Each day that passes brings confirmation that American political landscape photos this year can be some of the most interesting images in the history of American politics. The debates as depicted in the media have shown fascinating insight into the crumbling of our collective ability to have intellectual discourse amongst the highest level leaders in the world. Still, I wonder how much impact this election has on the American landscape as a whole, besides it's ability to divide the country into hatred and disgust.
Planning for the photographic journey is in full swing, some camera and film research taking up a bit of attention; my previous film is no longer in production and so I have to some decisions about which technical avenues to pursue. Earlier in the project in 2008, a prime decision I had to make was choosing between black and white vs. color film - I couldn't decide, and shot with both much to the chagrin of subsequent portfolio reviewers. In 2012, color film was the key element of the images while black and white film was used to document the process.
As far as the cameras I have used so far, the quality and history of film lends itself well to documenting these political landscapes. I began the project with a Rolleiflex, a camera that was popular around the time of JFK who's legacy was compared to the intense youthful energy surrounding the Obama campaign in 2008 - the beginning of this project. The 2012 election photos were shot with the same Rolleiflex camera and quite a bit more film. Plans for the 2016 trip is on track to utilize the same Rolleiflex alongside a Hasselblad and perhaps a 4x5 press camera - we shall see what I can pull together by then. ~sw