A word on film

I received a decent amount of criticism last year about my photos. Some was constructive and some were just commenting on my editin of certain photographs. The majority of the comments I received were compliments, but I received a lot of comments about the photos looking “fake” or “unrealistic”.

I’m not sure what a “real” photo is supposed to be… I mean is a black and white photograph a “real” depiction of reality? The world exists in color so I would have to say no. That does not make the photograph any less valuable or less appealing to me. In fact some of my favorite photographs happen to be black and white photos.

Naturally the photos in question were mostly my HDR photos because of their very vibrant colors and sharp details. I’ve been criticized for “over photoshopping” certain photos and even relaying too much on photoshop for my digital photographs.

Now I don’t take the criticism personal, but it did open my eyes to something: maybe I do fall back on the versatility of digital photography. I try to challenge myself constantly to improve my vision and technique, but lately I have not really felt that I’ve been pushing myself to the limits that I should.

So I decided to take on a project this year where I photograph on film more often. I’m not setting any deadlines or milestones for myself. The goal is to push myself further and go back to the basics in a way. I will be focusing on composition, exposure and overall concept for my photographs. Just me, a Nikon FE2 manual camera, and a 50 mm lens. Like this I will have no choice but to slow down and plan my shots better and execute with more focus. Rather than spray a barrage of photos and choosing the best of the bunch I will shoot one photo and try to make that the best possible shot.

So far this has been a challenge, but it has also been incredibly refreshing and rewarding. It takes me back to the beginning of my photography days shooting with this same exact camera. Even the look of the film photographs is very nostalgic. At the end of this year, like e last, I will look back at my body of work and evaluate my progress. Hopefully I will be able to say that I’ve improved and taken a step further as a photogrher and as an artist.