Landscape

LANDSCAPE: Notice the World Around You

    Before my grandfather passed away from melanoma cancer in 2013, he gifted me a 35mm film camera that he purchased while in college during the 1960's.  In the years to follow, I would go for "film walks" in various locations where I happened to live during that time (Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, and Colorado). These film walks involved exploring the areas local to me and looking for moments, nature, and landscape that inspired me.  

    Surely a camera which is almost 60 years old could not still produce powerful images, right?  Wrong..  Shooting film forces you to make every shot count.  Not only are you limited to 24-32 exposures per roll of film, but the rolls themselves are expensive, and not to mention the cost associated with processing and developing.  These limited amount of exposures really cause you to try your best to produce an image worth looking at.  Even though these images may not always turn out how you imagined, and that you do not have the luxury of instantly seeing the result on the back of your digital camera; there is a delightful patina and skill involved with film shots that can translate to your digital images as well.  Not-to-mention the happy accidents which can occur when using this format regarding color also.

    The beauty of our immediate surroundings can sometimes be overlooked or taken for granted.  By purposely wandering the area with my camera, it helps us to notice subtle charm like the way sunlight falls on a tree, or how the weathering of bricks will contrast with a shiny steel door.  Landscape photography does not always refer to nature, either; it can also focus on an urban perspective as well.  Which I quite enjoy, and can appreciate just as much as picturesque meadow, or riverbank. 

    Below are some of my favorite moments during the "Film Walk" series, which I plan to reignite in early 2023.  Each of these images were taken carefully with 35mm and feature a very minimalistic or non-existent editing process, I wanted each of these photos to stand on their own.