Slowing Way Down - Autumn Update

After spending spring and summer with the folks in Connecticut, I’ve returned to New York. Admittedly, I was asked to come back to the office a little earlier than expected and between the move, freelancing, having a dinner of french fries at Pommes Frites, and a long list of #adulting tasks, I hadn’t given much thought to my fall photography plans.

Hudson River Park - New York, NY \ Ilford HP5+

Here's what I have planned so far, while I'm getting back into the groove of things:

I. SHOOTING STYLE

I’m going to make more street portraiture. Though it’s uncomfortable approaching strangers for pictures, I really enjoy the interactions we have. Even a five-minute chat makes me feel connected, which is especially important this crazy year.

I’m going to make more effort towards candid street photography too. I think I lack the quickness or subtlety to pull it off well, but I’ve got to start somewhere. I used to spend photowalks aimlessly meandering, but for this challenge, I’ll hunker down on a well-lit street corner and wait for the right people to walk by.

I tend to tuck tail once the sun goes down, but I’m going to take a couple evenings to practice nighttime photography. It’s only mid-October at the time of writing, but the sun is already starting to go down earlier.

My office is located in a nice area downtown. I’m going to shoot after hours as much as I can. I don’t to need to finish a roll every evening, but I'll try to have a loaded camera on me at all times.

I also want to photograph around the apartment. My roommates brought a foster pup home during lockdown and she’s brought us closer together. I’ll keep most of these photos private, but it’s good practice to document one’s homelife.

II. FILM CHOICE

My first year of film photography was full of experimentation. Now that I have an idea of what I like, I’m trying to form a consistent style. Part of this is dedicating myself to black and white. I’ll keep a few rolls of Portra, Ektachrome, and Ektar in the back of the refrigerator for client work and special occasions, but other than that, I’m officially a black and white shooter.

I shot a lot of Tri-X last year, but got bored with the look mid-summer. For now, I’ll primarily shoot Ilford films, specifically HP5+. I like HP5+ because it shows a little more detail in the shadows than Tri-X, though the rolls I’ve shot scanned granier then I prefer. I’m going to experiment until I conquer this film.

III. DEVELOPING & SHARING

The whirlwind of activity bookending my return to New York left me with a small backlog of undeveloped film. While I previously developed no later than next day, I’ve decided to leave the rolls undeveloped for some time.

I think some photos, especially street photography need time to marinate before they’re actually interesting. While the Garry Winogrand method of waiting a year or more to develop is too extreme for a beginner like me, I’m hoping even a couple of months will create enough emotional distance to help me critique my own work. There's no need to rush.

I’ve also decided to put a pause on Instagram. I love sharing my work and try to do so on a schedule, but I’d like to develop my style before posting more frequently again. I’m taking this hiatus to go through my old work, re-evaluate and re-touch photos I didn’t like the first time around.

George Carlin, truthful as ever!

I’ve been relatively busy in this new COVID world. Balancing my safety with the work I have to do and the work I want to do has been a challenge. It’s been good to stop and make a plan. While the year drags on and this lifestyle will likely continue deep into next year, I’m hoping finish 2020 as “normally” as possible.