Sept 17, 2024; Nature Walks and Spartan Races
Recent roll of film I shot
Among the roll here are some macro shots, (poison Ivy, cigarettes, flowers) testing out the focal distance on the Mamiya RB67 (65mm lens) As well as a couple scenes from a walk I took. I am upset that the focus missed on the runner with the gasmask, but its such a strange moment I still love the image. The way the light hit all the weird surfaces of the big rock was too wonderful not to shoot. Finally we have some group photos from our Spartan race on Sunday.
This roll was certainly a learning experience, but I am loving shooting with this Mamiya. It feels like the camera equivalent to driving a stick shift. Even the act of removing the dark slide before you can hit the shutter. It feels like the best parts of experiencing shooting a large format camera and medium format all in one.
A lesson in developing
Film photography can be unforgiving at times. Something as simple as putting the reel in upside down when you load up the tank, can have catastrophic results. I lost 4 sheets of 4x5 film for this reason alone. However not all the shots were destroyed. Some were effected by the ensuing light leak less and others were untouched.
These 3 frames are what survived and have become ultimately, significantly more precious for it. That's sort of the beauty of film though. It feels like both a gift and a huge accomplishment for just getting the photos to exist in the world. It has a real dollar value cost for every shot you take. Not to mention the time and energy put into every shot to make sure you get the most out of every exposure. When it fails, it hurts, but when it succeeds, you are walking on clouds. Film is more satisfying to me because of these extra high highs and those highs exists because of the extra low lows. There is a risk to shooting film.
It feels a lot like playing a game on “hardcore difficulty” were you only have one life and if you die, you have to restart the game.
All this to say, I was very excited for these frames. And there was another portrait I really wanted to come out but unfortunately they did not. Maybe I'll get another chance, but unlikely. I can at least learn from my mistakes.
These portraits were taken of the artists in the tattoo shop I have been visiting frequently this year. Jeffy, with the big glasses and beard) is the incredible artist who did my DND sleeve (photos coming once it's healed).
I also had some images that didn't really survive, but look heckin' cool nonetheless.
Re-Scanning some old negatives
I think this was a fruitful practice, it showed me very candidly how far my development and scan technique has come in the last year or two. The older the negatives the more work in post I had to do getting rid of dust spots or weird unevenness in the development. I also very much love seeing the side by side. remembering to export a version of the negatives before I start inverting and processing is going to be something I need to make muscle memory in my workflow.
Recent 35mm Scans, Ilford Delta and HP5
Two rolls of film, 35mm trying out a Nikon N8008 that I was gifted. took a walk along a creek, some backyard flowers, some pet photos, and interesting light shining on the walls of the house.
Fire Hydrants
Are there any common objects you enjoy photographing? One thing I began to notice recently is the variety of fire hydrants around me. I will certainly be updating this post with more as I take them.
