28mm

end of the road // shot on the ricoh gr ii, 2023

Some people who exclusively shoot primes will claim to "see" things in that focal length. I’m pretty much onboard with that statement and I also do think those that have put in the time can do that with more than one focal length.

It's been four years since I bought my first camera and started very intently putting in the time to improve my eye as a photographer.

I mained the 35mm focal length for the first three years and then switched to the 40mm which I vibed with even more after. The 35mm was wide enough but lacked the distortion which gave the wideness a sense of movement and character. I can also see how these qualities for others may make the 35mm the perfect focal length. I went to the 40mm as a result of finding myself totally lacking any sense of fluency with the 50mm but wanting a bit more crop than the 35mm for the more subject-oriented abstract photos. However, the 28mm has always been there as a secondary due to the versatility of the focal length and the pocketability of my Ricoh GR ii.

I’d be lying if I said my excitement for the 40mm hasn’t declined this year. This year, I’ve been frequently more satisfied with the frames I’ve captured on the Ricoh than my Fuji setup with the 40mm whenever I take both on a photo session.

More and more, I've been considering actually just maining the 28mm as I'm finding myself unintentionally finding frames by utilizing the key to bringing the 28mm to life: immersing yourself with your environment. As someone that prefers "messy" compositions over a perfectly upright and lined up Wes Anderson composition - finding an approximate balance in the imperfections rather than having everything perfectly composed and clean.

Right now I just wanna jump in the deep end and shoot exclusively 28mm for a bit. Part of this is coming from a personal dislike for having to switch lenses while out & about - possibly a topic for another time.

nothing is unedited

Nothing is unedited.

Even the photos that appear on your camera roll straight out of your phone camera. In fact, there's countless operations which take place behind the scenes just to transform the raw data captured by the sensor into a pleasing image for human perception. Demosaicing, gamma correction, and white balancing are such operations that are just the tip of the iceberg.

I think there's kind of an unspoken disdain among some in the photography community for editing film photos or in general just 'overediting' - which I really don’t get. Film that comes out of the darkroom is technically already edited. The amount of time you leave the film in the chemical bath affects the final result. There's a reason behind why the Adobe Lightroom application was given its name. Also when you scan a film negative, the scanner applies its own sequence of operations to first invert the colors and then apply its own white balance and exposure adjustment based on a preset. “Straight out of the scanner” really means nothing and same goes for “straight out of camera”.

In my view, film stocks are essentially a customized combination of split toning, contrast, tone curve, and white balancing. Using the same film, the results you get from different scanners and even scanner software can look miles apart. I’m a firm believer that post-processing is just as much an expressive form as the act of framing a scene in real time and pressing the shutter. Just imagine if a film or show you liked wasn’t color graded.

There's no shame in editing if it makes what you’re trying to convey more coherent. On the contrary, own it. If you ‘destroy' a photo and end up making it more beautiful, why be shy about it? Plus, it’s not easy. I think captivating art sometimes breaks existing frameworks of how we understand or perceive that medium. The thought of "how did they do that/how did they even come up with that" is a common thread among the work of legends across mediums. It's work to be challenged by but also to admire.

The next time you see something odd you vibe with, hold onto it.

PAINTED BY DUSK

PAINTED BY DUSK is a photo project shot in Alviso of San Jose, California. Like the name suggests, the dimming light in the evening sky was the driving element behind the photos.

Unlike my previous projects where the photos were made in multiple trips, this one was made all in one go.  

I've shot around the Alviso community a couple times so I had a decent idea of where to walk.

The purpose of this project was not actually found in the final photos but in the process of shooting. Working with limited light and time, I had to get in the flow and trust my instincts as the sky was getting darker and darker.  

It's honestly so interesting how creative projects come about - sometimes it's planned and other times it's completely spontaneous, as was the case this time.

When in the flow, I'm finding myself shooting a sequence of images rather than focusing on a particular standalone.  I haven't really figured out why this is the case but it'll be something to think about for a while.  It's probably having to do with being fixated on the present rather than being fixated on an idea, where the present is dynamic and ideas are static.

Leaning into the moment for inspiration.