Things I Got Wrong About Scanning Negatives
· 2 min read
I like overcast days that shows the marks of how it was made. Most problems with the darkroom turn out to be problems with time.
What did not work
I shot most of this series on a single roll, half of it in fading light. The first seven weeks were mostly about unlearning. Overcast days are underrated; the light wraps around all of it. You can get unexpectedly far with a 50mm lens and some a steady hand.
A few details
Good grain is mostly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. The best frame on the sheet was the one I almost did not take. The trick, if there is one, is to leave enough room for slip-ups.
The first two weeks were mostly about unlearning. The small things matter less than the routine of paying attention. Scanning is tedious, but it is where the series takes shape. For a long time I treated the darkroom as an afterthought.
Where it started
I would rather do one thing deliberately than five things quickly. A friend once described overcast days as quiet work, and the phrase stuck. It took me three attempts to see the pattern. Every summer I revisit the same questions about shadows.
Some of this will be self-evident; some of it took me years. Most problems with portraits turn out to be problems with time. There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. A friend once described the darkroom as quiet work, and the phrase stuck. I print modest first, then decide what deserves to be larger.
- Stop before you are tired
- Do less editing a series, more printing
- Revisit the darkroom after a week
- Keep a light meter within reach
The first three weeks were mostly about unlearning. A light meter is a good teacher if you let it disagree with you. Most problems with street corners turn out to be problems with time.
the darkroomportraitsshadows