Contact sheet: the harbour
The best advice I got was plainly to slow down. Thanks for reading, and for the generous observations that keep arriving.
Why it matters
Scanning is tedious, but it is where the series takes shape. Overcast days are underrated; the light wraps around everything. I shot most of this series on a single roll, half of it in fading light.
If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you. This began as a quick note and bit by bit turned into something longer. A friend once described film stock as hushed work, and the phrase stuck. The best frame on the sheet was the one I very nearly did not take. I like grain that shows the marks of how it was made.
- Keep a film scanner within reach
- Revisit grain after a week
- Revisit portraits after a week
What I would do differently
The trick, if there is one, is to leave plenty of room for slip-ups. It took me eight attempts to see the pattern. Here is what shifted, and what stayed exactly the same. You can get surprisingly far with a film scanner and some patience. None of this is new, and that is partly why it works.
A friend once described grain as hushed work, and the phrase stuck. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. A light meter is a good teacher if you let it disagree with you.
The setup
The high-contrast part is seldom the hard part; consistency is. The result is not perfect, but it is candid. Some of this will be obvious; some of it took me years.
I like portraits that shows the marks of how it was made. For a long time I treated contact sheets as an afterthought. Most problems with portraits turn out to be problems with time.
If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about light. I print small first, then decide what deserves to be larger. Small, repeatable steps beat big plans very nearly every time. You can get surprisingly far with a tripod and some patience.
It is simple to overthink editing a series. It is harder to just start.