Widening the Lens

Retired retinal specialist Dr. David Fischer ’64 still has a print of one of his first photos from his early days dabbling in black and white photography. The image was taken in 1974 in Durham, North Carolina, where he lived while completing his residency at Duke Department Of Ophthalmology. It captures a series of steps in a public park zig-zagging through a forested area. Fischer’s late wife, Paula, who passed away in 2016, stands on the steps in the lower right corner of the frame, facing the staircase.

“It looks like she is setting off on a journey,” Fischer noted.

Fischer's black-and-white photo taken of his wife in a park in Durham.

Fischer embarked on his own journey as a serious hobbyist photographer by experimenting with a Pentax camera that belonged to Paula, though he soon upgraded to a large-format view camera, after learning that’s what Ansel Adams used. Amidst his rigorous ophthalmology training schedule, he would go for walks when the lighting was good to take photos. Before long, Fischer had installed a small darkroom in one of the bathrooms of his Durham home. 

“You learn that in life you need to make time for passion and to figure out what you’re good at,” Fischer remarked. “In my line of work I had to master unique machines—that was the fun part for me—and cameras were an extension of that.”

A collector at heart, Fischer has been acquiring unique, and sometimes rare, cameras for decades. Last year, in addition to a generous capital gift to the All School Commons as part of GFS’ Picture This campaign, Fischer donated 16 of these cameras, all in pristine condition and in their original cases, to the school’s photography department. He said that after interacting with some Upper School students in the photo classes, he knew his treasured cameras would be appreciated. 

“These are special machines with special abilities, and I was really happy to be able to give them to GFS,” he said. “I could tell those kids had passion.”

Dr. David Fischer '64 donated 16 impeccable vintage 35mm cameras to GFS' photography program.

A close-up of the Ilford HP5 Plus film strips used by students in the darkroom.

Students learn to develop and analyze their own black and white negatives.

Jordan Abney ’26 reviews her negatives on the light table.

In building his camera collection, Fischer was often drawn to unusual cameras, some of which made their way to GFS. There’s a Minox spy camera, hardly larger than a pack of gum, said to have been used by Cold War intelligence services. A special edition Leica M6, covered in ostrich skin and tucked into a red, velvet-lined box, is a precious artifact; Koehler says he plans to occasionally allow each student to take one photo with it on a shared roll of film.

The special edition Leica M6 is an unusual and rather incredible addition to a high school photography program.

There are three large format cameras, as well: a Linhof panoramic camera; a 4x5-inch Wista Field Camera, and a 16x24-inch Eastman Land Camera that’s likely 125 years old. 

“These cameras, the way they function and their unique quirks and features, will allow students to expand on their understanding of light and exposure,” Koehler said. “I am unbelievably stoked that they can have access to resources like these.”
 

Teacher Michael Koehler is an avid black-and-white photography.

But before they even pick up a camera, GFS students in Photography I learn to consider light as a medium. They start by taking photos with a pinhole camera made from a paint can.

“The pinhole camera is the simplest way of making a picture, and we do that first so they can really grasp that photography is painting with light,” Koehler noted. “I don’t grade my students on their final print, but on their understanding of taking a reading of light, developing the photos, and being able to build off that information.”

Students learn to develop negatives and print positive images in the new All School Commons darkroom. This 20-bay darkroom, one of the largest on the East Coast, allows more students to take part in the photography program, which has experienced a higher demand than it can accommodate for years.

From there, students begin using standard Pentax 35mm cameras, similar to the one Fischer had back in the 70s, before moving on to experimenting with other types of film cameras and darkroom techniques. Sometimes, they take photos on campus or go on what Koehler calls “photo walks” around Germantown, observing the light, shapes, and architecture in the neighborhood. Students are allowed to check Fischer’s cameras out overnight or on the weekends to continue their exploration at home.

While Koehler does incorporate digital photography into his curriculum, he believes that working with film provides a critical foundation for young artists. It helps build a practice where each decision, each adjustment, and each eye’s singular perspective are all at play at the moment of creation. 

“The film side of photography teaches that the light hits the Earth brand new every day—today’s light will never happen again,” he said. “A photographer’s job is to appreciate objects or subjects by seeing how the light is falling and capturing that beauty.”

The mechanics of the eye and the nuances of vision were, of course, a persistent topic of research and exploration throughout his 40-year career at Wills Eye Hospital. This has parlayed beautifully into his interest in film photography, which he celebrates for its ability to help artists develop their point of view. 

“Photography is what you think about—it’s how you see,” Fischer said. “With black and white photography, you have to train your brain to be able to look in that camera and see what the film is looking at, and imagine what it will do.”

 

A sampling of student prints from the 2025-26 school year.

Every once in a while, after a photo walk, a student will open their camera only to realize that they have loaded their film incorrectly and the images they thought they had captured are not actually there. Even though this can be disappointing, Koehler is quick to remind them that their time has not been wasted.

“They have still benefitted from that time spent walking around and looking through the viewfinder,” he said. “No one is seeing the moment the same as another person. That is your perspective, and it’s made up of all the stories that have gone into your life.”

— Emily Kovach

This article was originally published in the Winter 2025 issue of the GFS Bulletin.