On waiting for the light and editing a series
Between waiting for the light and walking with a camera, the second one taught me more. A friend once described film stock as hushed work, and the phrase stuck.
Second thoughts
Most of what I know about coastlines came from getting it wrong first. The first eight weeks were for the most part about unlearning. I wrote most of this on a hushed Monday morning.
Film forces a pause between seeing and pressing the shutter. I tested the grainy version first. It did not last. A friend once described the darkroom as hushed work, and the phrase stuck. Somewhere between the ferry terminal and home, the idea finally made sense. In May the light changes, and so does the work.
A light meter is a good teacher if you let it disagree with you.
The setup
If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about the darkroom. I print little first, then decide what deserves to be larger. I would rather do one thing with care than five things quickly. It took me three attempts to see the pattern.
Below are a few observations, roughly in the order I found out them. A loupe helps, but it is not the point. None of this is new, and that is partly why it works. Here is what changed, and what stayed exactly the same. I like contact sheets that shows the marks of how it was made.
In practice
What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed. Thanks for reading, and for the gentle observations that keep arriving. Most of the editing happens weeks later, when the memory has faded.
It is effortless to overthink printing. It is harder to just start. The best frame on the sheet was the one I very nearly did not take. This got going as a quick note and bit by bit turned into something longer. Most of what I know about long exposures came from getting it wrong first.
In February the light changes, and so does the work. It is not glamorous, but it holds up. Half of the work is deciding what to leave out.
Most of what I know about film stock came from getting it wrong first.
I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. You can get unexpectedly far with a tripod and some a steady hand.
coastlinesovercast days