I’m enjoying the warm weather that’s finally arrived after a long, cold winter. I had my first local shoot outdoors back on Sunday, but my first outdoor work this year was with Melissa Troutt including the earlier image with a tree. It was a bit chilly at times, but we had nice enough weather to get some good work during the trip including this one next to a field
A photo with Melissa Troutt from a warm and overcast morning near the South Carolina coast this spring. The weather wasn’t inviting for most beach goers, but had a nice light overcast perfect for shooting outside. We found this amazing tree right before the ground got swampy (as you can see in the background) a bit inland. Melissa really nailed this pose matching the lines of the tree. Looking at the back of the camera I knew we’d nailed a good one.
It took me a while to edit this photo. I initially saw it in black and white, but I don’t think that was the best choice. It does have some qualities in black and white, but just didn’t quite work as well. In the end I came back to color to bring out the tones of the environment around us. I think it works better in color as the tones of the grass, tree, and Melissa compliment each other so well.
A few years ago I bought a Canon AE1 film camera at a flea market. I’d actually purchased it for the lenses with the camera, and didn’t really see much need for the camera itself. I used it as a prop in a few shoot, but the camera needed some work to be usable for its real purpose.
Truthfully I never got around to that because I just didn’t have any interest in film at the time. Over the course of this year I did though decide I was interested in at least trying some work in film, and remembered the camera. With a little work it was ready to go. After a couple of misfires the first time I tried to use it in a shoot, I had better luck the second attempt with Melissa last month.
The change of waiting weeks for developed film in this case was interesting compared to the normal instant feedback that digital makes the norm. There were several photos that I just missed an exposure level or something that in a digital format would easily have been corrected. I’m mostly happy with the results though, and I’ve done a couple other shoots including some film since then that will come later. Film interests me right now, and I think will be part of my equipment list for at least the near future.
From a shoot pairing Mia Love and Melissa Troutt from the winter of 2013. Always tricky to pose a model with dark hair on a black background for black and white. Even more so with two models with dark hair. I wish I’d had a bit more light on the hair of both models for this.
