Category: Analog Film

Rough Around the Edges

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Today’s image is of model Emily Decoteau, wearing an amazing costume she made herself, “reverse-engineered” from an illustration she found. The title “Rough Around the Edges” does not apply to her amazing costume work! I am referring to the process used for this image; the original was taken using a Polaroid Land camera model 455, and the negative was allowed to dry, then scanned. (I also added some toning, along with brightness and contrast in post).  I like the fact the the edges are messy, and that bits and pieces of the paper film pack are still visible; to me, that says this image is real and tangible, you can hold it in your hands, knowing it was a witness to the moment.

Emily - Instant Negative Scan

Something in the Air

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with Rebecca Zur, in a park near Yonge St. / St. Clair Ave. in Central Toronto. Twenty minutes before the shoot was to begin, the heavens opened and there was a brief but intense sun-shower. Afterwards, the sun stayed out, and the air remained quite damp and steamy, but the light took on a soft, diffuse and magical quality, which made it perfect for the shoot/ (I was melting in the humidity, but that doesn’t matter :-)) . I shot Polaroid, digital and conventional film for this shoot, and I have chosen one digital and one Polaroid for today’s post, as the looks are quite different, but equally valid.

Rebecca

Rebecca (Polaroid)

Train of Thought

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Today’s image is from another bleached/reclaimed Fuij FC-100C instant print, taken at the Broadview subway station in Toronto. I posted it on flickr as I was going out the door this morning, and didn’t have time to add any description. It quickly got a couple of nice comments, but I think one person made the assumption the look was all done in post. Given the plethora of apps and plug-ins available today to make digital images look like grungy lo-fi analog images, it was not an unreasonable assumption; most viewers would have done the same. I just can’t help but notice the irony of the situation.

Train of Thought

Highs and Lows

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What a week it was; as hinted at in a previous post, it was a technology vs. John week: camera malfunctions, and then a darkroom chemical drama that ruined an important roll of colour negative film. It seemed the entire week was one big Julia Child-esque “Teachable moment.” Time to focus on the highs though: I did get some nice Polaroid negative reclamations, such as this one:

Kensington Market, reclaimed Fuji FP100C instant film negative

and I was very happy with how my video of the vintage 20’s session turned out with Emily:

 

This week? I have two shoots booked, and I am determined to rock them both! I will not be defeated!!

Whatever Doesn’t Kill You . . .

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I have to confess there are times when the thought of just sticking a memory card in a DSLR is appealing; the odds are higher that the camera will “just work.” Recently, the idea of something “just working” in traditional film photography for me seems unrealistic. In the last week, I’ve had to deal with the following:

  • a Polaroid SX-70 camera that only grudgingly spits out images
  • a Rolleicord III Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera that won’t stop at frame 1
  • A Yashica TLR whose shutter/film winder mechanism often takes a lot of begging and pleading to function
  • a Polaroid pack camera deciding to jam in the middle of a shoot
  • a Polaroid self-timer not working
  • Polaroid shoots where negatives (and indeed sometimes even the prints!) get smeared, or dry strangely because of the recent heat. Today’s image is an example of that particular issue.

Kensington Polaroids

I still love film cameras, but there are times where it seems like unrequited love (something I’ve experienced more than once, over the course of my life).

I’m not whining, mind you; just the blog equivalent of sighing. I’m fully aware that this is the price I have to pay.

Artificial Hipster

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I took this picture of a fellow film enthusiast named Joe at the recent Analog’s Pulse event in Cleveland. When I saw this ridiculous ad I knew I had to comment somehow.

Cleveland - Analog Pulse

Film shooters are often derided as self-important hipsters, more concerned with projecting an image, rather than creating images, and ads like this just add to the misconception. For me, film shooters are more like the guy in front of the ad, who quietly does what he loves.

The ad is artificial. The shooter is real!

Times Two

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Models Emily DeCoteau and Jennifer Bettencourt have both graced my blog multiple times, so it was only fitting that a shoot involving two models would feature them. The idea was a faerie theme, shot in Guild Park, the perfect location. Shooting two models instead of one takes twice the energy, and increases the variables involved, but happily this shoot went very well. Emily and Jennifer worked together very well, and both displayed great characters, with interesting contrasts. I am quite happy with the results.

Emily and Jennifer film

(Nikon FE, 105/2.5 Nikkor lens, 35mm Kodak Portra Colour negative film, developed in home C-41 kit)

Old Friends: Ken and Bryon

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This afternoon I finally was able to have the “Old Friends” shoot with my good friends Ken and Bryon. The idea of shooting these two together was the original inspiration for the project, but for various logistical reasons we were not able to shoot until today. Today’s image is a Polaroid instant picture from the session (shot mainly in 35mm and 120 roll film format).

Ken and Bryon010

One neat thing that did occur: the Polaroid 100 is not a small camera, and tends to attract attention whenever I use it. Today, a guy at the next table at the pub where we did the shoot noticed what I was using, asked if it was a Polaroid, then ran home to get an old Polaroid he had inherited from a relative. He came back with a Polaroid model 104, a sibling of my Model 100. Without a battery I couldn’t tell if the camera worked or not but the battery compartment was clean and the shutter sounded strong. I told the guy he could still get film for the camera, and I hope he tries it out.

Yes, it was a very good day. 🙂

Cleveland

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“Cleveland??” The U.S. border guard looked at me with a mixture of suspicion and surprise, as if there were no good reason to go to Cleveland. Thankfully that is not the case, and last weekend I had a lot of fun attending Analog Pulse, a film photography event in Cleveland, Ohio, put on by the Aperture Photo and Variety store. (The photo today is Fuji slide film, cross-processed as C-41, taken during the “Cross Process Walk” part of the event.) It was a really fun day, and it was great meeting a number of people in person that I only had met online up until then. As for Cleveland, the downtown is lovely and very photogenic!

Cleveland Cross-Processed Photo Walk

Found

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In today’s image, the model Rae is sitting in an old chair I found a block and a half from my house, put out by someone with a “Free” sign on it. My guess is that it dates from the 1930’s/40’s, and it needs some TLC, but in its present condition it was perfect for the vintage, somewhat melancholy mood I was looking for in this image, and it worked great with Rae’s lovely pose and expression. I just had to click the shutter.

Rae Gun

(Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80mm f2.8 lens, Ilford Delta 100 film processed in HC-110 Dilution B for 6 minutes, scanned then post-processed using NIK plug-ins)