Old Doorway

I feel, much like the name of this post implies, that I’m almost completely starting over with photography now that I’ve decided to shoot only film.  Over the last week I’ve spent a few days wandering around and taking shots almost at random.  Not only am I experimenting with color film to see what the differences are in different brands, I’m also getting used to shooting in black and white, and playing around with some fixed focal length lenses that are new to me.  Specifically, I’m using a 50mm Nikon f/1.4 AI lens that’s very nice, but also super contrasty and I’m figuring out where and when I can use it effectively.  Simply using fixed focal length is a challenge for me as well, as I’m a spoiled little brat who is far too used to his zoom lenses.   I’ve got 3 cameras to shoot with now so I can keep different lenses mounted or have various films loaded and ready, however 2 of them are in the shop getting prettied up.  That makes it a bit difficult for me to take multiple shots for comparisons, however that will come next week.  My mornings are open for a week or so, so I’m praying for good weather early in the day.

As I’m out shooting I’m looking ideas for subjects I’d like to work on for a while, and using this time to both experiment with my new tools and start getting more developed ideas formed.  I’m going to work a lot in my own little area of the city, simply because there’s lots of interesting things and people around to work with.

Local Cyclo Driver

There are still several cyclo drivers in my area, although they’re a dying breed.  There are also great street markets, some really cool doorways and windows on old style houses, which are also disappearing, and lots of other crapola for me to work with and think about.  I’ve also been spending some time in some tenement buildings near my house, trying to capture the look and feel of the place, as well as some of the activities and personalities you can find there.  It’s really gritty and run down, but I love the atmosphere there.  The people there are usually surprisingly welcoming and easy going, so I should get some good material.

Carrot Circle

At the moment I’ve got a couple of rolls of film off being processed, both black and white and color, and a freezer full of different films I want to play with.  So, there’s more stuff coming soon, and I’m going to keep my posts organized into more narrow subjects like I have previously, rather than continuing with this “here’s some shit I shot this week” approach.  However, today, you just get a few shots of stuff I took while testing out Fuji’s 400 speed Neopan black & white film on the market streets behind my neighborhood.  Enjoy!