Film
Last weeks #lifeasNathanPhoto blog talked about the importance of resting periods..so as usual the complete contrast happens and I’ve had a really busy week…. The law of sod rides again, so as an attempt to get back to, feed into, contribute and aid this approach of slow boil creative thinking, I’ve started to shoot film again. I think the nature of shooting film correlates well with that process. It stops the instant gratification speedy nature of digi which is the ideal food for a slowed down creative process, but careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water though, as they say.
In order to facilitate this you’ll need a film camera. I dug out an old one that has been on my shelf gathering dust for a while and put in a roll of black and white - which was great! Although while shooting I still “chimped” at the back of the camera with the processing time eventually shortening enough for me to realise that however long you looked at the back of the film camera the image was definitely not coming up !! This rediscovered compact (that I must have bought about 10 years ago) is the Yashica T3 using this after my much beloved hipster T4 died last year (as ever in a very apt setting.)
Not sure I’ve used this one before so was an new experience and education, the Yashica T3 is slightly bigger unit, slightly bulkier but still not huge, little more 80’s lambo design (think along the lines of that Countach Athena poster…) believe this is because it incorporates a small waist level finder that is fun to use and will aid street photography like the large format ones do. I dutifully shot 36 exposures, as usual a bit quickly, and then saw a million frames that would have been the prize winning shot of the decade (much like when l did gigs on film and whilst changing a roll the lead singer would come right up to camera! Strikes me now, that maybe they were waiting for that specific moment!). The initial results have been mixed, getting used to the focussing is more difficult than previously thought, with it’s F2 lens leaving no room for focussing errors, although it made some shots more interesting and emotive, so a great learning curve and discussion point
I am coming round to the idea that film may become a bigger part of my working process again. Although I have been using the Maimya RB’s for work for a while, in my personal work going back to basics has been interesting.
My thoughts at the moment are to move back up to a proper film camera with specific focus and settings. This will require some level of investment -maybe either fixing my old EOS1 or looking to something else maybe the T90, Eos 600 or per chance to dream…. maybe a Leica? More to ruminate on!
So to the image to illustrate this…. I have purposely not shown the direct results as they need some time to develop (ha-ha unintentional pun klaxon!). So… I’ve called upon my editorial representational skills to translate this writing into an image. What do you think? Does it need more time, burning in or filing in the round file?
Thank you for reading.