I haven’t shot film with a real model since, well, ever! I was intrigued to see the difference between shooting with my Mamiya 645 AFD II using the Phase One P20+ back (my usual rig) and using the same camera only with a film back. I bought a used film back from keh.com (great resource for used camera gear) and picked up some rolls of 120 film thinking I would sneak a roll or two into a shoot somewhere. Well, it never happened. I always brought the film and back to shoots but would always just get too caught up in the shoot and not really have time to make the switch.
Anyway, I was emailing with a model (Amanda Dillon) about a shoot that we were putting together and we were going to meet for coffee to talk about it. I just thought, hey, if we’re going to meet and chat, why don’t we take some casual photos while we’re at it. Kind of a practice round where we could work together under no pressure to make anything wonderful and still chat about our upcoming “real” shoot. I mentioned my new film back and made no promises as this would be my first test shots with it. She was fine with this so off we went.
I used no lights or modifiers of any kind. Just me, my camera loaded with film (I didn’t even bring my digital back), and the model.
Here’s some of the shots:
Kodak 400NC
Kodak 400NC
Kodak 400NC
Ilford HP5 (pushed 2 stops)
I must say, shooting film was really fun. It really forced me to take my time and think before every shot. Every click felt so significant. And after the 16 shots, the back would make a very definite noise letting you know the roll is finished. So satisfying!
The whole point of this little exercise for me was to force me to approach photography a little differently. We shot four rolls in about two hours. I normally would have ripped through sixty-four shots before the model even stepped in front of my lens. Well, maybe not but you get the idea. I strongly encourage any other photographers to dust off the old film camera and take it out with a subject you actually enjoy shooting. You won’t regret it. And the photos are beautiful.
