James Ballantyne

Its Liminal Everyday

Half In Wood, Half In Iron

Garmisch

Paris

The Mistakes I Made - Shooting Film

To begin, the purpose of this blog is not to shame or judge anyone starting out in the realm of analogue film photography, this blog is aimed at reflecting upon my own early photography journey. Bringing to light habits I adopted and then later changed or stopped doing through learning and practice. It is important to highlight the mistakes I made throughout this journey which were key learning opportunities.

Does It Work?

Ebay is a wonderful place full of second hand goods and second hand bads. I optimistically opted for second hand goods. I was going on holiday and had decided I wanted to shoot film on this trip. I looked for film cameras on a budget, and most well respected websites seemed to be just out of my price range. So I resorted to ebay. I Found a minolta xg-100 for £120 with film and accessories. It felt like the stars had aligned. When it arrived I tested if the shutters worked, most did, although some got stuck at certain speeds. I thought nothing of it.

I did not have time to test it with a roll of film.

I went on the trip with 5 rolls of film for a week, some would say you need at least 1 roll per day, however this was my first trip shooting film. I dropped the film off at a local film label and eagerly awaited its return.

The package arrived…

I gathered my things to handle the film and to archive it with the utmost level of professionalism. I inspected the first roll with sheer excitement. Put it to the side… i reviewed the second roll. Put it to the side… I looked over the third roll. Devastation set in. out of the 5 rolls, 180 images, I got 1 image.

This mistake is more than enough for some people to stop using film, however after accepting the devastation I realized it was a gamble and a less than wise decision to make. The next camera I bought was in person from a reputable camera shop.

This was my experience with purchasing a camera from ebay, not all experiences are like this. Some reputable sellers use ebay.

The Fantastic Film Advance Lever

The Film Advance lever helps to create the haptic feel that is commonly associated with analogue film cameras. As we know when you finish shooting a roll of film, the film advance lever will cease to move. But what happens if you continue to wind it?

I was on a sunny woodland shoot with a roll of e6 film. I had just finished my roll and was in between a small body of water and a farm so I stopped next to the path to change my roll. The film advance lever was stuck. Why was it stuck? I knew why, the roll had no more film. I had shot it all. But what happens if I move the lever? Like a sword in stone, is it just waiting for the right person?

I forcefully push it and feel an almighty crunch and a release of tension. The lever is fine now? Do I have the sword and all that has been prophesied? I tried to wind the film back into the canister but felt and heard no film moving. Begrudgingly I decided to open the back of the camera... I had pulled the film out of the canister...

Curiosity is a wonderful thing. It can lead to an array of things. This time it led me to a mistake. I have kept the canister as a nice reminder that you can always learn from your mistakes.

How much is too much?

The equipment you use on a shoot is vital. But when shooting a new unseen location how much is too much?

When I first started I had a 50mm lens and a camera. However after a year of shooting I inherited a bunch of equipment off an ex photographer who had retired and could no longer shoot. This included 2 cameras, 3 different lenses and various bags and accessories to accompany it. An absolute treasure trove of equipment. It opened a new world of possibilities. Alongside this I bought a cheap lightweight travel tripod.

As a result of all the new equipment I had decided to shoot at a new location. So I used google maps to look for areas to shoot and found a place called entwistle. It was a reservoir which had 3 more reservoirs alongside it, with various patches of woodland. The equipment weighed more than 5kg alone. That day I walked more than 12km. It is important to recognise I am no professional hiker. The majority of the time I had to force myself to use all lens variations. The lens I used most was a standard 50mm.

What you can take away from this, is that starting out is fun but also a lot of trial and error.

Within regards to carrying too much equipment, I shot Half In Wood, Half In Iron in this manner.