A week of editing a series
Overcast days are underrated; the light wraps around everything. This began as a quick note and bit by bit turned into something longer.
The setup
A light meter is a good teacher if you let it disagree with you. I print small first, then decide what deserves to be larger. The trick, if there is one, is to leave plenty of room for slip-ups. Looking back, the patient approach was the right call. The result is not perfect, but it is candid.
It is simple to overthink editing a series. It is harder to just start. A friend once described light as hushed work, and the phrase stuck. There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. The shift showed up bit by bit, then all at once. Scanning is tedious, but it is where the series takes shape.
Notes along the way
Looking back, the hushed approach was the right call. I like contact sheets that shows the marks of how it was made. Film forces a pause between seeing and pressing the shutter.
I shot most of this series on a single roll, half of it in fading light. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. The best frame on the sheet was the one I very nearly did not take. It took me three attempts to see the pattern.
Trade-offs
Thanks for reading, and for the generous observations that keep arriving. Somewhere between the north coast and home, the idea finally made sense. It took me five attempts to see the pattern.
For a long time I treated film stock as an afterthought. Small, repeatable steps beat big plans very nearly every time. Looking back, the soft approach was the right call. Here is what shifted, and what stayed exactly the same. I like portraits that shows the marks of how it was made.
Every summer I revisit the same questions about contact sheets. None of this is new, and that is partly why it works. Somewhere between the harbour and home, the idea finally made sense. Good grain is mainly a series of small, unglamorous decisions. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about grain.
Odds and ends
The best advice I got was plainly to slow down. Nothing here requires a film scanner, though it does make things easier. For a long time I treated grain as an afterthought. Some of this will be obvious; some of it took me years. Every spring I revisit the same questions about portraits.
You can get surprisingly far with a tripod and some patience. Below are a few observations, roughly in the order I found out them. Good light is mainly a series of small, unglamorous decisions.
It is simple to overthink waiting for the light. It is harder to just start. It is simple to overthink printing. It is harder to just start. A friend once described portraits as hushed work, and the phrase stuck. A friend once described shadows as hushed work, and the phrase stuck.
It took me eight attempts to see the pattern. Most problems with portraits turn out to be problems with time. Every summer I revisit the same questions about grain.