DTLA Noir. Weekend Emulsions 11/27/20

Hey theya coppash, you’re a bunch of fiulthy diurty rrrats, schee… I went and painted the town black and white so yuhs could get some sense into that thick skull o’ yers. Nyyyeaaaahhh, scheee? Really, show you wut fer.

Sorry about that, I got a little excited about trying to shoot my neighborhood like an old Film Noir from the 30’s (note: get me drunk and ask me to give you an oral dissertation on Film Noir and whether it’s a genre or a time period). I’ve been shooting a lot of golden hour lately, and decided to switch it up and absolutely STOMP through the neighborhood at night, very rapidly shooting three rolls of film at a blistering pace rather than my usual meandering over the course of a weekend. This night, I shot three rolls of film in about two hours of walking. It was nice to concentrate on volume rather than… uh, whatever it is I focus on usually (quality? sexiness?). That said, out of 108 exposures, you can imagine that a lot of it was garbage. Some shots of my city were pretty creepy, and some were creepy-pretty:

Walker, Texas Ranger.

Drip.

The least garbage of three rolls of Ilford 3200 B&W pushed to 6400. Leica M-A, Summicron 50mm F2 with a 1/4 Pro Mist filter to make the highlights bloom.

Bankshot. City Bank shot. Nothing but net.

Morning snaps, afternoon hangovers: Weekend Emulsions 11/07/20 - 11/08/20

Upon the broadcast of a particular bit of news on Saturday morning, I hit the streets with my film camera and met up with a friend and her video camera.

I ran out of my usual Kodak Portra film and instead used a roll of Kodak Ultramax ISO400 film. To be honest, I maybe prefer this cheaper film. Not sure if the subject matter just elevated the look or if it’s just a better stock to my eye. Maybe cheap shit matches my blood type. I halfway regret only having brought one roll out that morning, but on the other hand, I think it worked out perfectly.

Here’s the video she shot:

Halloween Special: Amelie de Plaza Bonita.

My wife has been super duper hella quarantined throughout the pandemic, but also has DESPERATELY wanted to see Christopher Nolan’s Tenet in theaters. So, we decided to treat ourselves for Halloween and rented out a theater for two. It’s actually surprisingly not too expensive to rent out a theater nowadays.

More than bars, restaurants, or gyms, the biggest thing we've missed since the pandemic hit is going to see movies in theaters. Myself and my wife being HUGE...

Echo-location: Weekly Emulsion 10/10 & 10/18

Due to my routinely busy weekend schedule of watching Formula 1, lazily working out, taking hours to wash the dishes, looking at puppies on Instagram, and occasionally bathing… I had two very short windows of time to use my last roll of Portra 400, so even though all of these photos take place within a square mile of Echo Park, the roll spans across the sunset of two different Saturdays.

It would be kinda fun to see how far I could physically run/shoot in one golden hour. I’d have to consider the location, having to walk back in the dark though. I’ll crunch the numbers and have my people get back to your people…

Walked me down to Chinatown + Got Me to the Greek: Weekend Emulsion 10/3-10/4

[Falsetto Voice] I took myself on a stroll DOWN (up, technically) TO CHINATOWN on Saturday. I didn’t snap a photo of my favorite thing that I saw; a woman standing below the penitentiary on Alameda yelling up to a prison window, carrying a full on conversation. Sometimes I feel like taking a photo ruins the moment.

On Sunday I parked down in the main drag of Los Feliz and wandered the neighborhood up in the hills above before walking to the Greek in full dorky powerwalking-mom athleisure wear. Pro-tip: It’s waaaaayyyy harder to operate a camera when you’re swaying your hips and constantly checking your pulse with two fingers.

A Weekend (Not) In The City and Ghost Whispers: Weekend Emulsions 9/27

This weekend, rather than my usual bullshit DTLA urban hikes, I went on an actual hike with family, morning dew, fog, and a super cool dog. I really like the look of fog in the morning on film. I should probably try to wake up early more often. Still not sold on nature, though.

BONUS: A couple of shots on my drive away from the film lab last week.

So, you know how I’m always having a hard time sleeping ? If you didn’t know, just go with this. Last night I tried my best to not be cynical and give ASMR videos on Youtube a shot. For the uninitiated, ASMR videos are basically people speaking in a very low whisper, doing things on mic and camera that are supposed to be soothing and put you in a semi-hypnotic state which helps you sleep. Call me crazy, but I found that each ASMR video gave me two experiences in one: they’re either super provocative when you watch them, OR they’re like a terrifying horror movie if you put your phone down and only listen to the sounds of someone whispering in your ear like a ghost. I’m sure it works for some people, but it just wasn’t for me.

Half-stops and Happy Accidents: Weekend Emulsions 9/19-9/20

Oops.

I stopped my weekend film excursions last week because my phone told me that the air quality outside was ‘sitting in the back of my dad’s Camaro while he was smoking and driving with the window down’ levels. Not exactly deadly, but questionable and certainly something you wouldn’t blog about years later, right?

This past weekend, I took out a slightly more expensive film out for a spin (Kodak Porta 400), and set my light meter to 320ISO to overexpose the 400ISO film ever-so-slightly. I like my film like I like my legs in Thai boxing shorts: overexposed.

BUUUT, like a dummy, I incorrectly wound my first roll of film and opened up my camera exposing the roll to direct sunlight. I was so pissed that I went out early the next day to shoot another roll. I was huffing and puffing, and kind of took photos like it was a chore. Miraculously, the first roll of film was not only salvageable, but the light leaks looked kinda cool:

Light Leak Roll:

Angry the next morning roll:

Process of Process: Weekend Emulsions 9/5-9/6

A couple of months into the pandemic, I started taking weekly walks with my fancy pants mirrorless camera around my neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles. To be honest, the walks garnered very few photos worth sharing and often I wouldn’t snap a single shot. I guess two hours of walking was okay exercise though.

Walking around with a camera that can obtain lightning fast autofocus and exposure, take near-limitless amounts of photos that can be uploaded via WiFi to your phone is an instant gratification feedback loop that frankly, lacks an element of DANGER. Safety nets are just not sexy, bro. Pineapple.

So I decided to bust out an all-manual film camera. I don’t know if it’s the feeling of scarcity of resources (film), or the fact that you actually have to put more thought into taking photos (metering with a separate light meter, setting the settings on the camera, and focusing), I’ve found that I’m actually taking MORE photos than when shooting with the digital camera. Sure, if I were on some sort of paid assignment I’d go with the surefire digital camera, but there’s something fun about walking around taking photos with a limit of shots, not knowing if you got anything good, and then entrusting them to someone to develop. Taking a photo and not being able to immediately look at the results on the back of the camera keeps me focused on the more important part of the exercise: actually shooting.

On my first weekend, I shot a roll each day on Saturday and Sunday. Same type of film (Kodak Ultramax 800), but switched lenses from a 28mm the first day to a 50mm the second day. I’m doing zero editing to the photos, not because I’m concerned with purity; but because I’m lazy.

Here’s Saturday with a 28mm:

Sunday with a 50mm:

THE SOCIETY OF TWO.

It’s been a long while my babies. I’ve decided to start posting more here to keep you all abreast of the progress in my creative things during the pandemic. Here’s a thing: My wife needed to make an 'all about me' video for the summer film program that she's teaching, but she HATES speaking on camera. So we made this video which I think paints a pretty good picture (yes, that's her singing).

A Lion and Unicorn "All About Me" Film

Muse.

Finally developed our first roll of B&W film shot on our Leica M-A.  I think I must have missed the sprockets when I loaded the roll, because I ended up with a few multiple exposures at the head of the roll; which turned out pretty well.  Chalk it up to happy accidents.

Accidental psychological portrait of my wife.  Her, a map of the world, her books, teacups, unicorn statues, a ballet bar, and other random things she collects.  Leica M-A, Summicron 50mm 2.0, Ilford Delta ISO400 35mm film, multiple exposures.

The bottom of the multiple exposure portrait overlapping with my wife being sleepy in an elevator.  Leica M-A, Summicron 50mm 2.0, Ilford Delta ISO400 35mm film, improperly cut by the lab?  My fault again?  I wouldn't rule that out either.

Digital vs. Film.  Shot on the same day.  A7Rii vs. Leica M-A.  Zeiss 35mm 2.8 vs Summicron 50mm 2.0.  I think the light and the pose are better in the digital shot (left), but the one on the right has a little more romance in its softness.  My wife doesn't like the film shot (right) because she's 'got her bitch face on.'

I swear, I really do take pictures of things besides my wife and kickboxers.  ("My wife and kickboxers" copywritten title for my autobiographical sitcom)