I have been talking film with some local photographers over the past week or two, not just on line, but across the room. We were talking about the magic of developing your own roll of film and photo. We were talking about the intoxicating smell of fixer, the way you used to have to burn and dodge and fix dust spots. We tried to explain to a fellow photographer what it’s like when you first see the image emerge under the red glow of the darkroom light. We laughed about how it didn’t really matter how bad that first photograph was, you had made it- from the rolling of the film into the canister all the way to the drying racks. These conversations got me thinking about the giant box of photographs, contact sheets, 8x10s and negatives that have been sitting in the garage for the past year. So I did what anyone would do at that point, I lugged the giant, over sized Tupperware box out and started digging around. It is so interesting to see how far I have come, but also to see the hints and trends in the way I shoot now and have always shot my images.
I might not have been hitting the shutter with a very good understanding of aperture, shutter speed and lenses, but what I did know was how certain films developed (colors and tones, contrast and richness). I also could “see” how light played and made shadows and pretty sunsets, but I wasn’t (and am still not always) sure how to use those attributes to my best advantage. As I sifted through things searching for my images from when I was in Madrid, Spain and then London, Dublin and Scotland- I pulled out two envelops from a college field trip. The class was pretty tight, we would spend one hour a week together doing ‘labs’ and then 4 hours every Friday out in the field. We collected and then memorized the Latin and common names of various plants (by the way, mormonus teaus is NOT the Latin name for the Mormon Tea plant, no matter what some prankster had jokingly renamed it in the study hall and you had naively memorized and put down on a test as an answer…) That semester we learned about the bio-geography of the region. The final trip, when I took these images, we all drove from Reno, NV to the Alabama Hills and Yosemite, CA. I remember a great game of dominoes around the campfire with my classmates, saving dinner from the flames of an overly zealous fire maker, I remember having no clue how to set up my tent and one hell of an awesome professor leading the adventure.
But I don’t really remember taking any of these photos. Let’s face it, this weekend trip was 13 years ago. I am trying to remember what film camera I had at the time. I know it was one of my two Pentax and I have absolutely no clue what film. Most of these are simply snapshots, but I think that is what I like about them (now). There was no flickr, there was no instagram. I had the photo department at the university and a handful of dear family friends who were photographers at the time to inspire me. I remember getting these images back from the lab and being a little bit bummed. It was so much more beautiful in real life (isn’t it usually when it comes to places like Yosemite?) I hadn’t even come close to nailing the shots like I had hoped. I am not sure what I expected, but at the time, these results weren’t it.
Today, I look at these and I see something different then what I saw then. I see moments in time. I see people who I haven’t talked since this class ended and have forgotten their names. I see a group of college kids taking in their surroundings, each in their own unique way. I see the fascinating way in which people space themselves with one another and the world around them. I see body language and silent, frozen conversations taking place. Tiny still frames burned into the light sensitive film and in those moments, time was stopped.
Those things alone (and maybe the way the light hits the rocks in the late afternoon), make me realize that I had the photo (and the film shooting) bug all those years ago. I might not have known what I know now about the craft, but the seeds were planted deep down in the soil of my creative garden. These moments are what have helped them grow from a dream into a reality. We all have to start somewhere. As I dug through the past stored neatly in a big plastic bin, I was able to see one of those beginning steps of becoming a lover of film and a photographer.
Happy Film Friday. Keep shooting, Vanessa
How wonderful is this post, my god!?!
Thank you Cara. I am glad I pulled out that box and all those memories.
Oh yes! Yes, yes, yes! When I was in college and taught myself to develop my own B&W photos and I miss it so! The last time I did that was 1978 and I remember the details you listed like it was TODAY!
Isn’t that wonderful?! I can hardly wait to start developing my own work again!
Love this trip down memory lane, Vanessa!
Me too, me too
Lovely photos, and beautiful reflections on the past Vanessa!
thanks!
Oh this is wonderful! I think it’s particularly important for those of us who work really hard to take great photos to remember to continue to take photos that will have meaning to us in the future.
yes! snapshots are just as important as any piece of art.
I just loved this, Vanessa. I have my bins and boxes too. And note to self, this is why you should make some prints and put them in a big plastic bin. It’s so different to hold those moments in your hands than to see them flash by on a screen.
so very true. I am attempting to get better at that part. (and shooting more film is helping!)
This post brought back some fond memories. My mother had a darkroom—in the basement—under the stairs. I loved going down there with her and watching the magic as an image started to appear on the paper. When in high school, I started taking my own photos and processing them myself. Progress moves forward—-but some of the past should never be lost.
I fully agree. The magic in the dark room is just that, magic.
I have watched my so in the darkroom and it is pretty magical. I have lots of photos from film… you have inspired me to dig them out and take a look. Thank you…
a quick trip down memory lane is something I always enjoy doing. I hope you found a few beautiful moments in your stacks of photos.
I occasionally look through my old pictures and am stunned that I liked exactly the same things as I do now. But much less well photographed! Yours on the other hand are gorgeous! Love this post.
you are too kind. I think it is hard to go wrong in Yosemite!
Awesome words Vanessa! I love how you captured this one and the reflections you’ve made. I experience this when I got through my old photos from exciting journeys or just special moments. A few years ago I threw away almost all my old photography stuff…negatives, prints, contact sheets…all dumped. And I’m not really sorry, but I do wish I could clean it out with my eye’s today and not that of the Holly in Feb 2010 just before reawakening my love for photography.
really, it’s only been since 2010? Holly, you amaze and inspire me. So glad to be on this journey with you.