Much of the time when I head out to take photos I make for Lepe Beach, one of my favourite places near Southampton. Just a stones throw away (well a couple of miles)is Calshot, with its activities centre, shingle beach and views dominated by Fawley power station. Having decided to put the Bronica camera to more use, I loaded up with several rolls of film both monochrome and colour slide film. (The slides will make an appearance here when they come back from being processed)
It was a glorious autumn afternoon with clear blue skies and dramatic side-light from the slowly setting sun. I hoped the sun would bring out plenty of detail in the landscape. I used Ilford Pan F, which is a low speed film sacrificing speed for very fine quality. Using the Bronica is a very tactile process. Manual focusing, hand-held light meter readings and careful composition using the focusing screen make this a very considered approach. Just 12 shots per roll of film makes you work harder before pressing the button.
The use of a tripod and using non-zoom lenses makes you think more about your subject, and is initially a constraint. That constraint actually becomes a freedom and liberation of the mind, freeing you to avoid the obvious and tune yourself to a different way of seeing. The last picture in this series to be taken was the picnic table, a shot which shouted out to be taken. It will be interesting to see how the slides turn out, as working in colour seems so different after a couple of hours of tuning into a monochrome view of the world. I'm also going to think about applying some toning effects to these images, so you may get to see them again in a different way soon.
1 comments:
Great shots Robin, really atmospheric. I love the sense of vastness and fine details in the wood grain etc. A totally different perspective to the shots I took there that day.
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