decay # 15 ~ what to do?
Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 09:58AM 
<Cantaloupe & scallions • click to embiggenHere's a question for you all - has anyone recently gone out on a limb, photography-wise? By that I mean, has anyone tried something new lately? You know, tried to get outside of your personal "box"?
I am fairly certain that most of you were/are drawn to The Landscapist because its focus has been (primarily) on landscape photography of one sort or another. So, my assumption is that most of you practice one form or another of landscape photography. That's not too much of a stretch, right? So, that said, has anyone tried their shutter finger with, say, still life or portrait photography, for instance? Or, maybe more to the point, have you ever felt the need or even the slightest inclination to try something "new".
I'm curious because I am considering something "new", which is actually something old mixed with something new - a return to film - most likely 120 color negative film, square format, of course. Film is the "old", digital darkroom is the "new". This possibility is on my radar as a result of my recent 8×10 color negative scanning. The unsurpassed dynamic range and smooth tonality of color negative is singing its siren song loud and clear. Or, should I say, soft and sensuous.
The trouble I am having with this is with the fact that I am, by no means, done with my Adirondack ku which is 100% digital capture. I don't dare start doing ku with color negative - the difference in picture characteristics would be far too great to mix together in a single body of work. Nope, I can't go there.
I am also fairly certain that I have neither the time nor the energy to strike out on something completely new and different. At least, not until ku appears to have an end in sight. There is the possibility of swithching from digital to film with my decay series. I still still have all of the decayed stuff hanging around and I could recreate my work to date without too much effort.
But, I just don't know how to scratch this new itch without over extending myself, photograph-wise. Maybe I should just figure out how I am going to do it, camera-wise and then just see what develops.
PS my thoughts, camera-wise, are to use my 120 6×7 roll film holder with one of my 4×5 cameras and my 90mm Super Angulon lens in order to have the convenience of roll film and the deliberative picturing process of a view camera.
decay
Reader Comments (6)
I have been shooting a little film lately too... and I do love the way that color negative prints look... but unfortunately, where are the labs that still print color negatives of 120/220 and 4x5 using a REAL optical enlarger system - automatic or otherwise??? The scanned prints from most labs I know at least, just don't have that same smooth tonality as an optically enlarged print... anyone know a good lab for color neg film?
*steve
Last summer, Rich and I went to the Tunbridge Fairgrounds for some Morgan horse shows (Morgan Heritage days and the Lippit Morgan show) and worked on horse photography. I have a few posted here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/epona707/sets/72157600623232911/
Since there is always an "official photographer" hired for the shows, we concentrated on the sidelines and went for more portrait type images than the usual posed shot in the ring with the ribbon (boring). We've also gone to see the Lippizans when they used to stay in northern VT, but they won't be coming to VT anymore, unfortunately.
This is all very different from my comfort zone. Taking photos of moving things, Yikes! I think I did OK and plan to continue and see where it goes. After all, I have two horses in my own yard!
I think those 'new' areas are often where the most fun and improvements can lie. We all have our comfort zones, areas of expertise, hard won, that make us feel safe creating similar images to what's gone before. The other stuff can often be a bit intimidating, or leave us worried that the results wont be as good (which is probably true, for a while)
I don't know if it counts as recently or not, but about a year and a half ago now, I decided I want to photograph more people. Went from photographing maybe one or two family and friends, in amongst the more typical landscape/ still life stuff, to now shooting not much other than people.
I still find it more uncomfortable and more fun to be shooting people and I'm getting huge personal rewards from doing it. Now I do the occasional landscape shot and almost all people.
I've been working on a mini project called Back Space. I've always loved poking around and seeing what's behind buildings, businesses, homes, etc. The stuff that's stashed not displayed is way more interesting in my opinion. All the shots will be with my point and shoot digital, all horizontal, no cropping (more or less), and converted to monotone. It's a little challenging because I don't want to sneak around or trespass so on a few occasions I've had to ask permission to photograph on private property. That is not easy for me because I don't like bugging people or drawing attention to my photography. Anyway, I've always wanted to do an entire series in B&W too. The beginnings of the project can be seen on my website: twoeyesopen.com. I'm enjoying it and like being outside my comfort zone a bit. We'll see where it takes me.
I've also been working with horses lately, and the approach is totally different from my other work: moving subject, camera handheld, many captures, focus a major issue. It's out of my experience zone, but it's not uncomfortable--I'm loving it.
I can easily understand the appeal of a different look, e.g. color neg film. But at the risk of touching off the old religious debate, I have to ask if you've tried seriously to replicate your desired look with digital. If you're not actually maxing out the sensor on highlights or losing shadows in the noise--both real possibilities--then, in principle, you should be able to mimic the response of any given film. It may take a lot of fussing with curves, but there's a mathematical relationship between film and sensor response. I'm ignoring, of course, valid questions of resolution and psychology.
Today I shot off 16 exposures of 120 film using the Bronica Medium format camera I borrowed from you. Not only do I have no clue if they were properly in focus and/or metered, I now have to wait to get to a lad for processing, then a day or two after that I can pick up the film and give you the neg's to scan, and perhaps by next monday I will see the outcome.
THAT IS SOMETHING NEW FOR ME!
it reminds me of this quote from Hall of Fame hockey broadcaster Mike Lange... "he had more patience than Mercy Hospital".