A few months ago, my friend Bo was nice enough to lend me his old 35mm Canon Rebel so that I could try my hand at shooting film. I bought 3 rolls of film – 2 color (Kodak Portra) and 1 roll of Tri-X black & white – and then I promptly froze. It took me over 2.5 months to finish all 3 rolls.Let me explain how ridiculous this is: 1 roll of film is 36 shots, multiply by three and I had 108 photos to take. Last week ALONE, I took over 1000 pictures on my digital camera. We’re talking in the span of maybe 4 days. And yet there I was, struggling to take 2 or 3 film shots every few days. When you can’t see the finished product on a little LCD screen, you suddenly become very particular about every frame. I would wait forever before squeezing that trigger, just to make sure everything was perfect. You are not afforded the luxury of test shots or overshooting with film. Of course it’s a great exercise for someone like me who regularly takes the same photo 10 times in a row, weeding out the best shot of the bunch or making a composite from several different frames. It’s a crutch, I know, but it’s part of the beauty of digital. You can be imperfectly perfect if you want. Doesn’t cost a dime to take an extra shot. Or 12. Just in case.
We can argue the merits of film vs digital, but when I was done with that last shot, I knew there was no WAY I would try film again. It was entirely too stressful. I was flying blind. What if every single one was overexposed and blank? What if they were all blurry? All that money, wasted. AHHH! The uncertainty was too much for this control freak. I was talking to one of the guys at my camera shop (who is way more experienced than me behind the lens) and even he said he just couldn’t go back to film after shooting digital for so many years. He said it was too expensive and not worth the hassle. Validation! So last week, months after finishing that last shot, I finally took the 2 color rolls in to be developed. Oh yeah, did I mention I’ve lost the Tri-X roll? I would never lose digital photos! Hopefully it turns up. In the mean time, I picked up the 2 Portra rolls today. With one eye closed, face already contorted into a cringe in anticipation of a pile of crap photos, I started going through them. And you know what? They weren’t that bad. They’re not great – but they’re not bad. And just like that, I have decided I need to buy a few more rolls and try again. Face the fear! Embrace the uncertainty! (Do I sound convincing?) Anyway. Here are some of the ones I liked – what do you think?
.jpg "4364005-R1-E034")
.jpg "4364005-R1-E012")
.jpg "4364005-R1-E003") * cue the Dallas theme music here - yes, that's THE house * 
this isn't a half-exposed frame, I was looking up the sloped side of the levee at the powerline on the other side
It seems only fitting that I post a newborn session on the eve of Mother’s Day. And what a sweet one he is! I cannot be held responsible for these photos making you want to have lots of babies. I am just the recorder of moments; the drop-dead gorgeous subjects are 100% all Natalie and Jeff. I’ve been photographing these guys for several years – now that I think about it, Lauren may have been the first baby I photographed. It seems like forever ago that we were sitting in a hospital room ooh-ing and ahh-ing over beautiful baby Lauren. And suddenly here we are ooh-ing and ahh-ing over another beautiful baby! Thankfully my photography skills have vastly improved since Lauren’s birth, but today was one of those days where I just couldn’t seem to get it right. I was just off my game. For some reason I was sure that we weren’t getting enough light where we’d set up, so we moved around the corner to another room. And then I moved everyone out onto the patio. Natalie and Jeff are saints for not kicking me out after, oh, around the 3rd hour. Yes, I practically moved in. But I wanted to get it right, and hey, I have nothing going on today. Anyway. As it turns out, I really didn’t have anything to worry about because they turned out fine. And I don’t think it is possible to take a bad picture of little Harris. Is he not perfection? Silky brown hair, creamy skin, sweet brown eyes, I could just eat him up (and I made sure to get lots of snuggles in). Looks just like his sister. I asked Lauren “were you this cute when you were little?” and she responded with a confident, “yes!” So there you go. He even has the same expressions as her! So adorable. Harris was a wonderful model and did so well considering all the shuffling around. I cannot wait to watch him grow up alongside his big sister. They sure do make beautiful kids, don’t they? Well done, guys! And Happy Mother’s Day, Natalie!
Me taking a picture of Lauren taking a picture of me. It’s art, I tell you.
I am going to keep this short and sweet because I have lots of pictures to share, and it’s almost 1am, AND I have a newborn session bright and early in the morning! I will forever remember when Strat was born because Shelley was pregnant with him at the exact same time that my sister was pregnant with my nephew and I was so worried I would miss doing his newborn photos if my sister went first and I had to fly back to Birmingham. Luckily the timing was perfect and there was a couple of weeks between the two! Hard to believe it’s been a year, though. It has been such a joy to watch this sweet boy grow up over the past 12 months – although I’m probably a little biased because he smiles on cue for me now Friends and family gathered this evening as the clouds parted and gave us a good few hours between downpours to have a fun-filled backyard party complete with the coolest balloon artist ever – get a load of those amazing creations!! And as you can see, Strat was loving it all - right down to the cake which he smeared all over his face! Happy Birthday, Stratton! Here’s to a great year – you are so loved!
A little something different for me today – corporate headshots with the great folks at Maximus! We’d originally planned to meet up in front of the Winspear Opera House, but a preliminary drive-by about an hour beforehand had me worried that it was a bad idea. I counted at least 6 school buses lined up on the street in addition to an outdoor concert that was setting up. So we moved a block down to the Dallas Museum of Art and struck gold! The clouds were gathering, so the light was perfect and the Maximus crew was easy-going and willing to run around with me as we found the best spot to set up. Couldn’t have asked for a better evening! Hope you guys enjoy these!
77 Prints is getting a little facelift! Check back in a few days for the new and improved site! Just ignore all the deer heads!
... older posts
|
Show Hide 2 comments
Bo Nash - Holy moly, that horse farts sunshine!
Seriously, though, those shots are pretty great for the first go. I shot acres of film during journalism school and I’m not confident I could get that many quality shots out of just 72 frames these days. I’m 100% in agreement with the camera shop guy. You should be pretty happy with these results!
Tara - Clare, these are excellent for your first time! I first learned on film and while it is a pain, there is nothing like the look of it. I adore these and the horse and Ellabella pics need to be canvases. Nice job!