TJ’s Daily Blog #56
Shooting film teaches my digital eyes to see with my brain.
There is a certain amount of hope and imagination required when shooting film. First, you have to hope that the film is actually sensitive to light. Before you even start to meter the scene, you have to imagine how you want to render the image in your head. Then you hope that you’ve metered correctly. You have to hope that the roll is developed properly, hope the light was good, that the focus was right on, and the subject was clear. Then, when you finally print or scan your pictures, you hope you still think the moments were as interesting as when you shot them.
In the whole process described above, you have to imagine the end result of the photograph before you press the shutter. Your job as a photographer is to turn that idea-picture into a photograph. When you use your imagination to take the photographs first, the visual part of your brain explodes with activity. And that is where the pictures are really being taken.. in your head.
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!”
― Ansel Adams
These photos are from a single roll of expired Kodak Ektar 160, shot on a Contax Aria SLR with a Contax Zeiss 25mm f/2.8 lens. Contact casey@mpex.com if you are interested in 35mm or medium format film gear!
