We went on a family holiday to Newcastle on the NSW coast – by holiday I mean we cowered in our hotel room avoiding crowds and restaurants, occasionally venturing out to swim in quiet beaches and catch the sunrise/sunsets – such is life during COVID!
One morning I headed out to the ocean baths at 4.30am to capture some night shots and astro (future article on this!) and meet up with an awesome local photographer Dan (@nineteen_79) who recommended the baths for a morning shoot. Loaded in my trusty Leica M3 was new kodak ektachrome 100, with a zeiss sonnar 50mm lens (my favourite!).
I’ve had a bit of a love and hate relationship with 35mm film, slides, and colour, especially since shooting a lot more digital in the lockdowns. The expense of development, scanning, and the usual grainy mess of my images has left a lot to be desired!! But occasionally the elements converge with good light, the right film/camera choices, and make everything just work!!! This was one such example, as the golden sun rose above the horizon and bathed the baths (with their lovely architecture and old-world charm) in beautiful warm glowing light – it was like a big warm hug!!!
The zeiss sonnar has just the right amount of sharpness and charm to bring everything to life, and I particularly enjoy these few shots of:
1. always prerequsite frame burn on the first of the roll!!
2. ocean baths bathed in light, with the moon visible
3. the boardwalk and lane markings bathed in gold
4. the actual sunrise
The ektachrome held up incredibly well despite the wide dynamic range of these shots, and I’m sure added to the warmth of the photos. No highlights were blown, and there was good shadow detail.
But enough about the technicalities, these photos just warm you up and make you feel like everything (despite covid) is going to be ok!!! Shoot film! Don’t worry about the grainy mess that ensues! Enjoy the moment!! I hope you enjoy them!
Sure, a digital shot would have captured all the boardwalk cracks and rivets, and every ripple in the pool, but would probably have lost the warmth, glow, and sense of peace that these images bring me…but that’s another topic for another day!
Alan Ma @thefilmsweats
Pixels and Grain Photography Collective 