Film Photography:
I was introduced to film photography during my senior year of high school in my AP Studio Art class. While I didn't actually shoot film until the summer after, I was eager to learn as I was very intrigued by the works of art created by the students who used film as their concentration medium. I have since compiled many cameras and different types of film, and I strive to explore as many aspects of film photography as I can. In this section, you can explore my film photography journey; seeing what I saw, thinking what I thought, and learning what I learned.
Presidential Traverse Backpacking Trip: June 25 - 28 2018
This was my first time shooting film. All photos were shot on an AE-1 Program using 4 rolls of various expired films (I believe kodak gold 200, Fuji color Superia, etc.), all images are raw and unedited.
It was a 3 day back packing trip with friends through the presidential mountain range in New Hampshire, and the goal for my photos was to just play around and get familiar with shooting on an automatic camera. My artistic focus centered around documenting the trip as best as I could, taking mainly photos of the landscape and our crew (I was going for an expedition type look).
Overall, l learned a lot. I got used to using a proper camera, mainly using the focus, but also taking pictures and changing lenses quickly. I also got a little bit better at taking aesthetically pleasing photos through trial and error. I felt as though for a first time effort, I was able to produce a large number of very good photos. I was also very pleased with how well the expired film held up, there was some discoloration on some of the rolls, but overall, I feel that It actually helps add to the quality of the photos.
It was a 3 day back packing trip with friends through the presidential mountain range in New Hampshire, and the goal for my photos was to just play around and get familiar with shooting on an automatic camera. My artistic focus centered around documenting the trip as best as I could, taking mainly photos of the landscape and our crew (I was going for an expedition type look).
Overall, l learned a lot. I got used to using a proper camera, mainly using the focus, but also taking pictures and changing lenses quickly. I also got a little bit better at taking aesthetically pleasing photos through trial and error. I felt as though for a first time effort, I was able to produce a large number of very good photos. I was also very pleased with how well the expired film held up, there was some discoloration on some of the rolls, but overall, I feel that It actually helps add to the quality of the photos.
London: mid-August 2018
This was my second time shooting film, first time on a fully manual camera(except it had a rangefinder). All photos were shot on an Argus C3 using various expired films (3 rolls total), all images are raw and unedited.
This was a pre college trip I took with my father, to visit London, catch a soccer game, and for me: To test out my film photography skills. The setting was new to me, a city scene with beautiful architecture everywhere; I would have to choose photos carefully. Also, I would have to get used to self metering (I used sunny 16). As you can see from the photos, I did a pretty decent job, even in lower light conditions such as subway stations. What you don't see are the photos that were metered terribly: these were mostly indoors or inside the tube. low light metering would end up being my weak point for the trip and I would have to get better at it. There were accidental double exposures that happened due to the fact that film advance is independent of the shutter. This produced interesting results, but was not intended.
I would say that this trip was a success, I successfully shot manual, and I learned a lot about shooting in a city setting. I would still have to improve my low light metering, but overall a very fun and enjoyable experience.
This was a pre college trip I took with my father, to visit London, catch a soccer game, and for me: To test out my film photography skills. The setting was new to me, a city scene with beautiful architecture everywhere; I would have to choose photos carefully. Also, I would have to get used to self metering (I used sunny 16). As you can see from the photos, I did a pretty decent job, even in lower light conditions such as subway stations. What you don't see are the photos that were metered terribly: these were mostly indoors or inside the tube. low light metering would end up being my weak point for the trip and I would have to get better at it. There were accidental double exposures that happened due to the fact that film advance is independent of the shutter. This produced interesting results, but was not intended.
I would say that this trip was a success, I successfully shot manual, and I learned a lot about shooting in a city setting. I would still have to improve my low light metering, but overall a very fun and enjoyable experience.
Climbing/Hiking Flatiron #2: early-April 2019
This was my third time shooting film. Different from the first two sessions, this time, I had only a few hours to capture and document my experience as opposed to a couple days. Because of this, I only took one roll of film in order to challenge myself to take well thought out images. All photos were shot on an AE-1 Program using 1 roll of expired film, all images are raw and unedited.
I went up to climb the second flatiron with my friend(white shirt) and his friend(grey shirt) from back home. This was a new challenge for me as I had never taken action shots of this nature. Added to this was the unique perspective and very stark contrast between the foreground(the rock) and the background(boulder in the distance) that I had to consider in some of the shots. This huge contrast in depth challenged me to find the right angles to balance the photos.
Overall, I was very proud of my work this time. I felt that I succeded in capturing images that showed not only the mechanics of climbing, but also the emotion in the activity. There were failures however: many images were too dark, some too blury, and a few just werent simply well thought out. I attribute these to my inexperience with the environment and with close-ups.
In the end, I felt as though I succeded in what I set out to do, and I found a new favorite setting: "People in action". I had some points to improve on, which in the next tab, I set out on the same climb a week later to improve my skills.
I went up to climb the second flatiron with my friend(white shirt) and his friend(grey shirt) from back home. This was a new challenge for me as I had never taken action shots of this nature. Added to this was the unique perspective and very stark contrast between the foreground(the rock) and the background(boulder in the distance) that I had to consider in some of the shots. This huge contrast in depth challenged me to find the right angles to balance the photos.
Overall, I was very proud of my work this time. I felt that I succeded in capturing images that showed not only the mechanics of climbing, but also the emotion in the activity. There were failures however: many images were too dark, some too blury, and a few just werent simply well thought out. I attribute these to my inexperience with the environment and with close-ups.
In the end, I felt as though I succeded in what I set out to do, and I found a new favorite setting: "People in action". I had some points to improve on, which in the next tab, I set out on the same climb a week later to improve my skills.
Climbing/Hiking Flatiron #2: Late-April 2019
I set out this time to try and directly improve my close-up, contrasting depth, and action shot skills from my previous shoot. I took the same trail, with the same climb, 1 roll of film, and three friends to try and test myself again. All photos were shot on an AE-1 Program using 1 roll of expired film, all images are raw and unedited.
The trip was almost the exact same, so I was faced with the same challenges. I tried to take more images in sunlight as it would help with my problems with images being too dark(you'll notice I still had some troubles wiith this). I also tried to contrast the foreground of the rock and my friends with the sky(or more distant rocks) and not with Boulder in the back ground just to mix it up a bit. I feel that this decision defiantly resulted in better images.
In the end, I got a way better feel for shooting action subjects, and got a better eye for settings with stark depth contrast. I was really proud of a few of these images as they exemplified my goal setting: "People in action". A good number of these images not only perfectly conveyed the action and emotion of climbing, but also were just stunning images to look at in general, in my opinion.
The trip was almost the exact same, so I was faced with the same challenges. I tried to take more images in sunlight as it would help with my problems with images being too dark(you'll notice I still had some troubles wiith this). I also tried to contrast the foreground of the rock and my friends with the sky(or more distant rocks) and not with Boulder in the back ground just to mix it up a bit. I feel that this decision defiantly resulted in better images.
In the end, I got a way better feel for shooting action subjects, and got a better eye for settings with stark depth contrast. I was really proud of a few of these images as they exemplified my goal setting: "People in action". A good number of these images not only perfectly conveyed the action and emotion of climbing, but also were just stunning images to look at in general, in my opinion.