Those Days....

Go ahead, take a gander at the shot below….. That is the top of my Pen F half-frame. A nice morning here in Philadelphia USA with the humidity bound to climb. I have no idea how the folks prior to air conditioning ever survived being back east with Humidity. Regardless, June 14th And my Pen F is telling me I have around 4 shots to go before I max out my film roll. Actually only 2-3 since going to the full 72, makes it really difficult to rewind the film. That my friends is an issue with all Pen F’s….. If you go to 72, the camera won’t rewind well and you risk ripping the film in mid ‘wind’…. So with a few shots to go, I take off to work on my “Alone” project.

With.an extra roll of 400, plus my notebook to record events, happenings…reflections. My project takes me to various locations on the streets of Philly and being summer….and getting into humidity, I knew I had maybe 3 hours before I needed to find shelter (air conditioning). Many times when I shoot in Philly, I make a line, half-way thru my day….to an air conditioned place such as the local camera shop, perhaps the National Park at Independence Hall or Constitutional Hall or the Museum of the American Revolution. I become rejuvenated.

Now, the nice thing about the Pen F is that it is small. Probably the smallest film camera I own. Today I decided to attach my 60mm (85 equivalent) as I did purchase this thing for $895 and dang-it-all Deputy Dog, I am going to get my use from it. So with nothing around my neck to attract sweat, and just my pocket stuffed with that extra roll of film and my notebook; with the Pen F in hand…..I wander.

I looked….I sat…I journaled in my notebook on my day….what I needed to look for ….I placed it back into my pocket and walked some more. A new place. I waited….sat, walked….skirted from one shady spot to the next. Wrote again in my journal as I sat on a cement bench, still cool to the touch from the night.

The funny thing is….2 hours into my walk and nothing….not one shot…no release of the shutter to even make it to 69, let alone 71. But I had time to ponder, sit…bounce my leg around a bit, twiddle my fingers and stare off.

With three hours nearing, it was time to pack up. Take note, there was nothing really to ‘pack up’. Along the return route, it wasn’t that there wasn’t anything to shoot on the streets as there always is, but when I go out with a project in mind, my brain focuses on that project. I seek out images for that particular project. Today, after near 3 hours I had zero shots. But, that’s okay as that is part of doing business….that is photography. With a stated purpose in mind and my brain focused on the shots I want, my mind isn’t just meandering and desperate to take shots just to take shots. I don’t work that way. If nothing comes my way, well….that is the day. Today just happens to be one of ‘those days’.

To Take "Note"

I always say you have to use the best tool for the job….. I find that to be true with just about any project… IE, when I lay bricks for a pathway, I use a rubber mallet (hammer) while if I pound a nail, I use a steel hammer. When I paint a clay pot, I use an array of brush sizes. AND….and please take note as this goes against my photographic grain; when I take photo’s….I even use digital (egads I say!!), over film, if the project dictates it.

So my last project…..which will soon be a book…..entitled Ghost Riders….. demands that I capture individuals at night as they move ‘in and out’ of our mortal world. So far I have captured several thousand images using digital but very few are good enough to use in my image gallery/book. Now, there is no way I can capture the same using film. Why? Read on….. embrace change I need to tell myself, where change is needed.

First….sheer numbers alone imply that film is undoable. Let’s say conservatively that I took 1500 photo’s (way too low of a number) and divide that by 36 roll count of film and that equals around 42 rolls of film, plus the developing cost etc…plus the scanning time etc….

Second…the genre, the type….. what am I trying to capture? Since using digital allows me some use of ‘live screen’ if I elect…..that helps me frame and compose the scene based upon the light. If I didn’t do that, it would be pure ‘hit and miss’ and the numbers I quoted above (1500 conservatively) would be much greater. I simply can’t shoot ‘live’ with film. So, would I end up with any shots…any? Not sure.

Third….the mood I am trying to convey in my project Ghost Riders, demands a very moody, high contrast image when much of the background is just darkness…. a few lights….. much of the foreground or subject is blurred in detail, although…..I still want a bit of ‘life’ to poke thru the image. Digital allows me to do that while film is less contrasty, and while I can obtain blur, it isn’t the same as required in my images for this project.

Fourth…Aim……. Part of this project forces me to get close….more up close than sometimes many ‘subjects want’. Now, I have done street photo’s for many years and have no problem getting close and just snapping away and moving on. So most likely I wouldn’t be bothered with film and this same approach. But digital has made the project a bit easier in terms of time available to shoot.

Yikes….. when I re-read this blog I am aghast…. I am eeking out a swallow….my hand is shaking as I type…. my head somewhat faint….slow down…breathe now Jim. Digital? Really? Come now…..don’t drink the Kool-aid for I am in the ‘land’ of Kool aid drinkers and I usually run from the thought. But I have to admit, that yes….I find it appropriate to shoot digital ‘at times’ …after all, they shoot horses, don’t they? I drank the Kool-aid.