Welcome to the F6 Project – A web site devoted
to the finest 35mm film camera ever made.

After decades of wandering the Rocky Mountain West with Nikons in hand, they’re finally here: Blue Hour Journal Zines.

Blue Hour Journal Zines are concise, inspiring digital magazines designed to visually share select regions of the country I’ve had the privilege to visit. Packed with quality images and a little text for background, they are the culmination of  decades of photographs, an intense curiosity of what’s around the next bend, a lot of gas in the car and film in the cameras, and the desire to self-publish in a format easily attainable by everyone. Imagine… a magazine with no ads.

Visit our Patreon store to check them out. After decades of thinking about it, I finally took the plunge in September of 2024. Scanning thousands of images and attempting to assemble into creative, coherent bodies of work, this its a long-term project evolving and maturing as I go.

So please – let me know what you think, and feel free to make suggestions. In step with the timeless nature of film photography, the ultimate goal of this project is producing highest-quality content with a no expiration date.

Blue Hour Journal, Issue no.1: Badlands
Blue Hour Journal, Issue no.2: Nebraska digital zine
Blue Hour Journal, Issue no.3: Introduction to 4042N

Issue no.1: Badlands, focuses on a special visit to South Dakota’s Badlands National Park one late autumn afternoon. After a clearing storm, light was magical, revealing colors in the park that were nothing like one might expect looking through typical imagery of the area. Badlands is a short, beautiful photo essay of an area that’s often overlooked and under appreciated.

Issue no.2: Nebraska. Nebraska, as some would say, is ‘where the west begins.’ Inspired by Arthur Chapman’s poem, “Out Where the West Begins,” Nebraska represents the beginning of something more… After years of driving back and forth through, the desire to explore Nebraska as its own destination grew, leading to discovery of the small towns and people of this great state.

Coming soon: Issue no.3: Introduction to 4042N. It’s true – this issue has taken some time to assemble–but for good reason. 4042N represents the core of what I’ve been working on for the past 16 years. 4042N encompasses a vast swath of land between and 40th and 42nd Parallels, straddling the border of Colorado & Wyoming, including border sections of Utah and Nebraska.

Nikon F6 Long Term Review: Power

Are the Nikon F6’s electronic advancements worth its ability to provide power for those advancements? You decide.

Cool F6 Selfies; Show em’ if you’ve got em’

Recently during a trip to Utah with my son Matthew, an aspiring candid portrait photographer himself, he made a frame of me working with my F6 that I actually liked - which for me is not a common occurrence. I began wondering if this whole 'selfie' craze may not be...

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico (2016)

One of the things I've looked forward to each year since - forever - is my fall trip. This year it was down to the Four Corners area of the US and covered territory in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah then back in Colorado. We visited a handful of awe-inspiring destinations...

Arches National Park, January 2020, part 2

Winter is a great time to visit Arches National Park in Utah. Crowds are light and the beauty is surreal. This is a short report of what I saw this past January while on a quick get away to one of America’s true National Treasures.

The Shop

The Shop: a Master Mechanic’s home away from home and straight up man cave. The first time I saw The Shop I paused, not quite sure how to visually digest what was before me. There was part of me that smiled – wanting to dive in and go for it.

Nikon F6: Good Design – Long Life Design Award

This surfaced the other day and I thought it was worth a mention on the F6 Project. The F6 was won the Good Design Long Life Design Award. What's noteworthy about this is it's awarded 11 years after the camera was initially released in 2004. This feeds well into the...

500th Roll

As we set out on the path there are milestones of our own making. So when one of those milestones approaches, well... it's kind of a thing. Such was realized this past Christmas break as my 500th roll of film through the F6 approached. I wanted it to be something...

When You’re Really Trying…

OK, so maybe I jumped the gun a little. Maybe I still do have something to say regarding the F6. Allow me to explain. Over the past several years I've enjoyed shooting with a variety of cameras, including all the Nikon single-digits F-series, as well as a few...

Old Growth

The Shop

Wood smoke, grease, charred wood, machine oil, steel, dried, cracked varnish, leather, copper, dead mice, fly traps and old stuff that’s been sitting in coffee cans for 50 years. Not just a visual cacophony, but an experience all your senses will never forget.

Other Efforts:

johnbcrane.com

Other Efforts:

bluehourjournal.com

Other Efforts :

cranedigital.com