In todays lesson we did a personal lesson with Peter learning how to load, Shoot, Develop and scan medium format images. We were also told how to use and successfully read a light meter. When doing the session today it really appealed to me to continue to do my project on medium format film as i love the the square look to the images but also the detail that you get is really good.
PERSONAL RESEARCH AND WORK
After this I then looked at other pictures taken in medium format to see what think of look i like and who's style I would look at taking inspiration from. I was struggling to find portraits taken on a medium format style that I really liked and in the end decided that I loved the style of images that my brother took. The images bellow are 4 Images that my brother Cian took of my brother Fionn. For these images I really like the composition with Fionn being up close to the camera with the main thing that is in focus being his face but still having a wide enough F stop that the jumper he is wearing is starting to blur and fade. I also like the fact that the jumper that he is wearing has so many dark colours that in contract to the plain white background it really highlights him in the image and makes him stand out even more. This is why I then like the one that is in colour as i love the colours of his jumper merging together making the image more colourful and bringing another subject into the image.
After looking at these pictures I asked cian about how the images where taken and if we would be able to do some work with the same camera that he used.
On the right is a photo of Cian that I took on medium Format on his Mamiya RB67. I think that this is the best portrait that I have ever taken as by using this camera it allowed so much more detail in the image with the hairs on his face and the fabric of his Aaron jumper and tie being so much more detailed and prominent. I also really like the composition of the picture in the fact that Cian is not directly looking at the camera. I think this is with most portraits that they always look better if the subject has been positioned instead of looking dead on at the camera as it gives a more natural and interesting look and makes the audience wants to look more.
By taking these images and testing out the camera I think that taking the pictures for my personal project about where I am from in Ireland as I feel that if i take the images on people on medium format film it will add to the feel of the project in terms of the town being 'stuck in time' but also it would feel alot more genuine And like i have really captured the moment and its not a digital copy of an image i took it is the that light of that moment solidified on film forever.