Roll 5

Well! This roll is a little frustrating to look at. A cursory scroll through the photos shows quite a lot of blurring. Some cool framing, scenes, and subjects-- but overall, a significant amount of blurriness.

But there are some positives here! I really like that I'm trying to take more photos of people. They add character and dimension that shots without them never will. A point of concern earlier in my journey into the world of photography, I realize now that people bring photographs to life. I really like image 13-- a picture of just a small section of the Manhattan Bridge, taken while walking across-- but it doesn't even compare with image 5, the picture of the guy holding balloon animals in Washington Square Park. Why? Because people are weird. And I love weird. Because I am weird (and too into using italics for emphasis). People cause a viewer to linger longer on an image. They ask questions. 'Who is he?' 'Why is he holding those balloons?' 'What caught his attention?' 'WHAT is he wearing?' (I just wish the frame could shift to the left juuuust a bit).

Even though I just dragged them through the mud, I also still enjoy the shots without people. The ramen sign? Obviously I love that. Definitely going to give neon signs more attention in the future. There's something about the glow that I think could be lost in a color roll, too. One image that I like despite some either light leak or scanning issues is image 19, that of the fire escapes. I've been trying to find a pattern or style evident in my photos, without presciptively making it happen. As a friend recently pointed out, and evidenced here, I like lines. :-) Lots and lots of lines. This picture I took last year is very soothing to me. Look at how each chunk of fence frames something different, each a bunch of lines (or dots, for the rocky area).

As an aside, I'm disappointed on a personal level that the pictures of my friends being cute on the subway aren't clear. They're adorable together and in the moment I felt the thrill of a pseudo photo shoot. It helped that they had fun with it, and there are people all around to fill out the frames.

So what did I learn? Lighting at night is hard. Movement is hard. Proper exposure times and types are hard. Taking photographs on a moving subway is just not gonna work with a Nikon F3 that is older than me / without some kind of assistance. Double exposures involving movement are either a no-go or at least one of the exposures better be stationary. If you're gonna do long exposures, especially at night, make sure the camera is firmly planted-- humans are not rocks, they will move, despite your good balance. MORE PEOPLE IN PICTURES, YOU GOON. That balloon guy picture is great! More of that, please. <3

Roll 1

This roll spans a long time. I started it during the blizzard in January of 2016 and kept going through June or July. The blizzard finally inspired me enough to grab the camera my grandfather left and snap a few pictures. More than anything, I feared the conspicuous nature of photography. You stand out. You are no longer a participant, but an observer. As a resident of New York, I generally prefer to blend in and quietly view the world around me, acting as an ant on the highway rather than an eighteen-wheeler. That consciousness distracted me from focusing on what was in the frame early on.

Further emphasizing my newb-ness is that my camera (a Nikon F3) has an exposure count up to 48, but the individual roll only went up to 24. Ouch. I've lost a bunch of photos as a result of that one. Did not learn it until about three rolls in to this experiment...

The first image is actually an important one. When I took it, I made a mental note that it would mark the beginning of my exploration of my creative side. Sure, I've casually drawn with pen and ink, or did a mega crazy insane way awesome brain dump with dry-erase markers on my giant dry-erase board, but this was different. I (eventually) took my camera out in the wild. I (eventually) felt confident with it in my hands. While many of the pictures are either 1/ poor quality or 2/ uninspired, this shot of the BQE from below will always be close to my heart.

Refreshing is the effect of fresh eyes on not-so-fresh images. The photos of snowy buildings (taken from my apartment window) are views that I've seen for nearly 1.5 years, but there's something about the color balance on some that really work. They take the mundane building behind mine (maybe that's too harsh for beautiful brownstone BedStuy) and make them old, worn, experienced-- in short, interesting. I could hardly ask for much more from my first roll of film!

Overall, I think this roll accurately reflects my abilities and my sight as a casual photographer. I'm happy to leave it behind, but it represents an important stepping stone in my growth as a Human With a Camera in My Hand.