Film photography noob: the first steps (Canon A1)
Hi and welcome to my blog. This is my first post and thus a perfect time to show off some of the shots that I fired earlier this year. These are my first experiences with analog photography and my very first rolls of film.
Although I owned my Canon A1 for almost 8 years, I had never used it. It needed a battery and at the time I was mostly interested the lenses included in the deal. I'm trying to collect the entire set of Canon FD lenses (excluding the L lenses, cause money). I use them for my Sony A7s.
Bridge Edinburgh - Canon A1
A nasty habit...
I started off with a nasty habit that I really, really need to put a stop to: 'Shallow Depth of field Syndrome', or 'wide open syndrome'. I could write an entire post about this mental illness. The picture below shows the consequences of this habit; the subject is out of focus, with no reason for it to be anything but razor sharp. Going back to the situation; there was enough light, enough speed and there was absolutely no depth to actually capture in the composition whatsoever, so why shoot wide open? I know I shouldn't, but sometimes I just do. It's times like these that you realize; wow, maybe I should go over the basic principles of photography before I take a shot again.
Night time with Iso 400 film
One of the things that I want to focus on in my photography is night time photography. Specifically city streets lit by neon lights (aka neon-noir photography). So there I was in Edinburgh with my Iso 400 film but without a tripod. I was inspired by the neon lights and wet streets (oh, neon reflections <3 ) but aware of the fact that I was about to ruin a shot. There was a chance of success because of my 50mm 1.4 lens, It was up to me to stay absolutely steady. I know it's grainy but I am pretty happy with this one.
These first rolls were mainly exploring the craft; what is the 'workflow' of using a camera from the 70's? What film speeds do I need? How do the negatives react to the light that I allow to hit the film? It's a really, really basic and most of all an unforgivable way to become a better photographer. There's a lot of care that has to go in to shooting, developing and scanning a 35mm photograph, and when you don't, you will no screw up somewhere down line, resulting in a disappointment when viewing your negatives. The photograph will tell you: You screwed up, you didnt stick to the basic principles, and here is why.
In the picture below it felt like everything came together nicely; timing, composition and lighting. This was probably the only shot of 4 rolls that had those 3 things come together like that. A moment captured for ever.
This is probably the most important thing that I learned about film photography; You capture a moment that will live forever. Forrest Hill Film Lab said it best; Remember the Saving Private Ryan scene where the soldier is collecting jars of dirt from the places he's been to? With film photography instead of dirt you collect rays of light on a film roll. And it will be there forever. This why I fell in love with film photography.
Enjoy the rest of the gallery below, and please let me know what you think about my first shots. I'd love some feedback and tips. Btw; next up is my trip to Japan. I am beyond excited to explore Tokyo. I'm taking my Olympus XA with me. Stay tuned for video's and more 35mm photography.
people enjoying the sun in Edinburgh. Shot on Canon A1