One of the reasons film has been good for me to experiment with is the delayed gratification element. I click the shutter and out of reflex look at the screen that doesn't exist and realize I have to wait to see how the image turns out. So you give up the instant gratification, but you gain the counting down the days to Christmas anticipation. My friend Steven developed these black and white rolls for me and when I went to open the scans in the Dropbox link, it was like opening a present. I didn't know if any of them would turn out because I had little confidence in my ability to correctly meter, so I was SUPER pumped when I saw I didn't mess them all up! I think that is another big lesson I am gaining from film- to put more confidence in my ability to frame and shoot and tone down the impulse to shoot a million frames, checking my screen each time. So it is teaching me to slow down, trust what I know about exposure, and take 1 or 2 shots in a given setting. Here are some of the pictures I liked:)
I took pictures of Ethan (above) and Andy and Jared (below). Children are definitely harder to photograph with film using manual focus and a wide aperture because they move so quickly and don't hold still long enough to really master the focus, at least for where I'm at in the learning process. But there is still something a little magical even about a slightly out of focus image that is beautiful. It began to rain one afternoon (actually every afternoon this summer) and we love to watch the rain on the front porch. The image below is perfect of Jared because afternoon rain is one of his most favorite things on earth.
Our friend and babysitter, Callie, was over at our house and I knew she was one of those people I would love to photograph. So she was up for standing in the best light in our house- our bathroom- and smiling for me. Thanks Callie- you're always beautiful!
This is such a random collection of images but there were a few weeks where I would carry my camera around and find times to use it. The picture below is from a wedding I second shot with one of my best friends, Carrie Jo. I would love to experiment with film and weddings more but have definitely been hesitant to take the time to get my 35mm camera out and shoot on busy wedding days.
My next rolls of film will be from my uber cheap Pinhole Camera (crossing my fingers that any of them turned out). And then on to color Portra film with my dad's Canon 35mm and 85mm lens. So here is the best part about my experiment with film- I DIDN"T EVEN NEED TO EDIT THEM!!! ahhhhhhh!!!! For all the hours I've spent in Lightroom going through a billion RAW images, having my film developed and scanned was so refreshing. I opened them up and had them printed. That alone felt like a treat. More to come!