My first (and only) photo class was in my last year of college. I had really hated my Physics classes by then (so hard!) and just needed some creative outlet to maintain my sanity and happiness. My last 2 (of 5) years, I picked up an art minor and strategically spaced out all my Physics requirements amongst the much more fun art classes. I’m not saying that art is easy, just much more fun. And I guess compared to my upper division Physics classes, it was easier to comprehend for me personally. That last year, I took a photo class and LOVED it! My teacher, Dennis Keeley, was really inspirational. I miss the days of developing and making prints into the wee hours of the night. I borrowed a friend’s camera for this class and returned it to him soon after – I hadn’t touched film since. Until… for my birthday last year, Jonathan bought me a Canon EOS 3. I went around and shot 2 rolls of film. One roll from my world, and one at a wedding. I’ll just share the one from my world first. Theses were all with Fuji 400h and processed by Richard Photo Lab. All straight out of camera.
Those two above were taken at night in my house. Probably with my 85/1.2 and probably hand held at 1/20th – I do miss having my exif data! I kept around 2/3 of the photos I took, which is a better rate than my digital shooting. With digital, I tend to take another, just in case. Or look at my view finder and keep trying to make it better. I end up with many duplicates. With film, these were all just one shot. I was more aware of my composition, exposure, etc before clicking.
I love my doggies! These weren’t the best quality of light, so I really think if I had taken them in digital, it would not have been as interesting. The photo on the right of her looking out the door, the outside would be completely blown out for sure in digital.
Thank you Jonathan for buying me the film & camera! Photo above was taken during a wedding at The Parker in Palm Springs.
Thank you Shannon for the beautiful flower and vase (which I broke one after shooting it… good thing I have a photo of it). And thank you for all your help as I grew my business & for helping me/inspiring me to shoot film again. The photo above was taken in the parking lot as we were going to Aaron Brothers to buy mats. I only took one shot, so I’m glad it all worked out!
Then I went to visit one of my favorite little girls. This set is where I had the most discards. The sun had just set when I arrived. The combo of my 1/20th shutter speed and an active girl makes lots of blurry shots! I love blur though.
This was before Christmas, so they had these pine cones laying around.
I love blur. These next two photos would not be the same if they were tack sharp. I’m not sure if I could achieve the same feel digitally. I’m not sure if I’m just being biased. What do you think?
I then visited one of my favorite little boys:
I am totally in love with the richness of these photos. There’s more depth to me. Again, I’m not sure if I’m just biased. I’d love to hear your thoughts! (You can see I’m doing a lot of experimenting lately… it’s fun.)
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Caroline, these are awesome!
Hey.. I miss looking at your work. Hope you are well.
Hope to see ya soon!!!
PS- say hi to Mr.Tran for me.
-Kevz LaFuente
thanks susy! i’ve been wanting to play with a holga (and to start shooting medium format)!
Caroline I shot film for about 2 years before finally going into a little debt for my dream digital camera. I must confess that I enjoy shooting the film camera (a Canon FD btw) much more than the digital. When I started with film I had like 10 keepers and now I can keep nearly all the frames. With digital I end up with hundreds of similar shots so they kind of get devalued.
What I love about film:
1. taking your time with exposure and composition,
2. film images tend to have more depth quality than digital images,
3. film images have a dreamy feel straight out of the camera,
4. inexpensive for aspiring photogs despite the cost of film and processing (a pro camera & lens can had for a few hundred bucks)
5. and finally the 24+ surprises! =)
Caroline if you want to try something cool get ahold of a toy plastic camera like Holga!!! (Cheapest way to get started with medium format film) I know you would get amazingly fun shots! I have one I can loan you if you’re interested. Let me know =)
Love these Caroline! It was so great to meet you at WPPI!
Beautiful photos! Now you make me want to try film. :)
I think the images of the children says it all for me. Film certainly makes you think about the photos more since you only have x-amount of film to work with. I too like the blur in the pictures. This may sound funny, there’s a certain realness to them. Lovely photographs.
Love it Caroline. You’re right, there’s a richness to the photos and you can feel the life behind it. There’s something so unique about film…I so agree. I think it’s making a come back!
i love love love the look of film and have been teaching myself for the past month and a bit how to shoot it – since i’ve never held a film camera before! these images are great – i love the tone, composition, soft feel….everything really. and i agree with you that the process of shooting film is different than digital. it’s a little more deliberate and thought out before the click of the button.
I agree completely with Dorothy – love that more of my fave photogs are doing this! It gives me the courage to give it a try. You really test your skills doing it! So congrats. :)
You’re truly amazing…you rock hard! :)
wow!nice shots! i LOVE the look and feel of film!it seems so much more real and timeless!i hope to see more of it! :D
thanks dorothy, araxi, connie & Mark! Yeah, I felt a deeper connection to the photos, but wasn’t sure if it was the quality of the film or just my own biases.
Film rocks. In fact, YOU ROCK!
Oh I love these! What a coincidence I posted my film rolls on my blog post today, too! I seriously love it, and I LOVE your photos film or digital. I love the skin tone of the 400H, and the blurs in your photos give a it a documentary feel.
Caroline these are fantastic. They have such an organic feel to them. Love that you are experimenting!
there’s an earthy-ness to these photos… very natural and organic that makes them really appealing, as if you connect with the subject more. keep playing!