Slow Down With Film
When words become unclear, I shall focus on photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. - Ansel Adams
Shooting all day on my Canon Canonet QL 17 35mm film camera with a fixed 40mm F1.4 lens. Before this time I would lug around my Canon DSLR with a 16-35mm lens attached along with 50mm as a backup lens in my bag. I wanted to try an even more minimal approach this time around. One camera one lens and a couple of rolls of film were all I carried with me that day.
I decided to spend a whole year shooting on film. I’ve been using my Canon 7D as my daily carry for years, before picking up my first 35mm film camera a Pentax ME with a broken light meter. I used that camera to reintroduce me to shooting on film. I started with shooting only black and white and learning the at home developing and scanning process. To me, the most satisfying thing about this process is seeing that there are actual images on your developed roll of film.
Soon after I moved onto color negative film. There are so many choices when it comes to color film options. I kept gravitating towards Kodak Color Plus 200, Kodak Portra 400 & 800, and Cinestill 800t (motion picture film stock). The photos you see below are mostly shot on Cinestill 800t and Kodak Color Plus 200. Choosing to shoot only on film for that day was something I was a little nervous about. The questions that lingered in my mind were, how would I know if I captured the moment without an image preview? What if I overexposed or underexposed my image too much? I hope I don’t spend the whole day thinking I’m making photographs and have nothing to show for it. After taking a few shots all those wondering thoughts lessened. I found myself slowing down; anticipating the moment; pre-adjusting my settings; composing and “click”. Advance to the next frame and do it again. After that first roll, I was enjoying being present at the moment, make a photograph, and kept it moving.
The love and appreciation for photography were on a whole new level. I feel like I can go on and on with this topic, but I want to share some of those images taken from that day at the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride. As you scroll through the photographs I would encourage you to try shooting on film if you haven’t already. Take what you learn from that experience and apply it to when you’re shooting digital.
Enjoy!
