One Camera, One Lens, One Film Stock, One Year: A Personal Project

Share:000

What happens when you commit to capturing your every day for a year in only black and white film?  TPW’s own Catherine Rodriguez interviewed Annie Clark to find out.  Read on as Annie tells us how she came to embrace a very different personal project.   

How would you summarize your project?

Last summer I decided to give up all my digital gear, forego Photoshop, and spend a year shooting with one trusty film camera and one film stock.  In the end, I learned a little about shooting, and a lot about myself.

Why did you choose this project?

My mind felt overwhelmed with the “photographer scene” for lack of a better term; a constant whirlwind of social media, blogs, workshops, technology and new products to choose from.  There was a constant noise in my head telling me what I should be doing.  Half the time I felt that I spent more time talking about shooting or reading about other people talking about shooting that I couldn’t even find time to take my own photos.  I needed breathing room.

I had been dabbling in film for about a year, and had spent the summer reading books from the masters like Ansel Adams.  Randomly I happened to come across an interview with Keith Carter, one of my favorite film photographers. Known for his projects and philosophy of one film, one camera, one lens, he said something along the lines of “two years, 45 photos. You’ll hate most of them.  But stick with it.” And that struck a chord with me.  By the end of the summer I had sold off all of my digital gear and most of my lenses.  I was left with a trusty old medium format camera, and stocked up on black and white 120 film. I was ready to roll.

And then, I was left with overwhelming silence. Echoes. Hollows. I actually didn’t shoot much for a couple months. I had to ruminate a bit; let my brain marinate and stew in its own juices. It’s like I no longer needed to compulsively shoot through that period. The anxiety over taking pictures lifted. In its place, I found the stillness needed to create images. Slowly, I began to shoot again:  a photo here, a photo there.  And strangely, I was satisfied with that. I was shooting for me.

What do you shoot with?

I shoot with a medium format Pentax 67, the Pentax 105 2.4 lens and Kodak Tri-X 400 (120) film.

What were some of the challenges?

Being constrained to only nine frames per roll and black and white (no color!) has probably been the most challenging.  At the beginning, I was a little bored and found it hard. But I stuck with it. Over time I found that I became satisfied with one to two frames at a time and my eyes became trained to see in black and white. I tried to shoot a couple rolls of color a few weeks ago, and they turned out horrible! It was a very Gestalt moment.

Working with one film speed (ISO 400) has at times been constraining, especially for indoor photos.  Indoor shooting takes a little planning now. I found that to shoot in much darker indoor scenes and at night is something I still need to work on.

Lastly, the Pentax is a pretty big camera, which makes it difficult to sneak up on a kid (or chicken or dog). They can hear that shutter slap from a mile away!

What surprised you the most?

One of the key things that surprised me was that my images have not really changed.  They still look like me. I think I was sort of expecting to have some kind of profound artistic metamorphosis over the course of the year, and it really wasn’t quite that dramatic.  Instead, I kind of made peace with who I am, as a photographer, and an artist. I’m left with the solitude of my own images, images that took a lot of time to see and time to shoot, and because of that I’m much more attached to my photos; they don’t seem as disposable to me. Each one is precious.  I can remember each frame (and with only nine frames per roll, that isn’t really too hard). I can count on my fingers the ones I consider good.

What is next for you?

I’d like to continue the project for another year. I feel that I’ve just become to feel comfortable it and have really begun to own it as my project. Plus I’d like to get those 45 images.

What advice do you have for those seeking a personal project?

Whether you shoot film or digital, you might choose one camera and one lens (maybe not your favorite) and shoot for a month to three months. You could also choose to stick with a particular aperture. See what you can create from it. How it helps you evolve.

With other projects, like the 365, where your goal is to shoot daily, the every day practice is what propels you forward in your journey. With the one, camera, one lens, one film project, you have a different end goal. You slow down and are able to patiently nurture the seeds much like in gardening. It’s a different pace that lets you deliberate about what images you want to create. This means you will have fewer images overall, but you might also end up with five to ten really amazing, quality images that resonate with you.

Whatever you choose to undertake, go with your instincts.  If you feel in your gut that something speaks to you, that’s probably the project that is right for your soul.  You might have to try a few things before you find the right one, and it’s just fine to move on to something else if it you’ve found your project really isn’t speaking to you.  But don’t give up too easily, because failure is part of the process.  In fact, there’s much more failure than there is success or even progress at times.  It’s part of the learning process.

 Annie Clark

Annie Clark is a mom, artist and nurse. Up until very recently, she lived in Honolulu, Hawaii, with five kids, two dogs and husband, Steve.  She and her crew have just embarked on a new adventure in North Dakota.

website

Share:000

Categorized in: From the team, Guest Bloggers