Josh Elchin

Photography – Seattle

My attraction to photography did not start till after I graduated from High School. When I joined the United States Coast Guard and began traveling the country I realized I wanted to capture the things that I saw. The moment I got my first camera, a Minolta X700, that is when my obsession began. I was inspired by the greats, Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorthea Lange and other great photographers. I started out photographing with film and eventually moved to digital. After a few years I kept feeling like I was missing something. I was constantly trying to keep up with the advancement of new digital cameras, software and digital equipment, but lost that connection to the photographs I was taking. I eventually decided to go back to my roots and begin photographing with film again. Since the moment that I began to use film again I never turned back. Building up from that I have expanded into multiple formats ranging from 35mm, 120 and 4x5. Each format having its own special qualities and allows me to choose depending on the subject. I photograph using both color and black & white film, color film is processed by my lab, while all black & white film is developed by myself. The whole process of choosing the film and format to fit and capture the subject I am photographing is the reason that I continue to primarily use film.