Kodak Tri-X 400

An odd title for an odd post.  A year ago I began shooting film with my new medium format folding camera.  I shot 7 rolls of film, took 4 to the camera store, keeping back 3 for me to learn the process of developing, another project that was consigned to the dustbin of overwork.  The exposed films sat on a shelf mocking me every time I saw them, a constant reminder of failure.

With my new found enthusiasm and commitment I finally got off my backside and headed down town to Sauter Munich's largest camera shop and one that still actively promotes and supports film photography.  OK, I should have developed them myself, but a step at a time. A week later I had a bit of work to do with my scanner.  The films were over a year old,  so it was quite interesting to see what I was thinking back then.  One of the rolls was some nice snow scenes, pretty, but more an exercise in exposure latitude than anything else.  The other two, however, were rather interesting.

One of the films was shot on a hard winter day whilst walking along the Isar river.  My mood at the time was very bleak, I was struggling with the course and losing confidence in myself as a photographer, I think the photographs reflect that feeling.

I have slightly cropped the first photograph, there was some distracting detail to the right side, however, this is the only photo I have cropped.  I find the huge viewfinder allows me to frame more accurately and the square format somehow makes achieving verticals easier.

Once in the trees the bleakness of the landscape really comes out, and again the framing is far more carefully managed than with Digital, every photo was clearly thought about and planned.

There is also something about medium format and the softness of background blur that works for me visually:

The photographs in the woods along the river bank reflect what I was feeling and also perhaps a longing to get back to a more considered approach to photography. I am much more in my element walking slowly and thinking about what it is I want a photograph to present.  I enjoy looking at a complex scene and trying to work it out in a photograph, wanting to solve the puzzle of representation.  When shooting people I don't have that sense of reflection and have to work far faster than I am comfortable with.  I enjoy street work, but am more drawn to the framework of the street rather than the people occupying that space.  The people become ornaments, not subjects.

During the past year I have thought a lot on the topic of representation of the world I experience and what I want to say as a photographer.  It must be personal and it must somehow capture my world view.  I am increasingly disillusioned by the modern corporate world and consumerism and yet at the same time captured by it.  I begin to think of myself as an addict trying to kick a habit.  The question will be how to translate that feeling into imagery, no answers yet, maybe in a few years I may develop something.

In the mean time my last roll of Tri-X was heading in that direction.  I spent some time exploring a very fashionable shopping arcade in the city, the images reflecting an interest in the space and what was on sale there.  These are not critical photographs, at least not in the way I present them here.  Juxtaposed against some of the urban poverty I also see around me they might have a different meaning.  Again, food for thought for future studies.

Really more of an experiment in shape and form, than social commentary.  However, these images give me confidence in the capabilities of film and my GF670.  There is a different look, the photographs are more considered and I like the texture of the grain in the film, it somehow conveys the physicality of film.  I don't buy into much of the psychobabble about film versus digital, but it is certainly different both in practice and result.   Better, nope, but there is a value here, I just need to understand it more and work out how and if to include in my workflow.

I also notice in these images and in the final outcome of my Fest project that I work better with melancholy subjects, than with light and joy.  I have been trying to avoid the photographic cliche of imaging "The Other", revealing what that is broken in society, rather than seeking what works.  I feel there is a risk of continually portraying problems rather than solutions, however, one look at the evening news reveals that we are drawn to bad not good news.  My initial thoughts about assignment 4 were to do something bright and happy, people enjoying themselves.  I am now questioning this.  Not because I think it is wrong, in fact I think it would be a better more real study, but it might not be something I can do well.  With Fest, I started in colour celebrating the mad joy of the event, I ended in B&W portraying the casualties.  It was clear what worked better.  I simply do better making photographs that reflect my mood, and my mood is not a bright one these days.