Unplanned photos

I hardly ever know what pictures I’m going to take ahead of time. I grab my camera on my way out the door with much excitement and some curiosity about the images I’m going to come across that day (although the hunting feeling that I’ll never make another great image in my life is always there)
Of course there are some photographers who prefer to stage their photos and there is nothing wrong with that, but in Street Photography, there’s no need for that, especially if you’re eager to capture the energy of the streets (or maybe too lazy for big productions). Just take advantage of what’s already out there. All you really need is to keep an open eye (Ok, an open mind as well won’t hurt).
And though I often try to avoid photographing kids in public, I just couldn’t help it this time.

Get yourself a classic camera!

One of the greatest benefits of shooting FILM is that most film cameras can be purchased now days for very low prices. It is even more so when it comes to Classic Cameras which can be found for ridiculously low prices in second hand stores, flea markets, garage sales, and on eBay.
This little fact means that you can have as many cameras as you wish (or at least as many as your partner will put up with) and have fun playing around with them.

My first classic camera was a 1952 Kodak Brownie Hawkeye
I found it in a garage sale and even though I wasn’t sure it was working I took it home ($8), loaded it with a black & white 120 film ($2.49), and took it out to the streets. The images turned out beautiful, soft and dreamy ($ priceless). The Brownie was a definite keeper and the beginning of a beautiful relationship with different classic cameras.

If you too are interested in using an old classic camera such as the Brownie, you have to keep in mind that most of these cameras use some type of film that might not be available in stores anymore.
The Brownie, for instance, uses 620 film, which is obsolete. But have no fear; there are a few ways to use 120 film instead. One such way is respooling the 120 film into a 620 spool, in a darkroom, a changing bag (chekc out this tutorial: www.brownie-camera.com/respool/respool.shtml) or even inside a camera that can take both type of reels (The Brownie Hawkeye is in fact one such camera).

A composite image of rain

Last week, during the intense Southern California winter storm I made sure to have one of my cameras with me all the time and eventually I ended up with a few rolls of film documenting these unexpectedly stormy days.
While shooting at the Grove I had the annoying feeling of “Been there, Done that”,.
I’m sure every photographer out there knows exactly what I’m talking about.
So I decided to try something new; I will photograph from above and try to connect the images together into one visual narrative of the scene.
It was both fun to adjust my thinking and photograph this way and also put the photographs together in my photo editor.
Though I’m sure it would have been much easier to do with a digital camera, I cannot imagine the effect would have been this pleasing.
I also have to mention that I absolutely love the appearance and colors of this particular film, an expired (2003) Kodak 400NC which I shot with an Olympus 35RC.

Something about cross processed film

A couple of months ago I wrote a post praising the charm of cross-processed slide film. One thing I would like to add is that different types of slide film will react differently when cross-processed; Often they appear green but sometimes they have a blue or even a brownish hue. Therefore it will be a good idea to try a few of them before settling on your favorite effect.

And this is what a cross-processed Fuji RDPIII looks like:

(very) expired film

I find that if I use an expired film, even when it is 2-3 years past the expiration date, there’s really no noticeable inferiority in the final result. Most film begin a very slow process of deterioration well after the expiration date. On top of it, refrigeration will extend the life of the film for an indefinite period of time.
But if you do want to get some unexpected and unusual results from your (cheap) expired film you’d better let it expire for a really long time. And maybe even
consider further damaging it by placing it in the sun or forgetting it sitting in your
camera for a few months.

This picture was taken in Venice, with a Kodak T400 CN, expired in 2001 and was shot with an Olympus 35 RC.