Vic Mitchell

Both the grand and the intimate aspects of nature can be revealed in the expressive photograph. Both can stir enduring affirmations and discoveries, and can surely help the spectator in his search for identification with the vast world of natural beauty and the wonder surrounding him. -- Ansel Adams

Vic lives and breathes photography!

Others have described Vic as bringing a quiet intensity to his work. Vic's intent is to have his work bring a quiet moment into the viewer's otherwise busy life.

Vic is a fine art landscape photographer working with color positive materials in large format. Fine art primarily designates his work as created out of passion for the photographic process as opposed to commercial purposes.

This passion for the process also means that his work is handmade in his own darkroom. He began printing Cibachrome (now Ilfochrome) practically the day it hit the market and is one of our country’s most accomplished Ilfochrome printers. Yet, realizing the potential of new color negative films and papers, he is currently exploring these materials and contemplating a massive switch — the pursuit of perfection.

Vic uses large format cameras (4x5 & 8x10) to capture the richest possible detail in his images. This richness in detail translates to feeling of being there when viewing the final print. Large format cameras also give an experienced photographer more control over the rendering of geometry and perspective of a given scene onto film.

The color positive materials require first creating a color transparency in Vic's large format camera. In his darkroom he then creates a print from the transparency using a positive to positive process (Ilfochrome). These materials were chosen for their incomparable clarity, vividness, and color palette.

He has a background in computers beginning in the late sixties, which gives him a very broad perspective on the potential and the pitfalls of the digital evolution in photography. Digital prints offer the opportunity for Vic to offer inexpensive quality prints alongside the handmade darkroom prints which are typically sold in galleries.