dylan barnes | blog

Tag: film photography

  • Reader Excerpts: Views from the Porcelain Throne

    Reader Excerpts: Views from the Porcelain Throne

    Today’s feature comes from Jack Allan. Jack showcases a point of view piece from no other place than the toilet.  The uniqueness is not only in the subject matter and where the series is shot, but the beauty lies in the limitations of the series, both in process and final production.

    Reader Excerpts allow those who read Now Developing to become part of the collective by sharing a written piece alongside their images on a topic of their choice.  If you have any ideas for a piece and would like to have it featured here, feel free to contact me!

    Views from the Porcelain Throne, shot and written by Jack Allan (Website)

    The View From the Porcelain throne was a project that I think I had been musing about for quite a while before making the work. I’ve always loved the imprint that people leave, and interior design taste levels are something from this I feel there’s a large amount of people who make thoughtless choices.

    On the flip side, there’s some very well considered spaces, but maybe they’re executed in a way that seems a little bit off. Take framed artwork for example. How is it framed? What have they chosen to be framed? How is it placed on the wall/shelf/other surface? This is what I looked for in toilet cubicles. Little details that make the space unique.

    These cubicles are familiar to a very large portion of the world, and they’re a space that everybody is equipped to occupy and ultimately you’re forced to see from a set viewpoint. What I was looking for was a collection of these views, but with quite heavy limitations on what equipment I was to use.

    I had just finished my university course in photography, and having spent the last 2.5 years photographing in quite a formal way (re shooting, showing progress in work, building a large body of work etc) and with a Rolleiflex, it just felt natural to grab a disposable camera for this project. What better than a camera with a basic set of features for a project about toilets.

    Equipped with a viewfinder, film advance, flash, lens, film counter and what loaded with FujiFilm Superia 400, this little guy had 27 shots ready to go. The entire project was shot on this one camera as it gave me a crappy limitation on shots I could take, and the inability to edit the photos afterwards. Except this crappy camera only gave me 26 frames in total, limiting me a tiny bit more!

    Working with a 35mm lens in these small spaces was entertaining, and even more so when the flash would go off, and another patron of the bathroom would make audible surprise noises. I quite enjoyed this little quirk amongst all of the strange spaces I found myself in.

    There’s a green monstrosity of tile that was in a hotel of cool blues and grey tones everywhere but this toilet, a frowning frog in a frame watching you and a stall with what felt like a white stable door keeping you safe. These spaces became more and more entertaining as I pressed on!

    The final result consists of 26 6×4 prints from Boots (a drugstore photo lab) which are limited to this run as another level of limitation for this project. This very sudden impulsive project is probably one of the favourite pieces of work I’ve made, and I think I’ll always have a soft spot for it!

     

  • Developed Roll: Leica M2 w/ 35mm Zeiss ZM // Ilford XP2 Super 400

    Developed Roll: Leica M2 w/ 35mm Zeiss ZM // Ilford XP2 Super 400

    All shots were taken with a Leica M2 with 35mm f2.8 Zeiss ZM.

  • Student Showcase: Club Photos 2017

    Student Showcase: Club Photos 2017

    It’s that time of year again.  As we approach the Holiday season, me and my middle school film photography students begin to prepare for the annual gallery event.  This year has been especially rad because we were able to put together a darkroom and begin enlarging our negatives in addition to scanning them.

    In the past, newer, younger students were handed point and shoot cameras to focus on shot composition and film familiarity.  However. these young preteens and teenagers have seriously risen to the occasion this year since I took all training wheels off by handing them an SLR on day one.  The results were nothing short of amazing.  I find it particularly interesting to flip through my students’ images simply because of the subjects they choose to shoot.  Theoretically, it’s probably just like any of us; simply shooting the things that we care most about and find interesting.  However what a 11-14 year old finds interesting is much different. Their worlds are typically much smaller than ours and they find a lot of beauty through the that narrow scope, although each of our individual journeys are much different.

    I plan on doing a post later on in the coming weeks on the final results of their work along with the gallery event, but since the students have a solid catalog of images already scanned in, I figured it would be a great time to display some of my personal favorites from the student archive of 2017.  I hope you enjoy the images as much as I enjoyed teaching the film experience to another group of youngsters.

    Zoe B.
    Joey M.
    Anthony B.
    Kyleigh O.
    Elizabeth B.
    Cole G.
    Morgan C.
    Abbigail J.
    Emma D.
    Emerlina L.
    Anthony L.
    Brianna L.
    Olivia T.
    Haley M.
    Talia W.
    Jailyn N.
    Mackenzie M.
    Janelle R.
  • Reader Excerpts: Guildford on an Olympus XA2

    Reader Excerpts: Guildford on an Olympus XA2

    Today’s piece comes from Sikandar Rana. Sikandar shares a place that is close to his heart and how he has interacted with that place through creating images, both snapshots of daily life and deliberate, time-consuming photo creation.  As Sikandar takes us on his move from London to Guildford, we understand his appreciation for simplicity both in the city in which he resides as well as the simplicity in his Olympus XA2.

    Reader Excerpts allow those who read Now Developing to become part of the collective by sharing a written piece alongside their images on a topic of their choice.  If you have any ideas for a piece and would like to have it featured here, feel free to contact me!

    Guildford on an Olympus XA2, Written by Sikandar Rana (Instagram, Website)

    The town of Guildford, in Surrey holds a very special place in my heart, in that it was the first time that I ventured outside my London home to live away from it for a significant period of time. This time spent living away from home was due to the commencement of my degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Surrey. The jump from bustling London to a relatively quiet, serene town was quite a shock, but wore off after the first few months.

    I stayed in Guildford for four 9 month periods, one for each year of my course, with the remaining three months of each year being spent back in London. Despite my initial fears, there seemed to be no shortage of things to both see and do around campus and the local area, from attractions such as Guildford Castle to the multitude of events organised by the friends I’ve come to know throughout my degree.

    In addition to the places in and around campus that I deemed worthy to document, a few images in my collection also capture the first time that I had lived in rented private sector accommodation. This was the case during my fourth year, having lived in university accommodation during the three years prior.

    I’ve been practising photography on and off for about 5 years now, but it wasn’t until the last two years of my degree that I began taking film photography seriously. What began as an attempt to document the antics of those friends of mine who I wouldn’t have seen as frequently once I’d completed my degree blossomed into so much more during those final two years of university.

    Like many other advocates of film photography, I came for the visually pleasing output of most film stocks, and stayed for the way shooting film slows one down and makes their photography more deliberate.

    I brought the Olympus XA2 that all of these images were taken on in my final year of university, with most of my prior photography being done using digital cameras. I wanted a small, compact way to shoot film day-to-day without sacrificing quality and the signature “look” that film is known for. I also have a Pentax ME Super, but that is usually used when I go out with the intention to take photos, and is much better suited to the slower, more deliberate types of photos that I shoot when I go out with this purpose in mind. Both cameras were bought from eBay, and have served me very well, being as reliable as can be.

    I started shooting colour film initially, having being drawn to the pleasing examples of different film stocks posted all over the Internet. Due to the low cost of Fujifilm Superia 200 and Kodak Colorplus 200, those were the two main film stocks that this series of photos were taken on. I bought the rolls of film used for the series from a combination of Boots and London Camera Exchange outlets found in Guildford’s town centre.

    London Camera Exchange in particular turned out to be a treasure trove of film and photographic equipment, and I’ll definitely be stopping by to pick up a few rolls next time I find myself in the area. The rolls of film were developed and scanned at the same Boots outlet that some of the rolls were bought from. Thank you ever so much for reading my insight of Guildford through the lens of my XA2, and happy shooting!

  • Part of the Process: Eric Löfgen

    Part of the Process: Eric Löfgen

    Part of the Process is a series of posts that puts the spotlight on film photographers and DIY film developers.  These features provide unique experiences and perspectives on shooting and developing film while also showcasing diverse talent and film photographers around the globe.  If you are interested in being featured, feel free to contact me!

    Name: Eric Löfgen

    Location: St. Vith, Belgium

    Links:

    Flickr

    Instagram

    What other websites or blogs do you keep up with to feed your photographic interests?

    Petapixel, Lomography, ishootfilm, and Matt Day on Youtube.

    What attracted you to film photography? How did you get started/introduced to shooting film? How soon after did you start developing?

    I never really was interested in photography, I was more into music during my youth. Sometimes, my best friend took his camera to our rehearsals and he shot some pictures of us. What I really liked about that, was that two months later he showed us the shots. I was used to that when I was a kid because of my parents, but seeing this years later fascinated me.

    A few months later, I contacted another friend who was into photography, to give me a quick lesson about exposure and all that. He gave me his Pentax and I took some shots. After that it took me almost a year until I purchased my first own 35mm camera. It was a Yashica MG1 that I found at the flea market. I still had some troubles shooting because the exposure was fixed to around 1/60s and I didn’t like rangefinders at the time.

    Another two or three months later, an old friend contacted me. His grandfather died and they found his old photo gear in the attic. It was a Canon AE-1 with a 50mm, a 28mm and a 80-200mm. I immediately bought it and I’ve never regretted that decision. I started shooting more and more, mostly landscapes.

    But I was still learning, I shot a few rolls who were completely underexposed. I wanted it too fast — so I started to teach myself more about exposures and ISO. After that, I was in a buying rush, everything I saw on flea markets had to be mine. I got into developing at home, because my local development spot charged me about 24€/roll, which was really expensive because I was shooting a lot more by this time.

    I started with a Adonal black and white starter set. The next evening, I developed my first roll. The pictures were bad, but the feeling while pulling the film out of the spool was unmatched. Seeing that I nailed it was a great feeling. Half a year after that I started with C41-color development.

    What do you like to shoot on a regular basis?

    I mostly shoot portraits at the moment. To me, portraits are the best way to capture feelings.

    What formats, cameras, and films do you shoot? What do you like about the formats, cameras, films you prefer? 

    I’m shooting a few 35mm cameras: Canon A1 & AE1 and a Rollei 35s.  I use my 35mm for action shots like concerts and skateboarding. They allow to jump in and take the shot because they are a bit more handy. They are more of  a snapshot camera to me, if needed.

    For medium format, I am using a Yashica Mat 124.  I’ve been forcing myself to shoot only with my Yashica Mat 124 this past summer, to learn more about the camera and to slow down a bit more. I’m using this camera mostly for portraits and landscapes. It allows me to think about what I am about to shoot.

    I am also shooting Polaroids using a Polaroid EE66.  My polaroid camera is just for fun. It is mostly used on evenings combined with drinking with friends.

    I’m still looking for my favorite film, but I am currently shooting Kodak Portra series, Ilford HP5, Ilford Delta 400, and Fuji-100.

    What types of film do you develop?

    C41 and black and white.

    Tell us about your first experiences in developing your own film.  How did you muster the courage to give it a shot? What resources did you use?

    I remember my first roll quite well. It was a 120 roll of Ilford FP+. It was actually kind of a risk. I never did the spooling with a medium format film and I wanted to try this the first time in complete darkness. It took me half an hour until I got the film into the spool and at the end, I wasn’t even sure if it was right. During this half hour I thought “What the fuck? Why am I even doing this? This is nuts! You won’t succeed!”. When I turned the light on, I proved myself correct because I mistook the backing paper for the negative. Beginner fail.

    I did some research on the internet and everyone was saying something different. I read many blogs, watched many youtube videos. To be honest, I did not expect any results. So many ways, and so many different times to develop film.  I just didn’t know where to start. But when I opened the tank and I saw something, I realized that I did it. I developed my first roll of film!

    What is your development process like now?

    At first, I’m shooting some rolls until I have enough film in my fridge. After that I start developing. When everything is dry, I start scanning. Mostly with a good beer, because it takes forever. After scanning I’m archiving the rolls.

    What’s your processes regarding scanning, enlarging, and/or printing your work?

    I scan all film myself with a Canon 9000F Mark II. Not the best scanner in the game, but it’s alright. I’ve bought an enlarger on eBay, did some prints but I didn’t find the time yet to really get into it.

    Sometimes I’m developing with friends. These evenings are special to me. We’re both creating something this evening. Drinking a beer during and talk about life. This is something unique that I really enjoy about my process.

    What equipment are you using to develop your film and why?

    I’m using the paterson beginner set with Paterson 35mm and medium format tank with Adonal black and white chemicals. I’m using the Tetenal C41 for color. I did not choose a special brand, the monetary offer just was simply attractive to me.

    Are you content with where you are now with your shooting and developing? Do you have any future plans or ambitions?

    I’m still looking for my way in this world. I’m currently trying to improve my development process. I’m also trying to shoot more with models/people I don’t know. That’s something I’m afraid of but I’m ready to try something new. I always learn by doing, so that’s something I have to do.

    Have you completed any notable projects or in the process of creating something from the film you have shot and developed? 

    I just started my first project called a summer on 6×6. The concept is very simple. I shoot my Yashica Mat124 all summer and develop them come Autumn. Maybe I’ll do some prints, or maybe even a book. We’ll see. I have some other projects planned for the coming years.

    What advice can you give to others who are interested in shooting and developing film but are apprehensive about getting started?

    Try it and don’t be afraid of failing! Failing is normal but you’ll learn from it! You will love it.  Take notes, get into you own rhythm, never stop learning, watch youtube videos, try different techniques … Don’t let anyone stress you. Shooting is my way of relaxing. It allows me to slow down in this stressful world 🙂