New Website and Compact Madness

Ok.. So.. After rambling on in my last post about needing a new website, and wondering what the solution may be, I just did what I do best and blagged it. I was checking out some websites I liked for inspiration and before I knew it, I was making one for myself! I wanted something super simple and minimal, and I wanted it to be for film work only. I've needed something just for film for a long time.

So without further ado, I proudly present my new website, LIFEONFILM.CO.UK

I really quite like it, even if I do say so myself. I know what I want the content to look like, so there are some photos on there that I will be replacing in due course, now I have a goal in mind when shooting. It's just a question of time. However, in the meantime, I'm happy with it, and I'm happy that it's given me a little bit of a direction.

Well, that's that. Onwards....

Today I got a new camera. I've been getting the new camera itch for a while now. I used to get at least a couple a week, but I've been controlling my ebay habits for the last couple of months. While I do love fancy pants SLR's and medium format gear, I've always had a soft spot for cute little film compacts. One of my favourites for a long time now has been my Olympus Mju 1. I think the American market called it the Epic Stylus. Anyway... it's a lovely looking little thing, very compact and sleek, pocketable, weatherproof, and with a really good lens. I've had some great results from it in the past. Here's the camera and a few samples.


So anyway... The Mju has served me well, and will continue to do so, but I thought I might indulge myself and get a new little compact. Browsing flickr and various other websites through up a few possibilities, but to cut a very long story short, I've been hearing good things about the Yashica T series of compacts. They've got the T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5. All of them are well built and come have a very good reputation. They also all come with excellent 35mm Carl Zeiss Tessar lenses, and are probably the cheapest way to buy Zeiss glass.

Armed with this knowledge, and a budget in mind, I went ahead and got myself a T2. It's probably the ugliest camera I own, but I kinda like it for that. It's built like a tank and weighs about the same as a breeze block. I think they had a different idea of 'compact' back in the 80's! Still... it looks like it's barely been used. It's all shiny and clean. It still has the original 'passed' sticker on it. Needless to say, it fired up as soon as I put a new battery in it, and I'm a happy little bunny. I've loaded it up with some HP5 for some black and white adventures, and I'm taking it with me wherever I go. Here it is.


Incidentally, this is the very first roll of proper black and white I've ever shot, and once it's finished, it'll be the very first roll of film I've ever processed myself at home. So... new camera, new film, new skill. There's a lot of opportunity for things to go wrong, but hey... no pain no gain. Feel free to remind me of that when I'm complaining about lugging the breeze block around everywhere.

I'll post the results when I'm done. IF they're not too embarrassing that is :)

Life On Film

I love the days that my films arrive back from developing. I'm was as giddy as a kid when the postie shoved the envelope through the letterbox this morning. It's one of the reasons I shoot film.

You just don't get the same excitement with digital shooting. Sure, there are always disappointments if certain shots didn't work out the way I'd planned, but.. there are always those pleasant surprises too. The one of me above was taken in a vintage mirror in an antiques shop. It's all natural light, and I love it. The film was only cheap stuff, but it's captured the atmosphere of the place really well.

Here's s a sneaky behind the scenes picture of my friend Sophie, getting ready for one of our latest shoots. You guys may see those shots at some point in the future. I'm always super excited to get my photos of Sophie back. She's so photogenic, and I've worked with her so many times now that I'm always happy with the shots we get back. She's currently studying something acting related in that there London, and she's doing really well. She makes me proud!

Here's a shot of my dog Delta. She's very cute, and she knows it. She must be the most photographed dog in Yorkshire. I'm sure she doesn't mind though. She usually gets a biscuit for her troubles.

Sometimes you snap a shot when the light is just right. The shot above is of my friend Simon. It's nothing special. It wasn't a special day out. It was just a hang out in the park, but the dappled light is just perfect. I don't ever recall shooting a digital shot, and being so happy about the way the light was captured.

The cat's name is Tiff. She's a wild little thing. Somewhat feral, but very cute with it. She's the only cat I've ever met that will roll on her back and let you stroke her belly.

I have a load more shots that I may share at a later date. I'm actually currently looking for a place to host an online portfolio of work. Stuff that may not be appropriate on a personal blog. I dunno... I guess I have an alter-ego of sorts. I shoot a lot of film in my normal day to day life, but I also shoot a fair few nudes and erotica on film too. I always keep business and pleasure separate though. With the alter ego stuff, I sometimes want credit for them, but sometimes I want to shoot anonymously. I guess it's not conducive to having any kind of organised portfolio online. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon!

In the meantime, here's more of my life on film.

These four were all shot on my little plastic Holga Fisheye. It's good fun, but somewhat flimsy. I think I end up putting it back together from kinder egg size pieces every time I want to use it. It's nice to just point and shoot it like an idiot though. Incidentally, the last shot of the four was taken on Brick Lane in London which is well worth a visit if you like quirky, random, vintage tat. There's an official LOMOGRAPHY shop nearby and I couldn't pass up the chance to have a look. I'd love to say I enjoyed the experience, but I didn't. I hated it. Maybe I'll tell you why in another blog.

So, for now at least, that has been my life on film. More coming soon.

LET'S GET THE BALL ROLLING

Hello!

So, let's get the ball rolling with this blogging malarkey then. I thought it might be a nice idea to occasionally have a natter to myself and the wider world about things that interest me.

These things are likely to include film photography, vintage cameras, music, cars, dreams, moods, and other such fascinating things. Chances are though, it'll be all about the photography, with the odd camera review thrown in for good measure. Let me explain a little further. I'll start at the beginning.

Like most people of my generation, I started taking photos when digital cameras were already commonplace. However, the camera that started my love of photography was actually my Dads old film SLR. It was a late 1970's Fujica ST605N that he'd had from new. By the time I was old enough to pick it up, it was laying dormant in a dusty cupboard in his study. Still... I loved that camera. It came from a time before myself. It smelled old. It felt unnecessarily heavy. It made satisfying noises when I pushed the buttons, and looking through the viewfinder made everything look like a movie.

Here is that exact camera, sporting the same funky strap I used to love as a kid.



Looking through the lens of this camera had a way of making even the most mundane of things seem beautiful. Part of the reason that I love photography so passionately now is that I've never lost the magical feeling I get when seeing the world through a camera. It's the same no matter which camera I'm using, but I have a particular love of film photography because the magic extends way beyond the lenses, and way beyond the tangible.

Everything about film photography is a journey. With no instant results, I find I take far fewer shots. I consider each shot carefully. I absorb the moment and become a part of it. I choose my shot very carefully. I watch, and I wait for the moment to develop. I observe, and I think. Personally I much prefer working this way, and I always appreciate the results when I get them back. My theory is this... If I can shoot a good picture on film, on an all manual camera, then I can take a good picture with anything.

Quite apart from this, the quality of the decent old lenses is way better than anything you can buy new. Couple that with the much higher resolving power and dynamic range of film compared to digital, and surely any professional photographer worth their salt would shoot film all day long, right?

Well... no. We live in an instant world where time is money. Everyone needs their photos yesterday, and they want 2000 shots to chose from. Sadly, this is in direct conflict with the way I like to work. For months now, there has been a slowly looming, ever growing realisation in me that something had to give. Do I give up what I love and how I love to work, or do I give up on my principles and consign the film cameras to the dusty cupboard?

Much like my father before me, I am a hard, principled, and somewhat uncompromising man. With this in mind, I guess the decision was already made for me, and the decision is this.

Give up photography.

Well, professionally at least. Concentrate on what I love. Keep the magic feeling. Lock the dusty cupboard, and shoot what I want to shoot. So, from here onwards, I intend to shoot only what I choose to shoot, and only how I choose to shoot it. I'll photograph only the things I wish to photograph, and only the people I may wish to remember in later years. Each photograph is a unique moment in time, never to be repeated, and I aim to capture as many of those moments as possible.

So having said that, welcome once more to my little blog. My little journey. At this very moment I have 8 rolls of 35mm film awaiting developing, 1 roll of 120 film to develop, and a back catalogue of film shots longer than both my arms put together. All of which I'll be sure to share at some point in the future.

Maybe I'll see you there.

John