I owe it to shooting film again to starting this project on light, and to my physics teacher.
You see, I am totally self taught in photography. I haven’t got an art or photography degree or whatever else. I haven’t studied different artists, genres or techniques. I read, and I practise, and I try and I tackle the wrong thing at the wrong time and I dust myself off and reflect and start again.
Last year, I got a vintage Kodak IIIC to shoot film again, for personal imagery. Film photography is more and more popular -again- but the pastel, airy look wasn’t what I was after. It’s pretty but that was never the goal, to achieve that same look. I shot a first roll, then another. I spent time and started to notice seeing things differently. I was taking more time to search, observe and decide whether to take the shot or not. All based on light, which wasn’t something I automatically did before.
I came across the project #100daysof on Instagram and thought whether it was digital -Iphone or big camera- or film, I was going to take myself on a light journey with myself and experiment, so was born 100daysoflumière.
On reflection, my photography has evolved. There’s no pretty light to me, there are forms and shapes and connections. There’s cause and effect and there’s lines and tunnels and things bouncing off one another.
I think that the 100 photos I took show this evolution and I shall continue this project next year again, and continue to evolve. Perhaps, I hope, I will find a deeper way to connect to light. Thing is for someone who was never good at physics, I have turned this around a fair bit. Special thoughts go to my teacher back at school who never lost hope on me: I was wrong, I can get good at this.
My quest of light is forever going though, it’s here, if you fancy.
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