So why scissors? I hate to steal a quote from Sir Edmund Hillary, but it was because they were there. The scissors and the thread both. Mostly I was looking for something I could use to practice focusing with. The shot was taken straight down using my Bender 4x5 camera. Unfortunately the rear frame of the Bender flexes a good deal when it's pointed straight down, so the act of placing a loupe on the ground glass was enough to shift the focus. I learned to use a light hand, and tried not to breathe too hard. Inserting the film holder, of course, also shifted the focus somewhat. So it's not as sharp as I'd like. I still have the scissors. They live in my shop and are off-limits to anyone cutting anything other than thread, cloth, or thin paper. I keep a second set of scissors next to them for anything else that might need cutting. The Wiss scissors are kept sharp enough to shave with. The others I use for cutting sheet metal, so understandably they're a little less sharp. TMX 100, Fuji 150mm lens, Bender 4x5

Scissor lift for film shoot at Metropolitan United Church, Toronto