I went out on a photo walk last night!
It’s exactly what it sounds like: bring something to shoot with, walk, talk, and snap some pics.
Some of the guys (and gals) shoot film, and the peer pressure’s making me consider getting back into it… I have a Holga (film isn’t cheap, and 120 film especially isn’t cheap) and my parents’ old Canon AE-1 (that needs a new battery) that have just been gathering dust for way too long (for the reasons mentioned in the brackets, and the fact that developing film has become a bit of a pain and is more $.)
We’ll see.
I brought my trusty Fujifilm X-T20, loaded up with an Ilford Delta push process recipe I’ve been playing around with lately.
Black and white is fun!
I remember listening to a talk where Roger Deakins talked about how he loves to shoot in black and white because the lack of colour information forces you to notice shapes more. It’s the type of thing that’s obvious the second you start thinking about it (like how using a static camera can emphasize the movement of characters in film) but unless someone points it out to you, you might never notice it.
Not really.
The walk itself was super chill.
It’s all about getting outside. Getting some steps in. Touching grass. Slowing down. Noticing. Playing.
Stopping for snacks.
The point isn’t to use the fanciest gear. (Use your phone’s camera! Who cares?) It’s not to get the best shots. It’s not a race, and it’s not a competition.
On the bus ride home, I was struck with the parallels with acting class…
One of my teacher often tells us:
“Let it be easy.”
And that’s exactly what last night was. Easy.
No plans. No expectations of myself. No preconceptions of an outcome.
Just fun.
And happy surprises, all along the way.
And yet… looking through my camera roll once I get back home, unintentional patterns emerge.
Like the bicycles.
Which shouldn’t be all that surprising. It’s Vancouver! But the bike park that none of us had ever gone to before was a fun discovery along the way.
And, you know what? I’m really happy with the picture I took last night. But I think I’m especially happy with them because they came from such a chill outing.
On the bus ride home, I was itching to try a couple of double exposures with some of the shots I got. I had a hunch that patterns like Burrard Bridge’s trusses and the cement grid from The Waterfall Building’s courtyard would be fun to play with…
Of course, since I made these digitally, they very much feel cheated. The real fun, the real mystery of double exposures is doing them with a film camera (easy peasy with the Holga, bit tricker with the Canon AE-1 but it can be done.)
I don’t know, maybe next time…
MÉLANIE DAIGLE 