Essentials for film.

Apparently “World Film Photography Day” happened on the 20th March 2008. I forgot, and did not participate. But, I shoot film most days anyway…

Being still relatively new to film, I thought I might share what I’ve learnt so far in regards to the essentials required for successful and fulfilling film photography.

First off, a light meter. Often old cameras have faulty lightmeters, or sometimes they don’t even have one at all. A light meter like the one above can be bought for a reasonable price from ebay and measures both reflected and incident light. If you’re particularly interested in exact values you could always look for a spotmeter (which measures a smaller portion of a scene from a narrower angle), but the more you shoot in varying light conditions, using your lightmeter as a guide, you’ll often find that you can predict the readings anyway.

Secondly, a notebook will be handy (and a pen). I like to record all my exposures in a diary with notes on the camera used, the lens,the frame number, the ISO I shot it at, f stop, shutter speed and subject, as well as any extras such as filters. By doing this I can look back once my film has been developed and evaluate the results. If something didn’t work quite as intended, I can review the exposure details and use these to plan the next similar shot. For the most part it comes down to not a long enough exposure, but occasionally I might aim to get back to the same location with a different camera, or at a different time to change the lighting conditions. By having a record of your exposures you can learn to predict even more what settings will work best, in conjunction with your lightmeter.

What happens if you’re taking “happy snaps” and don’t have time to record the details in your diary? I recently bought the cheapest mp3 player with recording capabilities ($38.00) that I could. While I might look a bit silly talking into it after each shot, there have been many times in the past where I wished that I’d taken the time to write down the details.

A tripod. This is going to vary according to your needs. A pocketable one, like the Gorillapod is great, though I find these unstable occasionally. Of course their flexibility more than makes up for their shortcomings. A larger more solid tripod is also a good investment. The type depends on your shooting intentions. I initially went for a fairly compact one as I was only shooting 35mm at the time. Now that I’ve moved into medium format with a Pentax 6×7, I’m wishing I bought a slightly heavier duty one. Think carefully about your future intentions before rushing out and buying the cheapest one you can. A good tripod should last you at least 20 years, so invest wisely.

If you start making heavy use of the tripod, then a cable release is going to come in handy. None of my film cameras are particularly recent, so all require an actual cable release rather then a remote. I’ve often wished for an air type bulb release, though the standard length cable release has served me well so far.

Spare batteries are a must, as is spare film. Some cameras run through batteries quickly, and while in some cameras the battery only runs the lighmeter, others such as the 6×7 won’t work at all without a battery or start playing up when the battery begins to fail. The 6×7 occasionally locks the mirror in the up position, making me think I’ve lost a frame. Curiously the shutter still works fine even when the battery starts declining…

Your film requirements will depend on your budget, your subject choice, lighting conditions and your personal preferences. I don’t develop my own just yet so I still shoot about the same amount of colour as I do black and white. While I’m still working my way through stock that was given to me for free, I like to have at least one camera loaded with colour film, and another with black and white. It’s a bonus if both cameras can accept the same lens mount, as it means if you need to pack light only one set of lenses needs to be packed. Sadly, I’m rarely that organised. I just tend to grab the camera I feel like using for the day, without a thought for interchangeability…At the moment I have only some 35mm loaded, with Ilford XP2, Kodak 400CN and Konica VX100, but given an option Neopan 1600 and a red filter would never leave my camera.

Finally, a bag. You could of course use that bag you bought for your digital, but what would be the fun in that? Hit up ebay for one of those old skool (faux)leather cases…

I’m always open to suggestions for essential film related items.

Help me flickr! I want to be a better photographer!

(This post was written for the recent project over at Epic Edits.)

Is this too big an ask? Perhaps. Let’s examine the possibilities…

Upload only photos that you’re 100% happy with.

By following this advice you can create an online portfolio of your best work. As I’ll explain later, this is crucial for your development as a photographer. Not only that, uploading only your best means that regardless of your organisational habits (having trouble with these? Check out Neil Creek’s suggestions), you will always have access to a portfolio you’re proud of - this often helps with building confidence in the low times when you feel like you’re drained of creativity.

Restrict your uploads to one or two a day, but don’t feel like you have to upload something everyday. Restricting yourself in this manner means that you must be ruthless in terms of judging your best, resulting in only your truly great photos becoming part of your online portfolio.

Haven’t shot anything recently, but still want to share some work? Cruise through your archives. There are some gems hiding in there! Some may need processing, while others may have just been overlooked. As this post would be boring without any pictures, I’ll share one of mine.

The photo below was one I overlooked a while back when I was picking out my best from that day. All it took was a slight curves adjustment and the tiniest bit of saturation increase to make it something I was happy with. To think that until I looked through my archives this was relegated to obscurity!

Join groups that reflect your interest.

Groups are probably one of the most important facets in your development. They exist in almost any variety you can think of, from film specific groups to the disillusioned, completely random with a central focus, and, even groups where the only photos accepted are of the cameras themselves. Basically if you have an interest, type it in the group search box on flickr, and you should find a couple to choose from.

Once you’ve joined post your photos to these groups, using the send to group button above your uploaded photo. However, don’t just join a group purely to upload a single photo. Groups gradually become like your online family - sharing tips, comments, fav’s, critiques etc. - having one image in a group often means that you have little or no experience. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I think it is important not to join a group if you don’t feel that there will be a mutually beneficial relationship. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t join groups that you don’t have images for, (in fact spending time reading forum posts [covered later] is a great way to find out more information about specifics that you are interested in. An example of this would be a macro dedicated groups), but rather that you should question your motives for joining. Keep in mind that your intention is to grow as a photographer and not just gain exposure for your work.

Spend time in the pools that most interest you. Comment on the photos in the pool. Insightful comments. Not just Awesome! Write about what you enjoy in the image and why. Perhaps a question on the technique. By engaging with people on a personal level you signify that you are someone who appreciates the time it’s taken for that person to learn the skills to take the shot, and that you are interested in learning from them. Essentially you set up a master/student relationship, just in an online context. A side benefit of this is that often those ‘masters’ will check back on your work, offering helpful tips. You may even find that they ask you for advice! Someone I greatly admire recently asked me about my Pentax 6×7.

Once you got the hang of groups, try out ones that encourage you to shoot new material in a creative way. Trevor Carpenter’s challenge group is one such example. Currently the group aim is to shoot a different type of colour for each February. A variation is the Exposure group. It doesn’t specifically have challenges, though the creators have a podcast in which they provide photography tips. At present members of the group have been posting images to the group which reflect the previous podcast on long exposures. Utata runs a challenge called Iron Photographer (search their archives for previous examples) in which you must create a photo out of the elements listed in a certain time frame.

Group Forums

Search existing threads before starting a new one! Nothing is more frustrating for regulars than a new member posting a thread already covered by 50 or so others in the archives! (Or worse still, creating a thread saying “I’m new here” - these threads are nothing more than shameless self promotions which will turn away more viewers than they will attract.)

If a thread exists, but it is old and sort of answers your question, but not completely, check the title. Does it relate to the topic? Will the right people check it out to help? If so, question away within the thread - a new response will rise it to the top of the thread list in the forum section. If the topic title doesn’t seem revealing, then you have the_wolf_brigade’s permission to start a new thread.

Spend time engaging with others in the forums. If someone sounds like they know what they’re talking about, without being self promotive, then I’ll often flick (pun intended) through their stream, commenting where I see fit. Not only does this help the person who’s stream you’re browsing, but if they find you helpful then they often check out your stream, returning the favour. Speaking of favourites…

Favourites.

‘Fav’ images that move you. ‘Fav’ ones that make you melt inside with admiration.

Review your fav’s regularly. While fav’s may reflect your moods to a certain degree, on a wider scale they reflect your aspirations.

Match your fav’s with your stream. See any correlation? This is where we can start to answer the original plea. Your fav’s will generally come from pools/groups you frequent and people you admire. In this sense your relationship with others becomes vital as you fav their photos, then comment and/or critique, helping you identify what it is about that fav that moves you.

Robert Doisneau once said that “creativity is merely undetected plagiarism”. Emulate your fav’s. Can’t get to that location? Think outside the box. Find somewhere similar and get copying!

Finally, contacts.

“a contact is a contact is a contact” by eskimoblood.

This is going to sound harsh, but only add contacts whose work you think will inspire you. It should be obvious by now, but just to reiterate, in order to advance as a photographer, you must surround yourself with creativity. Flickr provides a great opportunity for this, but you’ve got to treat it seriously. As I said before, my method may be a bit harsh. If you’re interested in a more polite approach, check out Brian Auer’s guide to Flickr Etiquette.

Check the ‘Photos from your contacts’ stream regularly. Maintain a reciprocal relationship with them through constant dialog. These are the people who will help you achieve that to which you aspire. Having a small group of contacts making it easier to manage this stage, especially if you subscribe to this stream via your RSS reader.

Regularly ‘preen’ your contacts. Remove those who no longer inspire you. Remember that a small stream of contacts is a manageable stream of potential plagiarism. Regular interaction with this, and your favourite groups is the key to exponential growth.

I would have loved to have added a section on my favourite flickr ‘hacks’ Unfortunately this article grew to a larger size than I expected. Thankfully Martin Gommel has this area covered. I would like to add that the Lights out greasemonkey script has become an invaluable tool, as I often don’t notice some things until my screen is free of distractions. If you don’t know what greasemonkey is, a google search will help you much more than I could even begin to.

Viewers only.

  

“You have to let the person who will look at the picture - provided that he isn’t an ass - always walk along that visual path for himself. We must always remember that a picture is made up of the person who looks at it. This is very, very important. Maybe this is the reason behind those photos that haunt me and that haunt many people as well. It is about the walk that one takes with the picture when experiencing it. I think that this is what counts. One must let the viewer extricate himself, free himself for the journey. You offer the seed and then the viewer grows it inside himself. For a long time I thought I had to give the entire story to my audience. I was wrong.”

Robert Doisneau, in Dialogue with Photography. Interviews by Paul Hill and Thomas Cooper, Drew Lewis Publishing, New York, 1998.

While the above quote would initially seem obvious for those partial crops of well known items where the viewer fills in the details, and the abstract macros where the meaning is left entirely for the viewer, speaking from experience I know that all it takes is a browse through your favourites on flickr to understand what Robert means.

Street tips.

I know this topic has been covered extensively before, so my aim here is not to give a definitive guide to street photography but rather to share my recent experiences. I strongly believe that failure is the key to success, and it is with my recent failures in mind that I undertake this post.

To begin with, it would be inappropriate to write a brief on street photography without mentioning Chris Weeks. His guide would certainly appear to be the definitive in this genre. A fair bit of what I plan to share has come about through my interpretation of his work.

I’m not really interested in providing a definition, but it is fair to state that essentially street photography takes place on the street, with candid unposed shots for which permission has not been asked. Most countries laws protect the photographer in this sense, implying that people in a public space where there is no expectation of privacy are fair game. An exception to this is if you plan to market the end product in a commercial sense, in which case you need permission and a model release form. In this case the product can no longer be classified as street, but rather an impromptu photo shoot.

Candids. One of the main purposes in street work is to capture ordinary people doing ordinary things. By singling them out for art, we not only celebrate life, but we recognise that each of us thrives as a result of interaction with each other. To ask permission for a shot merely ruins that naturalness that exists in all the great shots from the masters. If you feel uncomfortable not asking for permission, this is a pretty big sign that street shots aren’t for you. Keep in mind that the best cure for this is to get out and shoot. Start small with a specific goal in mind.

Homeless people are not fair game. Keep in mind this is my personal opinion, though the sentiment seems to be shared by seasoned photographers in the Flickr community.

Jim Graham left a comment on the only photo of a street person I’ve ever taken, and it sums up how I feel about shooting street people:

Shooting homeless people well deserves the emotional investment you describe.
A photo taken during or after an actual conversation gets you the individual rather than the mere social statement.

Shooting homeless people for the purpose of creating a photo essay in order to raise awareness of their situation without emotional investment is hypocritical. Shooting homeless people with emotional investment becomes an impromptu portrait session between new friends.

Anyone else on the street is. As long as the previous mentioned privacy concerns are kept in mind (only shoot where people have no expectation of privacy), then this statement is true. More to the point, the main limiting factor is what you feel comfortable with capturing. Sure that kissing couple looks great in the rain, but do you feel comfortable sharing the moment? Would you feel comfortable if someone took a candid of you in the same situation? How close do you dare go to create your art?

Technique is important. Or not. There is divided opinion on this. The Lomo crowd would have us believe that shooting from the hip is the way to go. Great shots can be obtained this way, (for the obligatory shameless self promotion, see the above shot of the barista), however it is very much down to hit and miss. If you don’t think before you shoot, it is highly likely that you won’t get anything worth wasting film on. If however you plan your shots, and practice a technique you feel comfortable with - be it shooting from the hip, or through the viewfinder - you’ll end up with some winners.

Know your equipment. This is of the utmost importance. Especially when shooting from the hip.

Cameras. The Leica is often touted as the street camera, however, the truth is that many aspiring street photographers are not going to have the finances for this. Generally a rangefinder is the socially accepted tool for street work. There are reasons for this, ones I wish I’d read in Chris Week’s guide before I tried street shooting with a Pentax 6×7. I figured that with such a large camera, no one would bother me as they wouldn’t be able to comprehend anyone would be stupid enough to walk around with such a large camera. It also gave me a certain amount of bravado carrying around such a large toy. Stupid me.

While I got two decent shots out of the roll (one contained in the previous post), my street shots were rubbish. The subjects were there in perfect form but none were close enough to give that intimacy that is the key to street work. The main cause of this was the lens. I was using a 105mm lens which effectively translates to a standard lens (50-55mm) on a non medium format SLR.

Secondly the size was restrictive. Touting round such a large camera may have improved my bravado, but not to the point where I could happily stand a meter away and snap of a shot. Adjacent to this is the size of the mirror. With such a large mirror, the sound produced by taking a shot is huge. I heard it even through the music I had blasting in my ears.

The mirror cause more problems than just noise. As many of you are aware, when an SLR takes a photo, the mirror must flip out of the way thereby causing the photographer to lose sight of the situation. This is problematic particularly with film as there is no way of knowing whether someone walked in on the scene and spoiled the shot, as is the case with this shot:

So, how to rectify the problem? Rangefinders. They’re quiet, and there’s no mirror to move out of the way so you never lose sight of what’s going on. However, even when using a rangefinder it is vital to know your equipment inside out. Know your field of view, if you don’t your subjects will be too far away - ruining a potentially good shot. Like this one:

Know your parallax lines. Know how your camera will react in different lighting. Unless you know this, you’ll fail.

Film. Often overlooked, but quite possible more important than your camera. You must know your film intimately. Know how it reacts in your camera and the lighting conditions. Knowing its reaction to light is no good if you don’t know that your camera always underexposes by a 1/3 stop. If you use a filter, make sure you factor this in on the ASA dial. Know how your film will react with that filter. And it must be your film. I can’t stress that enough. Experimenting with film is great, but for that defining shot, you need to know that you’ve got in the bag before developing and a major part of this is knowing your chosen film as intimately as the rest of your equipment.

Anything I’ve missed? Leave a comment.