[OTW] Photographer of the Week - Week 25 analog

It is our great pleasure to announce that /u/chasesmithfilm is our Photographer of the Week. This accolade has been awarded based upon the number of votes during week 25, with this post having received the most when searching by top submission: http://ift.tt/2snw1UP

• How long have you been taking photographs?

My twin brother and I started out making movies with our dad’s Hi-8 camcorder when we were 10. I guess I got into photography pretty gradually from there, and was introduced to analog film (both stills and motion) in late high school/early college. That was about 10 years ago.

• Why do you take photographs? What are you looking to get out of it?

I’m mostly a motion picture guy. My brother and I have a commercial production company, and I typically stick to directing and editing. We shoot most commercial projects on our RED Scarlet-W, but I still love the organic look of film, so this fills that void. I definitely consider myself more of a hobbyist when it comes to analog photography.

• What inspired you to take this (group of) photo(s)?

I had driven out to Arizona (from LA) to buy a car, and brought along the F2 and some Portra. We had a really wet season, so I was hoping to find some interesting and uncharacteristically green landscapes to shoot. My girlfriend discovered Arcosanti before the trip and convinced the rest of us to stay there for a night. I’ll definitely be going back.

• Do you self develop or get a lab to process your film?

My brother and I will self-develop black and white film and “scan” the negatives with a DSLR, but I use Miller’s for C-41. We now have a Pakon F-135 for color scans.

• What first interested you in analog photography?

Probably the discipline and technical nature of it, and the delayed reveal of what you’ve captured. I was used to shooting video on DV and HDV tapes when I first took classes (as a 17 or 18-year-old) on analog photography. I remember looking at a 16mm Bolex and thinking, “how do I set the white balance?” I quickly learned that film was a different world and became engrossed in the process. I probably spent 100 hours in the darkroom that semester.

• What is your favourite piece of equipment (camera, film, or other) and why?

I love the Nikon F2. Everything about it is intuitive and it just feels solid. I would love to start shooting some medium format stuff, but that’s a pricey step up.

• Do you have a tip or technique that other film photographers should try?

Hmm… not really. I prefer to use an external incident meter, rather than the one on the F2. It’s a little slower of a process, but if I have the time, that’s how I’ll shoot.

• Do you have a link to more of your work or an online portfolio you would like to share?

My production company is called Twinfolk Creative. You can see our work on our website, twinfolkcreative.com, but most of those are commercial, digitally-shot projects. We post some of our analog stills on our Instagram, @twinfolkcreative.

• Do you have a favourite analog photographer or analog photography web site you would like to recommend?

I really like the Xpan shots that /u/athimbleofdan has been posting recently. They make me want to shoot that roll of Cinestill that’s been sitting in my refrigerator for a couple months.

• Is there anything else you would like to add about yourself or your photography?

I’m located in Long Beach, CA, and have found that there are a lot of LB and LA creatives that kind of do their own thing. If anyone else is local, I’d love to collaborate on something.

Submitted June 29, 2017 at 12:31AM by zzpza http://ift.tt/2snp9H2 analog