I had noted that I wanted to try some reflections – I have had a go at taking some in shop windows, but the rain gave me an opportunity to try taking a reflection in the puddle, and from a low viewpoint. I think this is a bit different from what I have managed to achieve so far and I am quite happy with it as a sort of ‘proof of concept’.
I liked the patterns on this door…it is the entrance to a nightclub or a strange underground bunker, or something. I slightly adjusted the brightness of the yellow to make it not quite so overpowering. I could probably go back to the door and take some more photos to see what else I could come up with.
Medium format film. This is cropped in very slightly as I have trouble with keeping the camera level. I liked the dark stone and the repeating shapes of the three doors, one after the other.
I think this image might be the one I am most happy with. I like the way the buildings fit together and the dark and light patterns point towards the centre of the image. Bronica ETRS, from my first roll.
From my first roll taken on the Bronica ETRS. Trying to capture the reflection and the texture of the wood. I think it worked reasonably well. Is it under exposed? I’m not sure, but I like the darkness of the wood and the sombre feeling.
Not a film image. Converted to black and white from Fuji Xpro2 picture. I like the idea of photographing the familiar, the ordinary and I would like to experiment with photographing anything unattractive and ignored – like overflowing bins, decaying food, etc. There are many of these types of ignored places- the back doors of shops, alleys and dead-ends. Even in a small town there are plenty of forgotten, ‘urban’ scenes. I also would like to take more pictures of graffiti – although I think that might work best in colour.
The railway bridge in Leamington. I was trying to capture a whole lot of birds flying up at once but although I waited for ages, only this one appeared and I took the picture, with something more spectacular in mind. This gives me an idea to aim for in the future. I like the structure against the empty sky, which is why I have taken a number of similar pictures, trying to capture exactly the look that I imagine. Not there yet.
I am getting more used to taking pictures with a film camera, being unable to look at them on a screen immediately, and going through the meditative process of developing the film before I see what good or bad I have done. I am glad that the pictures are not available instantly. There is anticipation and excitement finishing the steps of the development and getting a first glimpse of the negatives. At this point, the final image still cannot he seen – just the fact that at least there are images and, to my astonishment, the magical process has worked again.
There is a fairly low rate of useable images. This is what I need to concentrate my attention on: looking carefully before I take each picture to weigh up what will make a good composition. I need to read more about composition and I think that with practise I might see the ratio of good to unusable pictures go up.