Friday Photo: Still Life
So I thought I’d make this week’s Friday Photo a change of pace and mood from last week’s knotty discussion about the meaning of art. It’s a nice day, the sun’s out, let’s have a nice sunny picture, right? So that’s why I’ve chosen this image. Beyond that I like for the fact it’s a mix of things. It’s empty and full, quiet and loud. Again it’s the storytelling without characters. It’s just the details. A full table but no one around. A riot of colour but a stillness to the scene. I don’t know where anyone was. I was just passing and only stopped long enough to take this one shot. (I don’t take more than one shot with film, typically, it’s too expensive…) There’s a slight Mary Celeste quality to the scene. And then there’s just the experience of shooting on film. There’s a physicality to the way I experience the world when shooting on film that I just don’t get with digital. I bought a Fuji X-Pro2 this week and tried it out along the seafront. It seems like a thoroughly nice camera. But at the same time the experience of shooting with digital after spending so much time around film lately was unsatisfactory somehow. It felt a little flimsy and insubstantial. Because you can just rattle them off and if you don’t get it, so what. Film is difficult and chewy and costly so you have to engage with the photos you’re taking that much more–which can be a royal pain in the arse but is ultimately a lot more rewarding. But anyway, I’m banging on a bit here and it’s nice day outside. I’ll leave your day. Enjoy…
Technical details for the photography wonks:
Camera: Nikon FM3a
Lens: 24mm 2.8
Aperture: f8
Shutter speed: Aperture Priority
Film: Kodak Ektar 100
Photography influence: William Eggleston