The Photographer

My name is Scott Squires. I am 57 years old and live in California. I have been a photographer for 30 years. I started doing what I consider serious Photography in the early 1990's. That was when I discovered Large Format Cameras. My first one was a beautiful Zone VI 4x5 that I paid $450 for. It was a well used beauty and really opened my eyes to the wonders of the ground glass!

My K.B. Canham 7x17 Camera in Death Valley at the Devils Golf Course

My K.B. Canham 8x10 Camera in the Alabama Hills

For my Landscape work, I have concentrated most of my work in the South Western part of this Great Country. My favorite places are the Eastern Sierra, the California Coast and the Navajo lands in Utah and Arizona. My future trips will be to work many of the places I have already photographed. I have found that when I return to a place several times, I get much more comfortable and the images I see in my mind are stronger.

For my Large Format work I use a K.B. Canham 8x10 wood field camera, a K.B. Canham 4x10 wood field camera and finally my pride and joy a K.B. Canham 7x17 wood Ultra Large Format camera, sometimes called a Banquet Camera. As you can tell I like Keith Canham wood cameras!

Using an 8x10 camera and 7x17 camera has really opened my eyes. I guess as I have gotten older my eyes have too. I was not as comfortable using the ground glass on my 4x5 as I used to be. Then I looked at the 8x10 ground glass and 7x17 ground glass and WOW! I was ruined for the rest of my life! Everything is easy to see and I can pretty much do all my movements and have everything in focus without a loupe. I only use the loupe to verify sharpness and my setup time is much faster.

I develop my B&W and Color film (E-6) with a Jobo CPP-2 processor. It is a wonderful machine! I load my film into light tight drums in the dark and I can do all my film development in the daytime. I was concerned about doing my own E-6 color development. It is a six step process and everything must be kept at 100 degrees. So far my E-6 has been perfect! B&W is much easier and can be done at 68 degrees and is only a three step process. I wish I had started with my Jobo processor 10 years ago. It really is rewarding to do and it is easy to see why so many people use them.

I have also been photographing Birds and Birds in Flight for many years, although my focus over the last couple years has been Landscape work. I have always had a fascination with Flight and I enjoy being out in areas with a lot of bird activity. Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is a fascinating place in Huntington Beach, California. It is a Coastal Wetlands that has been Preserved, thanks to a strong group of local people. It is only 45 minutes from my home and I spend many weekends there, photographing and just watching. Another place That I go to as often as possible is Bosque del Apache in New Mexico. It has a huge concentration of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes. There are many Raptors and a great deal of wildlife. In 2000 I made my first trip to South Florida and all I can say is that it has to be the greatest place in the world to photograph birds.

In 2002 I was able to go to Alaska. The greatest place I have ever visited. Denali NP was spectacular! I must go again!