'Untitled', from Material, 2002

Peter Fraser gave a talk at college today. He was inspirational. Several points that he made really struck a chord. One thing he mentioned was that he uses a different camera for a new project so he might go from to 6x7 to 645 to 35mm because it alters the way in which he sees which in turn directs the format and content of the image. This is something I should think about more. When I shoot with Polaroid film be it SX70, 669 or 55, I consider its format, the space around the object and between the object and the edges of the frame. When I shoot with digital I think about composition and framing in a different way. My choice of camera clearly changes the way in which I work and I should use this more consciously to direct my work.

Peter sees the sublime in the detail of an ordinary functional everyday object. He sees what we see but don't really see because we don't take time to look or understand the functional purpose of that object. He says of his work: 'all material is equal'. He defines dirt as 'material in the wrong place'. I love this idea and his transformative use of shallow depth of field.

Another thing that Peter mentioned was that last year he made the switch from film to digital and having used film for 30+ years will not be using it again. His confidence in the quality of his digital work was refreshing. I asked if using digital had changed the way in which people responded to his work. His response was that he had an exhibition and publication coming out later this year of purely digital work. I found his self-confidence uplifting. I love digital and have no desire to use film but I hear constantly at college, in galleries and from art critics that fine art photography can only be shot in film. From now on I will stick with what I know and love and that is digital. Confidence and self-belief is key. Anyway back to Peter Fraser. Thank you for your stimulating talk.