Black and White Film

World Pinhole Photography Day (on 4x5 film!)

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Well, it looks like another World Pinhole Photography Day has come and gone. I certainly can’t be the only one when I say that it is hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that it is currently the year 2023. Where on earth did the last three or four years go? I suppose COVID happened. That accounts for some of the whiplash. But still… I guess I’m just quickly hitting that age when time speeds up and the world around you moves faster than you’d like it to.

Photographed with an Ilford Titan Pinhole camera and Ilford HP5 large format film.

Perhaps it is for that reason that pinhole photography feels more important than ever in my life, and why I made it a point to go out and make some pinhole photographs on World Pinhole Photography Day. I’m no different than most people in that I spend the vast majority of my day in front of a computer. I even use that term “computer” very loosely. In reality I spend my day in front of a laptop with three screens, two smart phones, and several televisions pumping out 24 hour cable news. It’s mind numbing to say the least. Would I prefer to have far less screen time? Absolutely yes! But alas, I need a paycheck just like everyone else.

The simplicity of pinhole photography feels like a natural reaction to that unfortunate fact. It is my opportunity to slow it all down. To turn off every single screen. To work with a basic tool that requires slow and methodical interactions. Measure the light. Make an exposure calculation with my notebook. Compose. Open the “shutter”. Wait. Sometimes wait for a long time. Breath the air. Take in the silence. Repeat. It’s a refreshing experience to say the least. There are times when it actually feels like magic.

This year I decided to take out my Ilford Titan Pinhole 4x5 camera loaded up with Ilford HP4 film. I’ve been really happy with that camera ever since I bought it. While it might not be the most elegant looking of cameras, in practice it operates perfectly. It’s nice and light weight which means more room in my pack for film backs. Anyone who has ever worked with sheet film out in the field can understand the value of keeping the weight you carry with you to a minimum. Plus I like the focal length quite a bit. Equivalent to about 20mm on a 35mm camera the angle is nice and wide which is great considering composition is a guessing game with pinhole cameras.

Exposure time on this image was about 25 seconds metered at ISO 400. Negative was developed in Rodinal with a ratio 1:50 at 20C for 11 minutes.

Large Format 4x5 Film In The Studio

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It feels like it has been quite a while since I’ve worked with 4x5 film. After a recent photo session in the studio I think I intend to change that habit. For anyone who has ever worked with large format film you know that it is a slow moving process. Very slow. Like sloth climbing up a tree slow. But as I get older and the meaning and purpose behind photography changes for me over time, the slow methodical nature of large format film appeals to me more and more.

Photographed with a Calumet 4x5 Camera and Ilford HP5 Large Format Black and White Film.

From a technical perspective this image has a lot of failures. I think there is a bit of a light leak in the 4x5 film back I was using which was made all the worse by the fact that my studio lights were very close to the camera and the model. Either that or there is a light leak in my developing tank. I’m going to have to do some experimenting to figure out which of those two potential problems is true. In addition, when I developed the film my temperatures were a bit high making the final results a bit too contrasty for my taste.

However, for some reason i’m more forgiving of technical errors when it comes to large format photography. The slow methodical nature of the process makes everything feel more organic, including mistakes. I don’t feel as compelled to have perfect results like I normally would with 35mm, digital, or even medium format film.

When Figures and Landscapes Merge Together

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Lately I’ve been far more interested in landscape and nature photography over figure studies and portraits. I suppose it is normal for any artist to go through phases in their work and I’m certainly no exception. There is something very appealing in this (sort of) post COVID world about taking a camera outdoors and just absorbing the silent stillness of nature. It’s nice to take my time with very little or absolutely no agenda at all and getting through a roll of film over the course of several hours as opposed to several minutes, which is the norm when I’m working with people.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Rollei RPX ISO 100 film in Medium Format.

I suppose it was inevitable when I was making this creative transition in my brain that I would create some images that merged the landscape and a nude together. I managed to find this spot at the perfect time. The weather was still fairly warm yet there was plenty of overcast and cloud cover to make the lighting very soft and even. Basically the kind of conditions the Pacific Northwest is famous for, though the extreme weather we’ve been having the past year or so has made less common. A tree on Sauvie Island had broken apart during a recent storm and made for a great piece of architecture for the model to pose on.

Looking at the final edited image, I feel confident that taking several steps back and capturing the entire scene was the right call here.

Using the Olympus XA4 For A Sketchbook

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Like most people out there I have a day job. It would of course be wonderful to make photographs full time and pay my bills with print sales, but alas, I’m a cubicle warrior by day and a photography dabbler on the weekends. As such I try my best to dip my toes into a creative headspace whenever I possibly can.

Photographed with an Olympus XA4 and Fomapan 100 35mm film.

Every so often when I manage to wake up and get ready for my day a little early I like to take a walk around town and make street photographs with my little pocket Olympus XA4. I’ve never claimed to be a great street photographer, but sometimes I find the practice cathartic, like doodling in a sketchbook. It’s just a great way to look at things, practice making compositions in the viewfinder, and to appreciate the place you live.

Not every photograph I make needs to be a masterpiece. Heck, NONE of the photographs I make need to be a masterpiece. I’m still going to do it anyway regardless of the outcome

Portland Oregon photographed with an Olympus XA4 and Fomapan 100 35mm film.

Photographed with an Olympus XA4 and Fomapan 100 35mm film.

I find the Olympus XA4 to be a perfect camera for taking snapshots on the street. It’s sleek and durable and fits easily in a winter coat pocket or the side pocket in my daily backpack. Ultimately it’s a point and shoot camera so creative control is limited, but the trade off is worth it for the portability. I also appreciate the fact that it is capable of longer exposure which is helpful when I’m walking about before dawn.

Evaluating Photography In 2023

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I’ve been spending a lot of time recently evaluating how I want to proceed with my photography going forward. For years now it seems like social media (Instagram, Twitter, etc. etc.) are just a given if you want to share your work with the maximum number of people possible. But all the same, for years now I’ve been wondering if they really are the best platforms to focus on. Heck, I’m wondering if there are any platforms that are good for sharing work. When did I buy into the notion that social media platforms are where it all has to be and any other efforts are a bad use of time?

Photographed with a Holga Toy Camera and Ilford HP5 pushed to ISO 1600.

I was listening to a podcast recently were the host described social media as the equivalent of being a musician and walking into concert hall that is filled with other musicians but no audience. Everyone starts playing their own instruments and doing their own thing. The ultimate result is just a giant mess of sound that nobody want to listen to but yet everyone keeps playing in anyway. Expanding on that analogy a little bit the thought occurred to me, why not leave the concert hall and go play your music on the street corner alone instead? Sure, the choice of venue is not as prestigious and is outside the norm a little bit, but at least someone will listen to you. At least you would be giving your music a chance to stand on its own free of distraction and outside noise.

I’m not saying I want to give up on social media entirely. I’m not going to delete my various social media accounts in a huff or make some grand exit. However, I think in 2023 I’m going to rely on them a whole lot less and instead focus on doing actual work. Not necessarily sharing work, but doing work. What that work is going to look like I don’t know yet, but free from the pressure of posting something new each and every day I feel like I now have the permission to explore a little more and tackle some ideas I’ve never tackled. We will see what happens.

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In the meantime, the photograph I’m posting here was made in downtown Portland Oregon on a very foggy morning around 6am. I was walking to work and had a Holga with me loaded up with Ilford HP5 film. It was still practically dark and the Steel Bridge doesn’t have a lot of artificial lighting so I pushed the film to ISO 1600 to even get an exposure. Even pushing that far the resulting negative was still thin, but good enough to get a nice moody scan from it.