Film Fun - Part 3

The love affair continues. What started out as a way to have some fun during the wedding off-season has turned into a part of my regular photography. After completing Project 180 (5 weeks, one 36 exposure roll of film per week), I knew that film was something that I wanted to continue shooting with. While it will never replace digital for me, it will definitely compliment it. I’ve even started working it into some of my portrait sessions!


Here are some recent scans of personal stuff from walks around Denver. I hope you enjoy the 35mm, 120 and Polaroid fun!

These last two are from my newly-acquired Polaroid Big Shot! It's a dedicated portrait camera that uses Polaroid pack film. These were just a few test shots, so I can't wait to take it out some more!

Film Fun - Part 2

If you saw my blog post last week, you know that I've been shooting a lot of film lately. Well, here are a few more favorites from some recent rolls. Most were shot (and some are of) my partner in film, Tess. Some are from here in Denver and some are from my recent trip to Phoenix. Most are 35mm but a few (the square ones) are medium format from my Yashica and Holga.

One of the dangers of a Holga is light leaks. You can see that this image was ruined by light leaking through the plastic camera body and exposing the film.

Sometimes you don't get much light leaking onto the film and you get some great images! Thanks to Tess for taking this photo.

Film Fun!

Lately, during the wedding off-season, I've been having a lot of fun shooting film. One of my studio-mates, Tess with Love n Joy Photography, has been shooting with me. We've actually started a project: one roll per week, send it in to the lab on Monday, start shooting a new roll and wait for our scans to come back. Repeat for 5-6 weeks. The wait is definitely the hardest part, but it's so much fun when you get to finally see what you shot a few weeks ago!

Film isn't a brand new endeavor for me, but it's definitely something I'm taking a little more seriously these days.  I started playing around with it last year, but now I'm really trying to figure out the different qualities of all of the different films that are available and find a few that are just right for me. You'll get to see all my experiments as scans come back from the lab, so check back often to see how I'm doing!

Here are a few from my first few test rolls...

Since we kept looking at the backs of our cameras, we decided to at least give ourselves something to look at. :)

Here's one of me taken  by my wonderful wife, Belinda.

A (blurry) self-portrait of me and Tess, newly-obsessed film buddies.

Start A Project – Better Photos… Now!

Have you ever wanted to push yourself outside of your photography comfort zone but weren’t sure where to start?  One of the best places is to start a photography project where you take a photo every single day.  The most popular type of this project is usually called a 365, meaning you take a photo every day for a year.  Think a year sounds a little too intimidating?  Try taking a photo every day for a month or even just a week.  You’ll quickly find that taking a photo for 7 days straight is harder than you’d think.

If the point of taking on a project like this is to push yourself and your creativity, you need to do just that.  You can’t just take a photo of your cat or a houseplant every day and call it good.  You’ll need to constantly find new subjects and locations to keep things fresh. 

Some people choose to do a self-portrait every day.  Some people try to create a theme to shoot around.  I’m sure different things work for different people, so don’t get hung up on a theme.  If something isn’t working for you, change it up.  Just keep taking photos! 

If you followed my previous advice and took a peek around Flickr, you’ve probably seen people discussing their 365s.  Flickr is a great resource for ideas and support when you’re trying a 365 of your own.  Somehow, the knowledge that other people are going through the same thing as you (not enough time, lack of ideas or inspiration, missing a day or two) can be a great relief!  Read through other people’s posts and find a group that you feel at home in and will want to visit once in a while. 

At the end of a year, you’ll be amazed at what you’ve photographed and how much you’ve grown as a photographer.  My own 365 documented my growth as a photographer and, looking back, I am so glad that I did it.  From my first studio session to my first wedding, family trips and fun vacations, successful experiments and dismal failures it’s all documented with a photo from every day.  If you’d like, you can view all of my photos here (or you can just go straight to the good stuff and view my favorites).

Here are a few photos that I never would have taken if it weren't for my 365:

Read all of my DSLR tips here.

Bridal Fashion Photo Shoot Part 2 - Denver Fashion and Wedding Photography

If you read yesterday's Bridal Fashion Photo Shoot post, you already know what happens when you bring together some of Denver's best businesses who are involved in weddings. You also know that I had a lot of photos I didn't post. Well, I couldn't just let those photos sit on my hard drive any longer, so here's a few more photos for you to enjoy. Happy Friday!

If you didn't get a chance to see the photos in yesterday's post, please head on over and check them out!