Notes on Grainy Coastlines
· 2 min read
Overcast days are underrated; the light wraps around all of it. The small things matter less than the routine of paying attention. Looking back, the unposed approach was the right call.
Small things
Film forces a pause between seeing and pressing the shutter. Every summer I revisit the same questions about street corners. The trick, if there is one, is to leave enough room for slip-ups. Looking back, the soft approach was the right call.
Every winter I revisit the same questions about portraits. Good composition is mostly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. Every autumn I revisit the same questions about coastlines. It is not glamorous, but it holds up.
I print modest first, then decide what deserves to be larger.
Closing thoughts
A light meter is a good teacher if you let it disagree with you. I shot most of this series on a single roll, half of it in fading light. The best frame on the sheet was the one I almost did not take. Good grain is mostly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. There is no single right way to approach printing, but some ways are kinder than others.
Every summer I revisit the same questions about contact sheets.
What did not work
It took me three attempts to see the pattern. The result is not perfect, but it is candid. A friend once described composition as quiet work, and the phrase stuck. Somewhere between the hills and home, the thought finally made sense.
Where it started
Some of this will be self-evident; some of it took me years. A friend once described light as quiet work, and the phrase stuck. You can get unexpectedly far with a light meter and some a steady hand. You can get unexpectedly far with a medium format camera and some a steady hand. Every spring I revisit the same questions about portraits.
Every spring I revisit the same questions about coastlines.
Scanning is tedious, but it is where the series takes shape. Looking back, the quiet approach was the right call. Most problems with overcast days turn out to be problems with time.
grainportraitslong exposures