There is a lot of work to do before framing a first shot. Some heavy lifting is required from Bill Hao and his wife Crystal Shi.
They’re setting up a massive camera Hao spent two years building — all for a very specific type of photography invented in the 1850s.
The camera stands nearly six feet tall, with about three and a half feet of depth. It has a black curtain to block out light and stands on a couple of modern tripods.
So much for point and shoot. Hao’s passion for capturing the perfect picture is a little more involved. The tour bus operator has turned one of his old rigs into a travelling darkroom.
“Everything I need is in here,” says Hao.
For the past year, they’ve been riding around Western Canada capturing some amazing landscapes. Shi’s become an expert on spotting ideal conditions.
“When I’m in the darkroom I’ll be using a walkie-talkie to tell him how the weather is, whether the cloud is beautiful enough,” said Shi.
The couple met in high school, right around the same time Hao got into photography. But no other technique has captured his imagination quite like this.
“When you look at it, it’s sublime,” said Hao.
Despite the hard work and some developing mishaps, it’s all worth it when everything comes together.
“Even when the door is closed he will yell at me, ‘Crystal, Crystal come and see, this is so amazing,’” said Shi.
Hao’s been too busy building cameras and converting tour buses to think about selling any of his work just yet. One day that will happen. Right now they’re still looking for perfect shots and fine-tuning a technique that’s over 170 years old.
“Every day we face a problem, every day we solve it. But every day we are growing,” said Shi.
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