I own a lot of cameras. But my favorite is a Fuji rangefinder in 6x7 format, nicknamed the "Texas Leica" because of its size. Despite that size (and really, it's no bigger than most DSLR rigs), it offers, for me, the right combination of quality (from a sharp lens exposing large negatives) and ease of use. You can almost shoot it like a smaller camera, capturing street scenes as if you're working with 35mm.

Of course, you can't this level of detail, depth of field, or tonality with 35mm film. As compositions, I'm just OK with these first two photos, both taken on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall. But I'm sharing them because I think they capture the technical advantages of medium format film, as well as the tonal qualities of T-MAX 400, which is fast becoming my favorite black and white emulsion.

On to color film! These shots were taken at the annual harvest festival at Albemarle Cider Works, just a few miles from town. The film is Provia 100f, a transparency film that's hard to expose right, but offers great colors and tones when you do it well. Even here, in what's obviously overcast weather, the colors pop (take a look at those apples in the last photo of this bunch).

The next three photos are just snapshots. Nothing special, just compositions I thought were worth taking. But, to sing the praises of this camera again, it is very versatile despite its medium length fixed lens. I can't shoot anything that needs an exceptionally wide perspective, but I can shoot most things the way I'd prefer.

And these last photos are from a recent trip to Farmville, Virginia, just about an hour south of Charlottesville. It's on my to-do list for the new year to take another trip down to do a little more photography.