Less long exposures, more composition
I altered my mind about long exposures twice while writing this. The best frame on the sheet was the one I almost did not take. Here is what altered, and what stayed exactly the same.
Lessons
It took me eight attempts to see the pattern. You can get surprisingly far with a 50mm lens and some patience. I altered my mind about portraits twice while writing this. It took me ten attempts to see the pattern. For a long time I treated the darkroom as an afterthought.
Overcast days are underrated; the light wraps around everything. Scanning is tedious, but it is where the series takes shape. I would rather do one thing deliberately than five things quickly.
Small things
Every summer I revisit the same questions about shadows. Most problems with grain turn out to be problems with time. Most of the editing happens weeks later, when the memory has faded. I shot most of this series on a single roll, half of it in fading light. A light meter is a good teacher if you let it disagree with you.
Nothing here requires a light meter, though it does make things easier. Some of this will be self-evident; some of it took me years. You can get surprisingly far with a medium format camera and some patience.
The trick, if there is one, is to leave sufficient room for missteps.
Trade-offs
Film forces a pause between seeing and pressing the shutter. This began as a quick note and gradually turned into something longer. There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version.
I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer.
Good light is for the most part a series of little, unglamorous decisions. You can get surprisingly far with a tripod and some patience. For a long time I treated grain as an afterthought.