Shooting grain on a 50mm lens
A light meter helps, but it is not the point. I like long exposures that shows the marks of how it was made.
In practice
The best frame on the sheet was the one I almost did not take. 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. It is simple to overthink walking with a camera. It is harder to just start.
Most problems with long exposures turn out to be problems with time. Nothing here requires a medium format camera, though it does make things easier. A 50mm lens helps, but it is not the point. It took me four attempts to see the pattern.
For a long time I treated shadows as an afterthought. It took me three attempts to see the pattern. Film forces a pause between seeing and pressing the shutter. I print little first, then decide what deserves to be larger. The specifics matter less than the practice of paying attention.
- Leave room for high-contrast mistakes
- Give shooting film a full summer
- Ask someone at the hills
Lessons
I like the darkroom that shows the marks of how it was made. If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you. The trick, if there is one, is to leave sufficient room for missteps.
I shot most of this series on a single roll, half of it in fading light. Every summer I revisit the same questions about contact sheets. Nothing here requires a tripod, though it does make things easier.
The process
Scanning is tedious, but it is where the series takes shape. It took me seven attempts to see the pattern. I wrote most of this on a quiet Saturday morning.
Every spring I revisit the same questions about shadows. Good contact sheets is for the most part a series of little, unglamorous decisions. I like light that shows the marks of how it was made. This began as a quick note and gradually turned into something longer.
- Do less scanning negatives, more waiting for the light
- Compare against last autumn
- Stop before you are tired
I altered my mind about contact sheets twice while writing this. Most of what I know about the darkroom came from getting it wrong first. A light meter is a good teacher if you let it disagree with you.