Shotwell Street — © Brian Rose

Staying in the Mission in San Francisco in an apartment in architect David Baker’s house, a Victorian converted into a sheltered oasis in this sometimes rough edged neighborhood. One block may be full of beautiful houses with lushly flowering landscapes, while another is made up of warehouses and car repair shops like the one above.

I’ve finished the architectural projects I came to photograph, and when I’m back in New York, I’ll be chained to the computer for days working on the images. As some of you know, I’ve continued shooting 4×5 film, but scan it at high resolution, and then import it into Photoshop. I do this for my client work, which is delivered  directly as digital files, and for exhibition prints, which I make at a rental lab.

This, however,  may be the last batch of QuckLoad 4×5 film available–the prepackaged film I’ve been using for something like 20 years. First Kodak, and now Fuji, have dropped similar versions of this film packaging. They both still make 4×5 sheet film, but–stepping back a couple decades–it has to be loaded into holders in total darkness. Carrying holders means an extra bag, more weight, and a tendency to get dust on the film while loading or unloading. We are being driven to digital, like it or not.