Elvira shares her thoughts about her work and process: “I like old things, the patina, the beautiful materials, and in working with these older instruments, I feel a connection to the people who used them before me. Long ago I discovered that in order to achieve fineness of detail, long tonal scale, and a virtually grainless image I was seeking that I would need to use a larger format camera. The view camera operates by projecting the image from the lens onto the ground glass at the rear of the camera. It requires using a dark cloth to see it clearly, and the image appears upside down and backwards, in a way that is similar to how human eyes receive images at the optic center at the back of the head. The technical aspects of this particular way of photographing serve something that is not entirely aesthetic, it is the partly unseen, but sensed spirit of things.”
 

Elvira's stunning photos are taken with a Plaubel Universal II view camera (seen here). As Piedra writes, “The lenses I use are antique now, uncoated, with qualities not found in contemporary lenses. They are capable of great sharpness, but it’s how they collect the light itself that feels more graceful to me. It’s also a way of slowing things down. The tripod and slower lenses, the process of composing and focusing the camera, require intention and time, they become elements of a contemplative practice.”  

From sculptural silhouettes to the finest details, the florals by Elvira Piedra mirror the artistry of the Loden brand and evoke the authentic garden setting in the heart of Brooklyn. Designed with intention, lived with ease—rare, exclusive, Different by Nature.