Today, a video of various portraits taken recently in Kensington Market, Toronto, with Fuji FP100C instant film, using the negatives after bleaching/reclaiming. I love the colours I get from this process!
Category: Portraiture
Journey vs. Destination
Today’s photograph is from a shoot last evening with model/actor Sarah. It was getting dark quickly, but thanks to the 3000 speed instant film (Fuji FP-3000) in my Polaroid Land Camera 455 I was able to get a number of good instant images. If the photo is the destination, then using the Polaroid makes for an interesting journey; Sarah and I were able to review the images as we shot, not as LCD images on the back of a camera, but as a print in our hands, and we both felt that was a crucial difference. Sarah is a perfectionist when it comes to getting her poses and expressions just right, and she certainly did an amazing job!
People and Polaroids
Instant Photography is all about people. The experience of sharing the print (as a tangible object) so soon after the image was taken adds a unique flavour to a photographic interaction, and this was quite evident of a photo shoot I had last evening with my good friend Jo-Anne. We shoot a lot of Polaroids, and she enjoyed being able to see them, and I believe she was energized in her posing by seeing how well her poses and looks worked. This image is another negative scan (where the negative peel-away portion of the print is saved, allowed to dry then scanned, and inverted back into a positive). I love the grain and the vintage look I get from these negative scans, and Jo-Anne’s look suited the technique perfectly.
Personality Distilled
Today’s image is of actor Caitlynne Medrek. We did a shoot at High park in Toronto, and Caitlynne was a joy to work with. Every now and then I am lucky enough to capture in one image these essence of a person’s personality, and I think I did so here; it’s hard not to smile back at this kind of smile! 🙂
Hacking the Process
Today’s image is a scan of the negative from one of the Polaroids I took at my “Old Friends” shoot this past Sunday. Originally meant to just be thrown away, if these negatives are carefully allowed to dry, they can be scanned and inverted (negative -> positive). The results have a character all their own!
I like processes and materials that can be extended and altered in ways the original manufacturer never dreamed of, and film photography is perfect for this, in a way that digital never could be.
Times Two
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.
(Nikon FE, 105/2.5 Nikkor lens, 35mm Kodak Portra Colour negative film, developed in home C-41 kit)
Favourites
Today’s image of model Julia Lewis was taken in what is becoming a favourite location of mine: Guild Park in Scarborough, Ontario. It was shot using Kodak Portra 400, which is rapidly becoming a favourite colour film
The Right Approach
I am not a purist. While I love traditional film, I don’t get religious about it; I will use digital as well, when the situation calls for it. Today’s image is an example, shot with the talented and very creative model Emily Decoteau. I did use film as well for this shoot (currently hanging drying in my darkroom), but there is a certain kind of vibrancy in this image that I ascribe to the use of a digital camera. It will be interesting to compare this image to the film versions, and I suspect it won’t be better/worse, just different.
Background
One more image of Keira from our Kensington Market shoot. We both saw this background at the same time, and immediately gravitated to it. The iconic Metropolis robot heads, and the frame, slightly askew which frames Keira’s head were an interesting combination — there is a lot going on!
Keira in Colour
As a follow up to the last post, here is one of the colour images from the shoot with Keira at Kensington Market. Although black and white is my “mother tongue” when it comes to photography, there are times when the language of colour is the only thing that will do, and I believe this is one of those times. I love the pink and blue neon sign with Keira’s auburn hair, both glowing, and capped off with a touching expression.
(Nikon FE, 105mm/f2.5 Nikkor lens, Kodak ISO 200 Colour Negative film, processed using JOBO C-41 kit, post work done with NIK Color Efex Pro 3)
My Third Eye 