Seeing the world through a viewfinder smack bang in front of your face sure hides everything outside that tiny field of view. When we as Professional Photographers used film, most especially those bastions of image quality, the medium format camera, mounted on a tripod, we were forced to initiate the process by taking care of the technical requirements of FOCUS, APERTURE and SHUTTER SPEED relevant to obtaining that perfect exposure.

Once done, our ‘Focus’ became the command, control and observation essential to capturing that perfect image in one solitary frame by looking at our subjects, engaging with them and eliciting that expression appropriate to the mood and flattery of our subjects. We saw the world as it should be seen and the camera was the tool of capture over which we had control.

To shoot like you are using film, that precious and costly silver based commodity made us conscious of doing our job efficiently and in a manner that set the professional apart from the enthusiast and amateur. With this in mind, let’s take back control and consider the enormous advantages and virtues of Medium Format once again. My aim? To get my hands on a new Pentax 645Z and go back to doing what every ‘Pro’ did so well.