September 16, 2010, 6:00 pm
High Balinese Ritual, Low Holga Technology
By JAMES ESTRIN

The New York Times

John Stanmeyer is one of the founding members of the photo cooperative VII and his work appears regularly in the National Geographic and Time. He has won the Robert Capa Gold Medal Award and honors from World Press Photo and Pictures of the Year International. James Estrin spoke with him about his new book, “Island of the Spirits,” while Mr. Stanmeyer was at home in the Berkshires making five-foot-long prints for an exhibit opening on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the VII Gallery, 28 Jay Street, Brooklyn. Their conversation has been edited and condensed.
Q.

Why did you use film? Why a Holga camera?
A.

I didn’t want to just create another pretty-colored coffee-table book on Bali. Because the culture in Bali is so weighted in the traditions of the past, yet playing out right now in the present, the Holga — for lack of a better way of putting this — allowed me to look at this rich culture with one foot deep in the past and the other foot firmly rooted in the present.

That’s why I chose the camera. I don’t allow all the light leaks. I use the camera like I use a rangefinder. And I tape it all up; I don’t like the camera making visual, creative decisions for me. I have five of them. I usually work with an assistant who is preparing them on the side, so when I finish with one camera, they can hand it over. Otherwise, you’re moving at a glacial speed.

There’s a certain texture and nuance that maybe does lend itself to some sense of historical nostalgia. To me, it gives this rich society a bit more context of how I viewed it.