good 1996 article about him from the Los Angeles Times. [ link ]
-Julie
