Charles Howse 
Photographer Artist

Working in both the digital and film worlds to create images
that I hope will speak to you as an individual the way
they spoke to me when I created them.


Large Format    Portrait Sessions    Event Photography   Model Photography   Blog   Main Page

 
About Me
 

I’m a hobbyist photographer/artist 
I use photography as a medium to express my creativity,
not as a way to earn a living. As such, with a limited budget,
I am always on the lookout for subjects willing to sit for a portrait created  in my cameras or other media.
If you'd like to have a photo of yourself, created in
my current favorite medium, large format film, an 
older method of photography, let me know! 

 

I have been using a camera as an artistic and technical tool
since purchasing my first 35mm film camera in 1964 -
a small Kodak rangefinder which did not have
interchangeable lenses, only a standard 50mm. I put a lot of film through this camera as I learned more about photography. And with two infants at home, it was easy to find a subject!

In late 60’s I moved to 35mm SLR with various lenses, then in early 70’s I moved up to Medium Format film - I purchased from a friend a Mamiya 220 and 330 Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) cameras with a three lens kit. I shot weddings, events, portraits, and lots of UM Band performances on 35mm and medium format.

For several decades. especially after I became immersed in the world of computers,  I supressed the artistic side of myself and photography and was more concerned with the technical details, including developing and printing in a home darkroom.


In the 90’s I began using digital cameras and got rid of most of my darkroom equipment. I worked in the AV department of then Miami Dade Jr College, and we had purchased several brands and models of digital cameras, including a Sony model which recorded onto small Compact Disks. We also had an early Apple camera - the Quick Take 100 -which recorded 640x480 pixels.  My first personally owned digital was a Kodak DC210 - the first one megapixel camera for consumers. The camera cost $990, used 4 AA batteries, and had a 4MB Compact Flash Card.  

After retiring in 2006, I began to do a lot more shooting. I organized several Meetup groups for photographers and models, that rolled lover into Facebook groups after FB became well established. 

I upgraded through several generations of Canon DSLR bodies, from the 20D upwards, including the 5D MKII full frame. I still use the gracefully aging 5D, plus the newer 90D crop sensor camera. I have an assortment of pro level "L Series" lenses including the 50mm f/1.4, the 24-70 f/2.8. the 300 Prime, na the 100-400 V 2.

In 2017, I decided I needed to return to a slower, more thoughtful form of photography. Had always enjoyed the process of developing black and white film, I decided to step even further back in the styles of photography and use the old style of large format film.

Large format film is still being manufactured in multiple sizes, the more common, smaller size is 4" x 5"; the next larger common size is 5" x 7", then 8" x 10" 16 x 20 and 20 x 24. 

I currently have 4x5 and 5x7 cameras,
but mostly work with 4x5.

One of my newest acquisitions is a camera that pre-dates the use of film - before film, images were created using light sensitive emulsions spread onto glass plates or small sheets of tin (tintypes)

 

modified: cch  12 Dec 2021