Update on the Portraits Project
Failing forward
Hi,
It's been some time since last time but I must admit I'm kinda struggling this month. I find it very challenging to get all the conditions together to make the portraits I have envisioned. My goal is to make portraits with the subject engaging with the environment. But it's not really the weather type to roll around in the grass. :) I have some ideas but my daughters are not keen to collaborate (them faces and comments are really harsh, even brutal…). Another idea involves two cauliflower's as a joke but my girlfriend doesn't find it funny. :(
I should reconsider how I pitch my ideas, I guess.
So, the best is to let go and just take portraits. I think the end result will not be some great mini project but I'm confident I will have 'some' nice pictures.
In the end I want to learn to take better portraits and the only way to learn is doing the work. Fail forward.
In the beginning of this month I had the luck to take some portraits with a 4x5. I must say it is a really nice way to make pictures but it's a lot of work. I wonder if all the effort is worth it. I don't think it's my way of taking pictures it would end up in bankruptcy.
I took 4 frames. Two were reasonable. The other two have some developing issues. One of my friends from school did the developing and the negatives got stuck. Shit can happen, especially the first time developing sheet film. I'm still grateful that she did the developing for me no matter the result. I’ve never developed sheet film.
Here are the pictures from the 4x5.
I haven't developed any of the rolls (35mm and 120) I took this month and I will wait until the end of the month to develop them. How courageous of me! ;)
There are some ideas boiling in my head that I want to write about but I think I need some more time to develop them. It's about the power of imagination and mental wellbeing.
Until next time!
David