One lens, one spring
For a long time I treated overcast days as an afterthought. The best frame on the sheet was the one I almost did not take. Scanning is tedious, but it is where the series takes shape.
A note on tools
Overcast days are underrated; the light wraps around all of it. Nothing here requires a film scanner, though it does make things easier. Between walking with a camera and printing, the second one taught me more. I keep a short list of things to try next; shooting film is near the top.
I keep a short list of things to try next; scanning negatives is near the top. I print small first, then decide what deserves to be larger. The best advice I got was plainly to slow down.
Film forces a pause between seeing and pressing the shutter. I keep a short list of things to try next; walking with a camera is near the top. I shot most of this series on a single roll, half of it in fading light.
Before and after
Below are a few observations, roughly in the order I picked up them. Thanks for reading, and for the gentle observations that keep arriving. This is less a guide and more a record of what worked for me. For a long time I treated shadows as an afterthought.
You can get remarkably far with a 50mm lens and some time. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about grain. The first six weeks were chiefly about unlearning. A friend once described shadows as still work, and the phrase stuck. Nothing here requires a 50mm lens, though it does make things easier.
I like street corners that shows the marks of how it was made.