Creative Expression – Film Photography, Contax 645, Austin, TX

I’ve recently begun a new creative endeavor because if I’m not creating something, my soul dies a little. Maybe that’s too dramatic, but ya get me. If I’m not expressing my creative energies in some capacity- the kitchen, on paper, journaling, with my camera, painting, gardening, celebrating, dreaming, home decor…I’m not entirely myself.  My brain is constantly flowing with wild ideas, big dreams, swirls of color, bright images, all big and exciting ideas that need expression. I was feeling like I was ready to take my photography to the next level and learn as much as I can about colors, light, depth, perception, composition, etc. I wanted more to know light better and truly understand light as it relates to prisms and camera technology. Jeff has an engineer brain so this comes naturally to him.  He always just knows what is happening IN the camera. I skipped over this part because I just “felt” my way around the learning part. As in, “Oh, this doesn’t look good, that isn’t what I wanted..etc”. The formal parts of learning technical language intimidated the heck out of me. I am constantly asking him to teach me in his “slow” voice, so I can understand the mechanics. Giggle**, slow voice- don’t dump all those fancy big words in my brain so fast! So I’ve committed myself to learning to shoot film photography in both my personal and professional work.  For now, as I’m honing this new craft and learning what in the world happens inside the camera, I will stick to personal work. If you’re use to my ‘usual’ work, this will seem pretty different. Not better, not worse- just different. I’m loving the nostalgic vibe that film photography has. I’m also really loving that every exposure is intentional. This experience is fulfilling in a myriad of beautiful beautiful BEautiful ways. I’m not just click happy and taking a zillion shots like with digital. When you are shooting film, you literally have to slow down, focus, and make a decision to capture a moment. I love this time of learning. I’ll continue to share more of my film work! Stay tuned!

Here’s a sneak peek.