Film from the forest

The photos are in! And the overall consensus is that I need a manually focusing camera. Most of the photos did not turn out as hoped, but there are a handful that I really like, and the adventure that this film experiment led me on was worth it. I was also happy to discover that getting 35mm film developed in 2017 is actually quite easy (thanks, internet!). Above is a shot I was anticipating seeing; I leaned back onto a tree that was hanging over one of these cliffs to get the center-most view of this gorge. I live not too far from this magical little forest and blogged after returning from the hike where I shot the film. The digital photos that I took that day are brighter, clearer. The film photos are grainier and they interpreted the light in interesting ways. All of the photos from the forest have a magical quality, like you're visiting a place that exists just between your dreams and your waking life. Part of that is coming from the place itself and part of it is due to my film selection (Fujifilm Natura 1600). The forest photos did better from a technical standpoint as well because I was mostly taking wide shots without trying to focus on a specific subject. I took for granted that the digital camera on my phone allows me to touch on a subject to focus and realized as I was eyeing potential shots that I wouldn't be able to do all of the cool things that I normally like to do in photos. My old 35mm scored a 1/5 on the shots where I tried to put the focus on the subject and have the background look fuzzy, out of focus. It is branded as a "sureshot" camera. Maybe it's the photographer who is not the sureshot though! I have a lot to learn when it comes to film photography. I'll be back to playing around in this medium and (hopefully) improving. Maybe Santa will bring me a manually focusing analogue camera this year and I'll be able to really have some fun ;)

The above photo was taken when the sky was very dark with a nearly full moon high in the sky behind me. Below is a video of the same tree that shows the color I was experiencing the sky to be at the time of the photo. *Music provided courtesy of a choir of friendly frogs who live in a pond beside a willow tree. Performance times are ongoing throughout the season, advanced tickets are not required. Favorite tunes include "Goodnight, Sweet Sunshine" and "Hey there, Pretty Frog Lady."

Most of the 36 frames (wow those go by fast!) were used on my hike, but I saved a few to take of my family because I read that the Natura film is really nice for low light portraits. My favorite photo from the roll ended up being the very first frame I took, a photo of my son holding one of our dogs in the darkened hallway with light from a window behind him giving his silhouette a mystical aura! He's making moody eye contact with the camera while Chloe, our long haired chihuahua, gazes into his eyes. Pure magic, that photo. I'll share it with you in a few years when he's older, maybe. For now he's a seven year old with a wolf for a mother; internet fame is not yet in his cards. Have you picked up a film camera since the world went digital? If you could only give me one tip for taking better film photos, what would it be? If someone asked me that question about painting I would answer it in one word: Practice. Practice is the key to being great at anything you aspire to do. But that's so wide of a view! Macro. Let's get micro. What could someone do to immediately be on their way to taking better photos? ... On my auto-focusing-only camera I learned that I need to remember to hold down the shutter button half way, pause, and then push it all the way down to get it to auto focus. No doubt a few more of my shots would have turned out better if I had. If you're a shutterbug and have a tip, please comment below or share a link. *I'll share some micro painting tips in another post, but be prepared for the accompanying philosophical musings that will also follow. I can't be confined to any one perspective. You can't see the big unless you already see the little.

#film #filmphography #fujinatura1600 #creativity