Bay Bridge, Nikon FM2 with Neopan 1600
I did not originally scan this negative, though I thought I had when I started this camslam. Then I found out after posting the Holga shot that I only had three of the four camera negatives scanned, so I had to go dig up the negative and scan this one in too. I guess largely because outside of its educational value I wasn't too excited by the image. I mean, it is fine, but compared with the others I got that evening, this one is probably the weakest of the bunch. Nonetheless it still presents an interesting comparison. Two things are going on here that are different from every other image in this small series. One, this is the only 35mm image. All the others were shot on medium format, so this one does not have the depth and detail of the others. Second it was photographed with a high speed, high grain, high contrast film. This image is much more contrasty than any of the others preceding it. I guess that leads to a third in that this is the only image that was hand held too, no tripod use due to the high film and the f1.4 lens. Which is one reason I kept this camera loaded with high speed film, I can grab shots like this while the tripod was in use with other cameras. The funny thing is, when I grabbed this shot, I did not actually expect to like the result the best of the bunch, but even with that expectation, I still followed my curiosity and went for it anyway. I think that is a good lesson. I know photographers, particularly more seasoned and veteran photographers, who start to fall victim to their own experience and begin to presume they know with certainty whether something is going to work or not, look nice or not, be a worthwhile endeavor or a waste of time. It is actually one of the biggest disadvantages a veteran photographer faces when compared to a beginner. The beginner doesn't know enough to assume much, so they try everything and experiment like crazy. They act out all their crazy ideas, unfortunately the tend to not have sufficient technical knowledge or photographic experience to adequately turn those experiments into polished finished products. Veteran photographers though have that technical knowledge and experience, but tend to fall into ruts of thinking and therefore venture off into unexplored territory less, producing solid, if unimaginative photography. I am generalizing here of course. I know exceptions to this generalization on several levels. But I can speak personally in saying that it is a behavior in myself that I try constantly combat. This image, even if not a favorite of mine, does embody that conscious effort to not fall victim to my own assumptions of what will "work" and what will not.
Characteristics of my Nikon loaded with 1600 speed film.
1) Fast and light. Hand held photography permissible even in low light. Allowing more spontaneity.
2) Film is grainy and contrasty, providing its own unique look.
3) The only actual camera I carry that has a light meter.
On a related note, I know many of you were expecting the fourth camera to be the pinhole. That is an understandable assumption, but I did not use the pinhole this evening. It was loaded with color film and my calculations had my exposure at about an hour. Even with 400 speed film that would have been a 15 minute exposure which would have eaten up too much of the valuable and fleeting blue hour light. Not to mention the extreme wide field of view was a bit too wide in this case. So no pinhole this time around. Perhaps on my next visit. I cannot snare all the photos out there, have to leave some behind for next time. ;-)
Bay Bridge, Nikon FM2 with Neopan 1600
I did not originally scan this negative, though I thought I had when I started this camslam. Then I found out after posting the Holga shot that I only had three of the four camera negatives scanned, so I had to go dig up the negative and scan this one in too. I guess largely because outside of its educational value I wasn't too excited by the image. I mean, it is fine, but compared with the others I got that evening, this one is probably the weakest of the bunch. Nonetheless it still presents an interesting comparison. Two things are going on here that are different from every other image in this small series. One, this is the only 35mm image. All the others were shot on medium format, so this one does not have the depth and detail of the others. Second it was photographed with a high speed, high grain, high contrast film. This image is much more contrasty than any of the others preceding it. I guess that leads to a third in that this is the only image that was hand held too, no tripod use due to the high film and the f1.4 lens. Which is one reason I kept this camera loaded with high speed film, I can grab shots like this while the tripod was in use with other cameras. The funny thing is, when I grabbed this shot, I did not actually expect to like the result the best of the bunch, but even with that expectation, I still followed my curiosity and went for it anyway. I think that is a good lesson. I know photographers, particularly more seasoned and veteran photographers, who start to fall victim to their own experience and begin to presume they know with certainty whether something is going to work or not, look nice or not, be a worthwhile endeavor or a waste of time. It is actually one of the biggest disadvantages a veteran photographer faces when compared to a beginner. The beginner doesn't know enough to assume much, so they try everything and experiment like crazy. They act out all their crazy ideas, unfortunately the tend to not have sufficient technical knowledge or photographic experience to adequately turn those experiments into polished finished products. Veteran photographers though have that technical knowledge and experience, but tend to fall into ruts of thinking and therefore venture off into unexplored territory less, producing solid, if unimaginative photography. I am generalizing here of course. I know exceptions to this generalization on several levels. But I can speak personally in saying that it is a behavior in myself that I try constantly combat. This image, even if not a favorite of mine, does embody that conscious effort to not fall victim to my own assumptions of what will "work" and what will not.
Characteristics of my Nikon loaded with 1600 speed film.
1) Fast and light. Hand held photography permissible even in low light. Allowing more spontaneity.
2) Film is grainy and contrasty, providing its own unique look.
3) The only actual camera I carry that has a light meter.
On a related note, I know many of you were expecting the fourth camera to be the pinhole. That is an understandable assumption, but I did not use the pinhole this evening. It was loaded with color film and my calculations had my exposure at about an hour. Even with 400 speed film that would have been a 15 minute exposure which would have eaten up too much of the valuable and fleeting blue hour light. Not to mention the extreme wide field of view was a bit too wide in this case. So no pinhole this time around. Perhaps on my next visit. I cannot snare all the photos out there, have to leave some behind for next time. ;-)