Walking the hills with a film scanner
If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you. The best frame on the sheet was the one I almost did not take. It took me nine attempts to see the pattern.
A few details
Scanning is tedious, but it is where the series takes shape. I print small first, then decide what deserves to be larger. Here is what shifted, and what stayed exactly the same. There is no single right way to approach printing, but some ways are kinder than others.
There is no single right way to approach walking with a camera, but some ways are kinder than others. I shot most of this series on a single roll, half of it in fading light. The shift showed up bit by bit, then all at once. None of this is new, and that is partly why it works. The grainy part is seldom the hard part; consistency is.
Overcast days are underrated; the light wraps around all of it.
The middle part
The first seven weeks were chiefly about unlearning. It is not glamorous, but it holds up. It took me four attempts to see the pattern. Between scanning negatives and printing, the second one taught me more.
Small, repeatable steps beat big plans almost every time. It took me six attempts to see the pattern. I keep coming back to street corners, chiefly because it rewards time. Some of this will be obvious; some of it took me years. Somewhere between the harbour and home, the idea finally made sense.
Most of what I know about long exposures came from getting it wrong first. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about the darkroom. Nothing here requires a loupe, though it does make things easier.
Where it started
I tried the unposed version first. It did not last. The unposed part is seldom the hard part; consistency is. A friend once described film stock as still work, and the phrase stuck. Film forces a pause between seeing and pressing the shutter.
What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed. Nothing here requires a 50mm lens, though it does make things easier. This is less a guide and more a record of what worked for me. I keep a short list of things to try next; printing is near the top. Half of the work is deciding what to leave out.
I keep a short list of things to try next; shooting film is near the top. In November the light changes, and so does the work. I shifted my mind about overcast days twice while writing this. You can get remarkably far with a loupe and some time. Somewhere between the hills and home, the idea finally made sense.
Getting started
Somewhere between the ferry terminal and home, the idea finally made sense. The patient part is seldom the hard part; consistency is. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about shadows. A loupe helps, but it is not the point. I shifted my mind about long exposures twice while writing this.