Tech and Sentiment
"Rather than use a light meter, I have a setting I like - 1/60sec at f/2.8 - and usually make the picture work around this" - Jane Brown
Much like acclaimed film photographer Jane Brown, many photographers will often find spaces that deliver light that works at these settings. It’s a technical restriction that also helps deliver the creative visual results.
Which, presumably for Jane, is having light playing off subjects more gently while having deeper ambient falloff.
It’s also important point out that if a film shooter is guessing within a few stops of exposure, they’ll do okay when printing in the darkroom.
Pretty cool.
Here’s a personal analog example: I have an old and finicky Olympus PEN EE-S. The auto exposure meter sticks from time to time. Once it does, the only way to trigger the shutter is to put it into a manual mode that locks the SS to 1/40th.
Not easy to make it work under these circumstances, but it becomes a fun challenge!
The last time this happened was in the shadows of an abandoned grain silo site in my childhood hometown. Moreover, that damn little camera is zone focusing too, so there’s a lot of ambiguity that needs to be accept when using that kit.
Regardless if you’re shooting with crusty old gear or new, it’s best not to let the tech give you all the solutions. Maybe some creative freedom takes over when you let go of the rigid technicalities and expectations?
And perhaps all this is akin to being able play music by ear, with enough practice, even if you’ve never been able to hold a tune in the past, you really can start to hear the notes of the music.
That’s when you can improvise and enjoy a nice groove.
Anyway, here are some casual half-frame grooviness from a broken 1960’s camera with a bunch of “guesstimates” when doing the exposures.
These images are of that aforementioned abandoned industrial agricultural site (and environs) that were literally part of my backyard as I was growing up. The towers are slated for demolition, and it was good to snag images of an artifact that’s destined to soon be another memory.
BTW, My Mom accompanied me on the stroll!
