My plan, like those of mice and men, was to take Friday off so that I could recharge after a long and surprisingly physical couple of weeks. The plan started well. My flatmate Carlo and I had a hit of tennis at 7am. But work rolled in at 830 and I spent the next 3-4 hours away on the computer. It wasn’t a big deal as I don’t think I could have enjoyed my weekend knowing that people were depending on me to do my part.
The good thing about working on a Friday was that I got to take photos of Chris mowing.
I’ve been experimenting with different film recipes over the past few weeks. Ritchie Roesch, Kevin Mullins and Luis Costa have provided heaps of inspiration and I’ve been greedily testing and trying out different looks. Dreary and changeable winter weather coupled with my amateur photography skills have made it difficult to really get a handle on what film recipe works best for my type of photography. However, I sat down on Thursday night and reviewed what I liked and did not like about my recent trials.
Like
- Understanding my camera well enough to achieve the shot in camera.
- Modern and Muted.
- Protect highlights and create more contrast
- I love both Classic Chrome and Classic Negative but I would rank Chrome before Negative.
- Weak Grain
- Nothing overly processed.
Dislike
- Strong colour casts/shifts.
- Overly warm and rich feel
My approach is to focus on what I like rather than what I dislike. I understand like and dislikes are simply different sides of the same coin. However, I feel that I work better by approaching my film recipe (and hopefully life) from a positive angle. Here are some photos I took on our walk on Friday afternoon after finishing work and Chris has mowed the berm for half our street.
The recipe I ended up with for Friday is:
- Film simulation: Classic Chrome
- White Balance: Auto
- WB Shift: R +2 B-1
- Highlight: 0 Shadow +2
- Colour: -1 Sharpness: +1
- Dynamic Range: 100%
- Grain Effect + Size: Weak + Small
The only thing I’m not 100% set on is colour chrome effect and fx blue. For these shots, I used a weak colour chrome effect. I’m going to experience a bit more with the chrome effects this weekend and see what my recipe will. Whatever I decide this weekend, I’m determined to stick to for at least a few weeks so that I get a chance to understand it and come to a solid decision.
Up next would be a recipe on Classic Negative and determine how I would implement these recipes on my camera. I still enjoy editing on Lightroom. Most of my edits are 1-2 minute affairs and I enjoy using Lightroom to manage my library and play with different looks.
Good Intentions 